Heslin criticises ‘disregard’ being shown to players in GAA’s inter-county return
AT THE end of August the Taoiseach Micheál Martin made the firmest possible commitment the state could make towards a sporting event when reflecting on the viability of the GAA championships. Back then Covid-19 cases were rising but nothing like the surge that the island has been experiencing over the last couple of weeks.
“We want the championship to go ahead,” Martin said. “I want an AllIreland this year. I think it would be a symbol that a country is fighting this virus, that it’s not going to surrender to it. To me, it speaks to us as a nation if we can make sure that we can organise our sports.”
The consensus is that with the plug pulled on just about everything else the running of a championship will, for many, be a welcome outlet to kill winter weekend hours, provide a focus and conversation points as the country battens down against the virus for a second time.
Between next weekend and Christmas, there’ll only be one weekend without some live intercounty GAA action to digest, unless of course restrictions intervene to park the elite games as well.
Westmeath’s John Heslin understands the desire for a championship, he understands the importance of it too for the GAA, its people and even, as the Taoiseach stated, the psychology of not submitting one of the great showpieces of any Irish summer to the virus, even if it means no spectators present.
But in all of this he has a simple question: what about the players? When everyone else is at home gathered around televisions watching it all unfold, the risk for those at the centre of it is magnified.
“While I think it’s important and I’d like to see it go ahead but with the players and their lives and what they have to do, I think there is a bit of disregard. The player gets nothing out of it,” he said. “With all the talk that’s going on, the players are last in the equation and that’s not a surprise.”
Heslin has yet to return to Westmeath training, just nine days out for the resumption of the league and just over four weeks from their Leinster quarter-final against Dublin.
“There’s the fear of catching Covid first of all because you are exposing yourself to increased numbers of people in close connection. There are a lot of schoolteachers playing inter-county football. My girlfriend is a nurse and was treating positive cases last week. There is a very short circuit for the virus to spread, should it get into an inter-county team. With that, I have to personally make the sacrifice not to enter the home house and if I do, I have to wear a mask,” he pointed out.
The prospect of rapid testing, raised by the GAA in their return to play document that covered intercounty games some weeks ago, is something he welcomes.
“Any precaution that is put in place is a good one,” said Heslin. “With the little bit of experience I have of dealing with viruses (he is an
agricultural scientist) you might not test positive today but you might test positive in a couple of days. Frequent testing may be beneficial.”
But he senses a growing caution among inter-county players. “I’m sure there are other counties around the place, and I know there are some players on our team, a little bit reluctant, not sure. Do they need to go in the middle of a pandemic and play inter-county football?”
The experience, he says, was different last June when clubs returned to training. After more than three months’ restriction, it was a welcome lift to get back.
“We have just finished the county final and I have a bit of a niggle from that so I haven’t been back. But from speaking to a few there are some asking questions, whether it’s Covid-related or something else I’m not sure because it’s now becoming a long year for those lads.
“I know they didn’t have football in the middle of the year but now in terms of months and participation, it’s dragging on now and a lot of lads wouldn’t be used to playing at this time of year so it may all of sudden seem like a long year.
“The national guidelines are for social distancing, the reason being is because we do not know what will happen to an individual in the future should they contract Covid,” Heslin added.
“But at the same time we are happy for lads to go play football and at inter-county level and because it’s an elite sport and it gives the national audience something to look at. With all due respect to inter-county players and player welfare, it doesn’t really paint a great picture.”
‘With all due respect to players and player welfare, it doesn’t paint a great picture’