Travel, schools and public health and safety are all uppermost in the minds of those planning for how to keep the country moving but sport is one of the activities that has as great an impact as most on people’s daily lives.
At club level, most clubs across the east of the country are cancelling training sessions and there is likely to be major disruption to schedules across all sports as the icy grip tightens in what has been the coldest February for five years.
Dublin GAA announced in the last few minutes that all Juvenile games for this weekend have been canncelled.
The Sport for Business Ulster Bank Rugby Club Roadshow scheduled for Galway this evening has been pushed back two weeks and the situation is being monitored for events at the start of next week at Young Munster in Limerick and Cork Con in Cork.
“These events are for volunteers and officials from clubs across the provinces and we need to be mindful of the distances people are travelling,’ said Sport for Business Rob Hartnett. “Clubs being ready to give of their best is a continual evolution though at this time of year it is great to have Alan Quinlan joining us at each of the events to share his thoughts on the NatWest 6 Nations.”
The GAA has contingency plans in place for the full rounds of Allianz Football and Hurling League matches scheduled for this week. No decisions will be taken until Friday when a clearer picture will emerge but it is likely that the Hurling league Finals will be pushed back a week and take place on the same Easter Weekend as the Football Finals.
Horse Racing will be among the hardest hit with this tomorrow’s and Friday’s fixtures at Clonmel and Dundalk already called off and major doubts around Navan and Leopardstown at the weekend.
Last night’s SSE Airtricity matches at Oriel Park in Dundalk and Dalymount Park in Dublin both went ahead, unfortunately for Limerick FC who concede eight goals and then had to face a long journey back to the South West.
The weekend programme of matches look in doubt but again no decisions will be made until closer to the weekend.
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Image credit: Morgan Treacy, Inpho Photography
