Gaelic Games: Next weekend's national fixtures have been called off in response to the foot-and-mouth crisis, writes Sean Moran. The decision was taken by the Games Administration Committee (GAC) after consultation between GAA president Sean McCague, director general Liam Mulvihill and other senior officials.
A decision on the St Patrick's Day club finals, less than a fortnight away, is expected this week. After last weekend's wipeout of matches all around the country, the postponement of another Sunday's programme was expected.
This time, the football league bears the brunt of the decision, losing a whole series just as the hurling equivalent did last week. Likewise the Fitzgibbon Cup for third-level colleges' hurling goes the same way as its football counterpart, the Sigerson, which was called off last week. All national meetings scheduled for this week are also cancelled.
The club finals must now be in doubt. For a start, next weekend's postponements mean that the remaining All-Ireland semi-final, the hurling replay between Graigue-Ballycallan and Sixmile bridge, cannot be resolved before St Patrick's Day. Although there is a provisional decision to stage that replay as a double bill with the football final between Nemo Rangers and Crossmolina, the St Patrick's Day date is unlikely to survive given the Dublin parade has already been postponed.
It has been revealed that the GAC are anxious to complete the club championships as soon as possible rather than, as had been previously speculated, postpone them to the autumn. Accordingly, early dates will be found for the completion of the remaining three matches as soon as restrictions are relaxed.
There is little chance that the National Leagues can be completed at this stage. There are now two series of matches outstanding and only one free Sunday. Even allowing for a relatively early all clear, the quarantine period for cross-Border counties will presumably have to be longer given the outbreak in south Armagh. In such circumstances, the GAC will find it impossible to complete the competition.
Although it has not been conceded publicly, consideration will be given to devising some way of playing out a couple of league matches without completing the fixture schedule. It is also believed that the GAC's preference will be to play the full football championship rather than abandon the additional matches involved in the new qualifier series in order to accommodate the leagues.
