ANTRIM senior football manager Enda McGinley fears that local sport could be hampered by the new COVID19 variant Omicron – but feels society has become more resilient since the global pandemic began.
The emerging new variant is more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant, health experts say, but there are no indications Omicron is a deadlier version.
Half of this weekend's English Premier League fixtures programme has already been wiped out because of COVID outbreaks at various clubs.
Speaking at last night’s eagerly anticipated switch-on of Antrim GAA’s brand new £300,000 floodlights for two pitches at their hub in Dunsilly, McGinley said people have learned to “roll with the punches” as time passes.
When the pandemic struck in March 2020, the GAA and other sporting bodies were forced to call a halt to all activity before they were able to move to playing games behind closed doors and then in front of restricted numbers.
Asked if he envisaged crowds being affected at GAA games again, McGinley said: “Possibly. I suppose you have to see how the numbers go. It seems to be very rapid at the minute.
“Where it goes, everyone is just waiting. I think people have developed an ability to roll with the punches. You have to get on with life and, please God, stay safe. That’s the main thing.
“There have been those who have been badly affected by it. If you’ve got your health and a wee bit of freedom, there is no better place to enjoy that than on a football pitch.”
Calling a squad meeting to get the year up and running was a logistical challenge in itself for the Antrim management team last night.
“The hotel contacted us today to say everybody has to have their COVID vaccination evidence or a negative lateral flow test.
“When you’re dealing with a bunch of 19-to-mid-30-year-olds that’s a difficult thing to organise and certainly not what you’re used to. It’s just another thing for the players to remember, but that’s the era we’re living in. But isn’t it great to have football as a distraction and to be able to enjoy training, something that we weren’t able to do last year.”
Jamie McCann of Kickham’s Creggan is one of several new faces added to the Antrim squad while Niall McKeever, Mark Sweeney, Niall Delargy, Adam Loughran and Paddy Cunningham (retired) have stepped away.
“I have to say I’m very happy with the squad we have,” McGinley commented.
Meanwhile, county treasurer Donal Murphy said the new upgrade at Dunsilly signalled an “exciting new era for Gaelic Games in Antrim” and confirmed they would be opening up the facilities to Antrim’s senior camogs and ladies’ footballers on Sundays.
“We’re all part of the same GAA family and they’re entitled to use the facility and we're happy to do help them,” said Murphy.
Also home to St Comgall’s GAC, fundraising bodies Saffron Business Forum and Club Aontroma made significant financial contributions to see the next phase of the Dunsilly hub come to fruition.
“In the last number of years we would have trained at Jordanstown and although we’ve a good relationship with them that comes with an expense. We’ve now two floodlight pitches, which is fantastic, and will be utilised to its maximum.
“Previously, county managers would have been training at club grounds which is never an ideal set-up. Dunsilly is also a central base for everyone – it’s 15 minutes from Portglenone and 25 minutes from Belfast.”
Antrim GAA hired American firm Musco Lighting to complete the work. Musco also carried out a stadium upgrade on Old Trafford and built the new state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
New signage, dugouts and scoreboards have also been installed at Dunsilly.
