TO borrow a phrase from Gregory O’Kane, the GAA “dropped the ball” over not playing the Ulster Club Championship this year.
O’Kane, who guided the Dunloy hurlers to back-to-back county titles last month, said: “There is so much focus and goodwill in the club game. So much exuberance coming out of clubs, all over Ireland. I thought they should have played it to a conclusion.”
The GAA dropped the ball when the Ulster Schools announced defeat in being unable to play this year’s MacRory Cup and McLarnon Cup finals because of the deeply concerning rise in Covid19 cases.
The finals were scheduled to be played on St Patrick’s Day - but once society’s shutters were pulled down to shield from Covid19 they were re-fixed for October.
The return to games was July 17. In theory, that should have given the authorities and all the various stakeholders over two months to find a window to play these two finals.
Wherever there’s a will, there’s a way.
Given the trajectory of Covid19, however, October was always looking pretty bleak, especially with schools being back full-time.
It has been mentioned that Central Council would only allow club games to take place between June and October, which superseded every other authority of the association.
Player insurance was cited as an issue for not proceeding with the schools’ finals. Collective training was another problem. And players preparing for their university careers.
Ah, the obstacles.
Nobody does obstacles better than the GAA rather than clearing the way. This was GAA unwieldiness in action.
We’re living in a pandemic and special dispensation couldn’t be found for these young footballers to fulfil their dreams.
Of course, we all remember back in March and how we thought we’d be out of the woods come October and that there'd potentially be 21,000 socially distant supporters in Croke Park.
But as time passed every virologist and public health expert was telling us that Covid wasn’t going away any time soon.
The GAA dropped the ball sometime in the summer months, and when the Ulster Schools GAA reluctantly released a statement last Tuesday explaining the games would not go ahead and that trophies be shared, it came as a hammer blow to every player and parent.
In a pandemic, you find a way. Schools find a way. Authorities find a way. The GAA, as a whole, finds a way.
It would have been a great triumph for these finals to be have been played.
But a trick was missed.
Covid won. And it was a handy victory for the virus too.
As Gregory O'Kane, Gary Smyth and Michael McShane have already lamented, another crying shame is the GAA not proceeding with the provincial club championships.
All the winning managers of the hurling championships in Derry, Antrim and Down disagreed with the decision to halt the club season at the end of their domestic championships to make way for the inter-county scene.
Given the altruistic, compassionate and central role clubs played - and continue to play - in their communities during the pandemic, 2020 should have been heralded the ‘Year of the Club’, where it takes precedence over the inter-county championships.
Maybe it's because some club championships were so entertaining we didn’t want them to end.
The Antrim SHC was an outstanding example. I travelled to watch the two games between Portaferry and Ballycran in Ballglaget on consecutive Saturdays to decide the winner of the Jeremiah McVeagh Cup.
The pair produced two stunning spectacles.
Some commentators have suggested the quality just isn’t there at club level and that there will always be an appetite to watch the very best players in action on a regular basis.
But the pursuit of excellence at club level has never been more striking.
Who would have said no to watching the likes of Keelan Molloy, ‘Shorty’ Shiels, Seann Elliott, Daithi Sands, Eoghan Sands, Barry Trainor, Cormac O’Doherty, Gerald Bradley or Chrissy McKaigue for another two weeks?
That’s all it would have taken.
Due to a replay being required to separate them, Down hurling boss Ronan Sheehan was deprived of his Portaferry and Ballycran contingent for a further seven days.
“People say, you lost a week’s training but a lot of them got another good match under their belts which is worth more than two sessions with me,” Sheehan reasoned.
You sense too that for many counties, finishing their respective National League campaigns is infinitely more important than a knock-out Championship.
The Antrim footballers and hurlers are aiming for promotion. All that matters in Down is the footballers squeezing through the turnstiles of Division Two for 2021.
Likewise, Armagh’s footballers have their hearts set on breaking into the top flight for the first time under manager Kieran McGeeney.
The Derry footballers still have a chance of promotion. Ditto, the footballers of Sligo and Wicklow.
With an asterisk hanging over this year’s All-Ireland series, it’s the conclusion of the National Leagues that is occupying the thoughts of the vast majority of managers and players.
Of course, when the inter-county Championships swing into gear they’ll provide GAA folk with talking points that will sustain them right through to Christmas – providing the ubiquitous Covid19 doesn’t intervene.
But it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the GAA dropped the ball in not making room for the provincial club championships and insisting the schools' finals be played during the year of all years.
So many great games, great duels and great moments that were never played.
