Three clubs set for patient wait

THREE WEXFORD teams continue to wait to conclude their 2020 Leinster Club campaigns, with action still prohibited under the Covid-19 Level 5 lockdown rules.

Rathnure, Kilmore and Oulart-The Ballagh were all due to return to action this month, looking to finish what they started when the original lockdown was lifted last July.

Rathnure won the county Intermediate camogie championship with their ‘B’ team, defeating Craanford-Monaseed in a hotly-contested county final in September.

Since then they have been waiting to face Offaly Senior champions St. Rynagh’s as huge underdogs in the Leinster Intermediate championship. The clash had been scheduled for the second weekend of January.

Kilmore had gone considerably further in their journey. After winning the ladies’ football Intermediate county title against Gusserane, the Wexford District side manoeuvered their way past three challengers all the way to the Leinster Junior final.

They beat Bray Emmets (Wicklow), Graiguecullen (Laois), and Clan na Gael (Louth) in the semi-final, to book their place in the decider.

Just days before what would have been their final game of the season, the title decider against Longford’s Ballymore, the club season was halted.

Oulart-The Ballagh haven’t played since defeating St. Martin’s in the Premier Senior camogie final back on the first weekend in September.

Their Leinster championship was pencilled in to resume this coming weekend with a semi-final clash against St. Jude’s of Dublin, but obviously that is not going to happen.

Neither the Leinster Ladies’ Football nor the Camogie Association have made an announcement about when they expect their championships to return.

One would expect these games to be the first bit of club action to happen once the country hits Level 2 Covid restrictions.

Oulart-The Ballagh, in particular, may expect to have a serious stretch of games when action resumes as currently the All-Ireland Club camogie series is expected to be completed in the months ahead.

If they overcome their rivals from Templeogue in the provincial semi-final, the next opposition will be provided by a Thomastown side powered by the Farrell sisters - Anna and Meighan - from the All-Ireland winning Kilkenny Senior team.

Meanwhile, a series of disappointing but nonetheless expected and understandable announcements during the week mean that Wexford players won’t be representing their colleges in any GAA activities in the current academic year.

Wednesday brought confirmation that there will be no third level competitions, and it wasn’t a surprise given that the Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cups were due to be completed in a window prior to the scheduled commencement of the Allianz Leagues on the last weekend in February.

Michael Hyland, Chairman of the GAA’s Higher Education committee, said: ‘We’re very disappointed that our championships will not take place.

‘Comhairle Ardoideachais had planned for and were hopeful of all of our championships, including the Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cups, going ahead but it’s apparent that it won’t be possible for this year.

‘There is a lot of uncertainty about when games will recommence at club and county level and what the calendar will look like in 2021 but as the situation becomes clearer, we will work with the clubs, colleges, development officers and all stakeholders to try and find ways to mitigate against the effects of our students not having had any games this academic year, and we are really looking forward to a return to play in October.’

The ladies’ football higher education championships, including the prestigious flagship O’Connor Cup, have also been suspended.

And it has been announced too that there will be no All-Ireland Post Primary competitions for the second year running.

However, a slight glimmer of hope was offered to secondary school students with the suggestion that it might be possible to at least stage some of the provincial championships if the current restrictions are eased.

Given the current situation though, with all seats of learning closed and home-schooling taking place, it’s more likely that there will be no games whatsoever for students in 2020-2021.

If the country returns to a situation where schools re-open, staging GAA games is unlikely to be an immediate priority.