Laois - Bits & Pieces

[Zooming around]

Nothing on this board for a month. Easy know the schools are off.

[redsetanta]

Fantastic achievement by Cahir Healy over the weekend. What an example this man is to the GAA and the community as a whole.

[redsetanta]

Anyone want to have a go at the Laois 'Mount Rushmore' which Off the Ball are doing for every county.

Pat Critchley, Ann Keenan Buckley, Tony Byrne - footballer played for Ireland and had a career at Millwall and Southampton, TJ Doheny.

[Gmac]

Anyone want to have a go at the Laois 'Mount Rushmore' which Off the Ball are doing for every county.

Pat Critchley, Ann Keenan Buckley, Tony Byrne - footballer played for Ireland and had a career at Millwall and Southampton, TJ Doheny.

tommy Murphy

[SpeculativeEffort]

Can we claim Bob O Keeffe?

[SCFC]

Anyone want to have a go at the Laois 'Mount Rushmore' which Off the Ball are doing for every county.

Pat Critchley, Ann Keenan Buckley, Tony Byrne - footballer played for Ireland and had a career at Millwall and Southampton, TJ Doheny.

I think Zack might make it. He has had a super career at the top level of his sport.

[Zooming around]

Anyone want to have a go at the Laois 'Mount Rushmore' which Off the Ball are doing for every county.

Pat Critchley, Ann Keenan Buckley, Tony Byrne - footballer played for Ireland and had a career at Millwall and Southampton, TJ Doheny.

Willy Hyland and Ross Munnelly have to be right up there too along with Cheddar, Niall Handy and Jack Nolan

[The PRO]

Alison Miller might be in with a shout.
I would go with Tommy Murphy, Zack Tuohy, Pat Critchley and either Anne Keenan Buckley or Alison Miller.

[Giovanni]

Sue Ramsbottom? Was reminded of how good she really was a couple of weeks ago on TG4. They go on about Cora Staunton but I think she was better.

[clonadmad]

Open letter from Park Chairman to Laois CB and Croke Park

https://twitter.com/parkratheniska/status/1268515342055280641?s=21

Fair fucks to him for using his office to say what we are all thinking

Attn: Peter and all GAA administrators,

     Peter, we have spoken in past weeks and I expressed my views regarding the reopening of the GAA grounds. Further time has passed whereby I feel the need to write to you and the GAA leadership in general. The GAA 'lock out' has gone on long enough. 

COVID19 has obviously had a huge impact on all our lives and I am very concerned regarding the impact on people in general and in this case GAA people and clubs. As we know the GAA is rooted in communities across Ireland and GAA people have been doing their best to help in any way possible in their local areas. However, regretfully, I feel in other ways, the GAA is not helping enough.

The national GAA 'lock out' closing gates of all GAA clubs across the country is too draconian in my view and fails the people that we pride ourselves in caring for. It fails in a number of ways:

1.   The GAA is currently not functioning as a result. Interaction, young and old, interest in our sport is paused and connection with the community waning.

2.   Physical Wellbeing: GAA and sport is about exercising, testing yourself and staying physically fit. The closing of clubs sends out the message this isn't important currently.

3.   Mental wellbeing: It's obvious the national COVID19 lockdown is having a huge impact on mental health. For the vulnerable, mentally fragile at this time, locking the gates fails these members. I think of the quiet fella that just loves to smack the Sliotar off the hurling wall on his own and let it all out. Or the father that can only get some life from his son/daughter by going to the pitch to kick a few balls. I could go on and on.

4.   Safety: Referring back to point two, physical exercise. The 'lock out' has resulted in new road exercise. In my case, I have 3 kids and to get them to do any exercise we take to the local roads on the bikes. Trying to keep this fresh within 5km, using different routes if possible is tricky. I see many, many other locals doing similar things. While this is good, it's now silage season and the roads can be dangerous places. Ending the 'lock out' will allow families to return to off road activity and reduce the road safety issues.

5.   The elderly. I can't imagine the isolation of not meeting anyone for a full day or a number of days. Here I think of the local bachelor/widower that loves to drive into the club, park on the grass bank and watch any game that's on or training session. He might make it as far as lying against the pitch side fence. I noticed two such elderly local members 'hanging' in their cars at the statue of Mary in the village. We need to support these people better.

