Covid-19 has dominated every aspect of our lives for the last three months and beyond but it does not mean that other serious issues on a range of fronts have simply gone away.
Sectarianism is seldom far from the surface in parts of Belfast and elsewhere, often at this time of year, and its dark shadow has sadly appeared again in recent days.
The Grove playing fields in north Belfast is a publicly owned shared space which is open to all, and has been a hugely important facility for both adults and children during the pandemic, but acts of intimidation against anyone vaguely connected to the GAA have been escalating there over the last week.
It needs to be stressed that no section of our divided society has a monopoly on bigotry, and people from all backgrounds have been the victims of sporadic and entirely unacceptable incidents in the north of the city, but it is the level of organisation involved at the Grove which is disturbing.
Firstly threatening banners targeting GAA members appeared at the park, then a group of up to 50 men assembled there and ordered anyone wearing particular jerseys to leave immediately, and a series of provocative social media messages have followed.
The playing fields should be open to all sports, but what makes the episodes at the Grove even more sinister is that it does not have GAA pitches and there is no evidence that any form of organised Gaelic games activity has ever taken place there.
Loyalist elements have instead aggressively objected to individuals attending soccer training sessions while wearing GAA or Glasgow Celtic tops or even casually pucking a hurling ball across the grass.
This represents blatant sectarianism, and it is essential that it is firmly rejected by community leaders and elected representatives, but sadly some have remained silent and others have offered bland statements suggesting that both sides somehow share equal blame.
It would be appropriate if senior politicians from all the main parties made it clear that everyone is welcome at the Grove playing fields, regardless of their personal sporting affiliations.
There will also be a firm expectation that the police will comprehensively investigate all the developments there over the last fortnight and ensure that those who have broken the law are brought before the courts.
