GAA club in north Cork confirms positive Covid-19 case

Cork GAA is to hold a meeting of its competitions authority after receiving confirmation from a club in north Cork that it has suspended all activity after learning one of its players tested positive for Covid-19.

Cork County Board confirmed it had been informed by Glanworth GAA that one of their players had tested positive for Covid-19 and that the club had implemented all the GAA guidelines on dealing with a positive case of the virus.

“The Cork County Board’s Competitions Control Committee will meet in due course, following consultation with Croke Park, to consider the implications, if any, for county competitions,” Cork GAA said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday night.

Glanworth GAA, who are based in the north Cork village located 9km north-west of Fermoy, also confirmed details of the case, which The Irish Times understands was only confirmed on Sunday after the player began to feel unwell on Friday.

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“Glanworth has been informed by one of our players that he has tested positive for Covid-19. In accordance with GAA guidelines on dealing with a positive case, the club has suspended all further activity until public health contact tracers carry out full close contact assessment and testing.”

Glanworth was due to play Mitchelstown in the first round of the Intermediate County Football championship in Mallow on Sunday, July 26th while their hurlers, Harbour Rovers, are due to play Ballygiblin in the Avondhu Junior Hurling Championship on the weekend of August 2nd.

Resuming training

News of the positive case in Glanworth GAA comes as three GAA clubs in west Cork are set to resume their preparations for championship matches scheduled to take place later this summer. A number of the club’s players tested negative for Covid-19 following concerns that they may have come in contact with a person who recently tested positive for coronavirus.

Argideen Rangers from Timoleague were the first club to suspend all activity as a precautionary measure while Ballinascarthy and St Oliver Plunkett's from Ahiohill also took the decision to suspend activity.

There has been no official confirmation from either HSE or GAA authorities but it is believed that members of Argideen Rangers and Ballinascarthy may have been at a house party in west Cork last week attended by a person who later tested positive for the virus.

All three clubs issued statements on Friday confirming they were suspending activities, but now two of the three have said through Facebook pages all club activity will resume. The Irish Times understands from informed sources that no player in any club tested positive.

“We are pleased to inform our members that Argideen Rangers GAA Club will be recommencing club activities from Sunday, July 12th. We thank you for your patience and support over the past few days,” Argideen Rangers said in a posting on Sunday afternoon.

"As we resume activities, we remind all our members to strictly adhere to the public health advice and guidelines provided by the HSE and by the GAA," added the club who are to play Dungourney from east Cork in the first round of the County Intermediate Hurling Championship on August 1st.

Meanwhile, Ballinascarthy GAA also posted on Sunday afternoon it had reversed its decision to suspend all club activity as a precautionary measure pending the outcome of tests and that all club players could now resume their collective training.

“As per HSE public health guidance and GAA return to play protocol, Ballinascarthy GAA and camogie clubs can resume collective training. We won’t be making any comment on individual members’ medical history and remind everyone to respect the privacy of those involved.”

Although St Oliver Plunkett’s have yet to post a similar message on social media at the time of writing, a west Cork GAA source familiar with the situation in all three clubs said all their players too had tested negative and had been cleared to resume collective training.

Ballinascarthy and St Oliver Plunkett’s both play hurling and football at junior level and are scheduled to play locally in the Carbery Division. Their footballers start their campaign on the weekend of July 25th-26th and their hurlers are scheduled to play on August 2nd.

Last month, a player with James Stephens club in Kilkenny was diagnosed with Covid-19 and later recovered fully. Team-mates identified via contact tracing returned negative results and club activity resumed following a seven day precautionary period.