6.   Participation: I would have a great fear that kids/adult players who are lukewarm about sport or parents who are lukewarm about driving their kids everywhere will get out of the habit of the GAA and sport in general. The loss to the Association may only felt in the coming years, not just 2020. The loss to the individuals and society might be much greater in terms of a lack of sport in people's lives. I won't even get into girls participation in sport. I have two girls and I would worry about their interest level to return to GAA. The GAA has approx. 2,200 clubs in Ireland. If each club averages 8 teams across all ages. If each team in every club was to lose 3 players in 2020. That's over 50,000 players lost! If like in many clubs those 3 players make numbers at for example U15 too tight to make a minor team next year, the club may lose a team. You get my point, which I don't believe is too far fetched

7.   Financial: Not the main concern of my letter but a huge area also.     

I could go on. I see golf clubs now reopened and that is good. However, I can see the odd occasion on every round where players are rooting in the trees for a ball and social distancing is compromised, or on the green by the flag. None of this will be perfect, and the GAA should not expect to be either.

People are showing compliance out on the public road outside the grounds, I have no reason to doubt it won't be the same inside. There will be some exceptions, some urban clubs will open slower/differently, some members in every club will stay away for a bit longer due to personal/family health situations. But let these be understood exceptions. 

I am not calling for matches to return at this time, not full time training, just to open again to our members and community. Let the walkers return, let the Kelly's puck around in one goal, the Baileys kick around at the other goals. Let the local bachelor sit on the grass bank and look at what's going on, even if that is very little. The GAA need to step up now, end the 'lock out' and open our arms once again to our communities.

Le mise,

John Kelly

Chairman Park Ratheniska GAA

[Giovanni]

It's not easy for GAA administrators to make these calls when there are such vastly different messages coming from experts on such simple things as whether you should wear a mask and whether the water needs to be warm when you're washing your hands. I do understand why there was a safety first approach.

On the other hand, I think this letter really sums up all the downsides and there is no question that there are several. Well done to him.

[The PRO]

It's a bit long winded but knowing the lad in question I've know doubt it's from the heart.
Whether throwing it out in the open like that will make any difference, I doubt it.
Looks like we are going to have a very truncated club season and for a dual club like Park R, I can only imagine how difficult it will be.

[SCFC]

Four weeks training for a knockout club championship?
I know these are exceptional times but that's a fierce slap in the face for club players. I would argue that inter county (2-3% of the players) should start first. I've heard Woolly make the same point on his podcast.

[Keyser Söze]

I'm sure John Kelly (and others) are well intentioned. I would however caution people to be careful what they wish for. People tend to bend rules and push things to the breaking point and beyond, it's in our nature.

Officer roles in GAA clubs are tough gigs at the best of times. Some of what I have read over the past few days (temperature checks, keeping detailed records of attendees, sanitising equipment after training etc) puts huge strain on these same people.
I'd question the morality of asking well intentioned volunteers to supervise/control all of this. There are large numbers of players in every club living in the same household as elderly parents/grandparents, people with immunodeficiencies, and vulnerable people in general. With ever widening circles of interaction I would be very fearful of how this could end.
I certainly wouldn't like to be the person manning a gate at the local club if a hub of cases developed in the locality.

Say what you want about the GAA at central level, their blanket ban protected vulnerable people and protected volunteers who would have come under undue pressure to relent and open the gates/turn a blind eye.
Please God there are no unintended consequences out of this, but I'd be genuinely fearful.

It's unlikely that many players will decide its unsafe to return, given how community spirit and local pride rules in the GAA. When you multiply 30 guys x their workplaces x their work colleagues homes & social circles x their work colleagues' families' social circles & recreation places etc etc there is an ever expanding series of circles there, almost like a giant Venn diagram.
It really is something you can't control. Given the absence of alternatives & the likely lack of student employment this summer, GAA pitches could slowly become the central gathering places for young people, especially in rural areas. Even if this is managed/avoided, the same people will simply meet up in a different location (to the same affect).

The best of luck to everyone with the return to action. I believe the GAA were correct, you can't ask volunteers to manage a situation like we had (or have??). The likes of Colm
O' Rourke (who would have been acutely aware of the difficulties schools were/are facing) should have known better and if he was determined to use his public profile to get involved in this debate, he should have used it more responsibly.
I just hope that this decision is not something that we look back on with regret. Even one club having to proceed with the implication that they were responsible for/central to any local outbreak is too heavy a price to pay for a couple of months of games (in my opinion).

Best of luck to everyone. Stay safe & mind each other.

[Zooming around]

Former Leinster GAA coach Lester Ryan was tragically killed at the weekend. He served as a selector/administrator with our Senior Hurling team for a year.