Gaelic Games

John Horan says GAA ‘not in any rush’ to return to play

GAA president says virus is still far too virulent in society for return to be considered

GAA president John Horan says Covid-19 rates are still too high to consider a return to play. Photo: James Crombie/Inpho

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Seán Moran
Thu Feb 11 2021 - 14:47

GAA president John Horan has said that the association is “not in any rush” to return to the playing fields.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, he took mild issue with Minister of State for Sport, Jack Chambers' comments that the Gaelic games' organisations hadn't shown "a massive appetite to return in the immediate term," but, equally, he endorsed the Government view that there should be no resumption of activities at present.

“The GAA have an appetite to go back, of course,” said the president. “Everybody within the GAA family would love to be back playing games and training in the morning but look, we’ve always acted with safety and responsibility as the key tenets of our decision-making process and that will remain and that’s why we’re not in any rush to come back at the moment because we don’t feel it’s safe or responsible.

“The virus is too virulent throughout society. The numbers are still too high and we’re not going to put our members or their families at risk in making any decisions like that in the short term.”

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The comments were in relation to the decision of Government, announced this week, to end the exemption from Level 5 restrictions for senior intercounty Gaelic games.

GAA president John Horan has said that the association is “not in any rush” to return to the playing fields.

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, he took mild issue with Minister of State for Sport, Jack Chambers’ comments that the Gaelic games’ organisations hadn’t shown “a massive appetite to return in the immediate term,” but, equally, he endorsed the Government view that there should be no resumption of activities at present.

“The GAA have an appetite to go back, of course,” said the president. “Everybody within the GAA family would love to be back playing games and training in the morning but look, we’ve always acted with safety and responsibility as the key tenets of our decision-making process and that will remain and that’s why we’re not in any rush to come back at the moment because we don’t feel it’s safe or responsible.

“The virus is too virulent throughout society. The numbers are still too high and we’re not going to put our members or their families at risk in making any decisions like that in the short term.”

The comments were in relation to the decision of Government, announced this week, to end the exemption from Level 5 restrictions for senior intercounty Gaelic games.