THE provincial and All-Ireland club championship competitions are in the “gravest risk” of being cancelled this year, even if county and inter-county championships do go ahead at some point.
The GAA has given a commitment that club action will return before the inter-county season resumes but the narrow window for on-field action means that only individual county championships and then the All-Ireland football and hurling Championships (which will run parallel) are likely to take place.
Ulster Council secretary Brian McAvoy says that unless club action begins in “July or August”, the 2020 Seamus McFerran (Ulster Football) and Liam Harvey (hurling) Cups will be cancelled meaning along with the other competitions in the other three provinces meaning no national club championship either.
“It all depends on the start date,” said McAvoy.
“The season will depend on the number of weeks we have. There would have to be a club season and then an inter-county season and the number of weeks you would have would determine whether you have club championships at All-Ireland, provincial and county level.
“I have to say that, at this stage, the most remote of all things happening are the provincial and All-Ireland Club Championships. I think they are certainly in the gravest risk.
“We would still like to run county championships but realistically, if we weren’t starting club games in July or August we’d have no provincial club championships if you have to have an inter-county season following the club season. So it looks highly unlikely that there’ll be any provincial or All-Ireland club championships this year.”
The probable truncation of the club and county seasons looks certain to mean that Kilcoo (if they retain their Down title) will not get the opportunity to defend the Ulster crown they won for the first time last year. The Down champions saw off Donegal’s Naomh Conaill in the final and went on to reach the All-Ireland final where they lost in extra-time to three in-a-row champions Corofin.
In hurling, Derry’s Slaughtneil are the reigning Ulster champions. Mickey McShane’s men regained their title with a convincing victory over Antrim’s Dunloy and went on to run eventual All-Ireland champions Ballyhale Shamrocks very close at the semi-final stage.
Kilcoo chairman Terry O’Hanlon agrees that the absence of an Ulster Club Championship would be a “huge disappointment” for all county championship winners. He has urged the GAA to be patient before any definitive decisions are made.
“Like every club, we only look as far as the first game in the county championship so we don’t know if we’d be involved but it would be a huge disappointment if the Ulster Club wasn’t played,” he said.
“It would be a huge disappointment for any club that wins a county title not to get playing in Ulster but, at the end of the day, human life is more important.”
He added: “But you also have to look at this from a glass-half-full perspective. We’re six weeks into this lockdown and there’s a long time until the Ulster Club or the All-Ireland Championship so we shouldn’t react too much just yet. The Irish people are very resilient and I’m sure there are things that will happen down the line.
“Some of the Premier League teams are back training and keeping their social distance so I’m sure the GAA will be thinking about doing the same at some stage. Maybe it’s a case of taking players’ temperatures before they are allowed to train or play and then playing behind closed doors?
“But it would be a huge disappointment if the Ulster Club Championship wasn’t played and I think we just have to give it time and see what happens.”
