Football

New Covid cases 'a warning to us all' says Down County Board chairman Jack Devaney

St Colm's, Drum was one of 10 clubs that closed its doors temporarily last week following a positive Covid-19 test at nearby St Mary's, Banagher. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
St Colm's, Drum was one of 10 clubs that closed its doors temporarily last week following a positive Covid-19 test at nearby St Mary's, Banagher. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin St Colm's, Drum was one of 10 clubs that closed its doors temporarily last week following a positive Covid-19 test at nearby St Mary's, Banagher. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

THE suspension of activities in two more Ulster GAA clubs is “a warning to us all” that the threat of Covid-19 still looms large on the horizon, according to Down County Board chairman Jack Devaney.

Killeavy became the first Armagh club to report a player had tested positive while Longstone become the second club in Down, following on from Atticall last week.

Earlier this week, Tyrone clubs Eglish and Aghaloo halted their action after an Eglish player tested positive, with 10 Derry clubs having taken similar action because of a Covid-19 cluster in the Limavady area the week previous.

Longstone have opted to cancel all games and training until Monday, with a statement released on Wednesday evening saying “a member of the senior panel has tested positive for Covid-19 today".

"The member has taken all the appropriate actions as advised by the Public Health Agency,” it continued.

"All relevant persons have been advised and the public health agency will contact any club member if they deem it necessary to do so.

“This is an unfortunate reminder that this virus remains a threat to our community, so we ask you to continue to respect the protocols put in place to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Down chairman Devaney insisted the impact on fixtures a result of Longstone’s Division 2A clash with Darragh Cross, scheduled to take place tonight, “isn’t significant at the moment”.

However, with the county championships set to get under way in three weeks, on August 13, Devaney admits there is “no certainty” around competitions that have been planned.

“Because they’re league fixtures, and we have structured the league to be played before and after Championship, it’s not that big an issue in terms of rescheduling,” said the Bredagh clubman.

“Obviously we’ll have to determine if something happens within championship, and it may necessitate a club or a team having to be stood down for a number of days or a week, what we do in that case Our championship runs from one weekend into another over six weekends.

“As I said after the first case we had in Down, it won’t be the last one and this one won’t be the last one either. You just have to take it as it comes really.

“For the most part, the clubs involved won’t have that much to worry about and these kind of things will be dealt with in a couple of days. However, it does still hold out a warning to us all in relation to this.

“Even though we planned ahead for competitions, there’s just no certainty around them.”

Killeavy, meanwhile, have suspended their GAA activity until further notice.

"We have no option but to shut down all club activities and the gates of the club will be locked from this afternoon," said club chairman Micheal O'Neill.

"Public health has been informed and they will now be carrying out a test and trace operation. We wish our player well and hope for a full and speedy recovery."

Competitive GAA action resumed last weekend for the first time since March as club action started again.

Fixtures in the Republic of Ireland are allowed up to 200 people, which includes players, coaching staff, media and stewards, however matches in the North remain behind closed doors.