GAELIC GAMES:THE POSTPONED Sigerson Cup matches will not be rescheduled at least until the middle of next week with tonight's Comhairle Ardoideachais (CAO) meeting set to deal with the objection from Cork IT to the eligibility of Garda College players Graham Dillon, Michael Cussen and Aidan O'Mahony.
Jordanstown University (UUJ) are to play DIT in the first semi-final in Carlow tomorrow afternoon, the game having been moved from 7.30pm to 3.30pm.
UUJ sought a postponement but an agreement to play the fixture was reached yesterday. It has become the main event of what is now considered a disastrous weekend for hosts Carlow IT.
Cork senior full forward Cussen and Kerry's All Star back O'Mahony are the new names to be drawn into the controversy surrounding rule 31 (b) (iii), a law introduced two years ago by the CAO - the governing body of the higher-education competitions - to prevent the Garda College from transferring in players after January.
The Garda College beat Cork IT 1-10 to 1-8 last Monday, after Carlow IT, beaten in the previous round by Garda, resisted pursuing their appeal to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) as it would have undermined their own event.
For the sake of the Sigerson Cup running smoothly on their watch, they accepted the Central Appeals Committee (CAC) decision regarding the eligibility of Dillon thus sacrificing their own place in the finals weekend.
"It's very disappointing because it's taken a huge amount of organisation to put on an event of this magnitude," said Cormac O'Toole, the Carlow IT chairman of the Sigerson organising committee.
"Ironically we had an (eligibility) objection lodged against the Garda team (Dillon) and it was upheld. Then they appealed it to the Central Appeals Committee and they were successful with that. But now, the situation has changed totally because the weekend is not going to go ahead in the same format.
"We have been gearing up for the 12 teams coming to contest the Sigerson, Trench and other finals. It's been so fluid but incredibly difficult. We had the co-operation of clubs in the town so we've had games pencilled in there and now they are being moved back into the college."
The prospect of rescheduling the second semi-final and final is out of their control.
"You are heading into league weekends and under-21 championships," continued O'Toole. "These players are intercounty standard so availability becomes a problem. At least our facilities and floodlights provide some flexibility. TG4 are contracted to televise the final. That will have to be rescheduled also."
Catering, accommodation, volunteers and local venues had to be cancelled, while there is also the matter of 3,000 programmes.
"We've really been stretching the goodwill of a lot of people," O'Toole continued. "It's very difficult to blame anyone because everyone involved believes they are correct and doing what they feel they have a right to do."
Meanwhile, RTÉ presenter Michael Lyster chaired the first GAA presidential debate between the candidates, Liam O'Neill, Christy Cooney and Seán Fogarty, in Carlow last night.
The Limerick County Board will appeal the two-month suspensions of football manager Mickey Ned O'Sullivan, goalkeeper Seán Kiely and selector Pat O'Shaughnessy, arising from incidents in the National League Division Three defeat to Sligo last Sunday.
The suspensions rule all three out of the five remaining league matches. This was decided at last Monday's CCCC meeting after reviewing referee Derek Fahy's report. Limerick officials were also requested to identify a fourth individual who "pulled back a linesman".
GAA president Nickey Brennan has extended his sympathies to the family of Gary McMahon, an All-Ireland winner with Kerry in 1959 and 1962, who has passed away.
The Offaly referees' strike is to continue this weekend with the officials having voted to withdraw their services for the second weekend in a row. A series of county league matches, and a Féile na nGael under-14 hurling blitz have been postponed.
