A return date for GAA activity is unknown and will not be confirmed until a road map for a return to sport has been announced by Government under its Living With Covid plan. The earliest return to training for inter county teams is now Easter (4 April) at the earliest, which means that fixtures are unlikely until later that month or May.
The news is a blow to the inter county scene, which had been gearing itself for a return to games at the end of March.
Two return dates for collective training (15 January and 5 March) have now been changed on the inter county plan which is pushing the playing season back all the time. There is an inevitable knock-on effect for the club season and as of now nothing is definite about what the 2021 season will look like in terms of dates.
Westmeath are included with Down, Meath and Mayo in Division 2 North of the newly structured National Football League, while the hurlers are in Division 1A of the National Hurling League with Tipperary, Galway, Cork, Waterford and Limerick.
At club level, Westmeath has agreed to proceed with five rounds of a football championship and a similar number in the hurling championship, but the starting date is likely to be pushed back (July was a possibility, but the delay in resuming inter county competition will impact on club dates). Whatever about the All County Leagues or other competitions, Westmeath will be anxious to get meaningful championships played and will hope to avoid the same scenario as last year when they had to revise their plans mid-season.
On the positive side, the arrival of vaccinations and an improving situation regarding Covid-19 numbers mean that the second half of the year is looking more promising in terms of having supporters back at games. Westmeath will be desperately hoping for improved gate receipts without which they are facing a deficit of approximately €300,000 this year.
GAA President John Horan said there is nothing definite in relation to what competitions may be run this year due to the Covid-19 situation, while the club season could also face changes depending on when activity can actually resume.
“As of now the GAA have made no firm decisions on what competitions may or may not be facilitated in any revised fixture programme – such decisions will be a factor of how much time is made available to us, both for an inter county season and for the broader participation levels that will be necessary for a meaningful club season,” said Mr Horan.
“While we will begin to look at contingency plans for the Master Fixtures programme, we will not be able to take definitive decisions in this context until we have a clear picture of what restrictions we are likely to be operating under at various points in the year ahead, he remarked.”
Inter county GAA is no longer considered an elite sport and there are fears that may well have implications for funding into the future.
The revised return to inter county GAA activity is now Easter (4 April), which means seven more weeks of players working remotely. With all GAA clubs remaining closed, there is no prospect of club activity any time soon and in fact May/June is the most likely timeline for a restart on that front.
Two New Officers appointed
Two new officers were recently added to the Westmeath GAA County Board Executive. Dermot Brady has been appointed as Children’s Officer by the Westmeath Executive as per rule and Deirdre Orme (Crookedwood Hurling Club) is the new Westmeath Healthy Club Officer, subject to ratification by the County Committee. Both positions were held by the newly elected County Chairman, Frank Mescall. Neither Dermot or Deirdre need any introduction to the Westmeath GAA community. Dermot Brady wore the Westmeath football jersey with distinction in the 1990s and is a member of a select band of Westmeath footballers to have won Railway Cup medals. Dermot was a panellist in 1996 and a playing member in 1997 of the Leinster team that won the interprovincial title. Deirdre Orme is a familiar figure in Cusack Park and has regularly donned the stewards bib and will bring her many talents to the Healthy Club portfolio, one of the great recent initiatives of the GAA.
