It feels like we dodged a bullet with the rowing back of restrictions to no more than level three.

Dublin and Donegal have been living under that higher level than the rest of the country for the past two and a half weeks but in terms of sport, it means that there can at least still be some activity, albeit with the new precautions in ever-sharper focus.

Swimming Pools and Gyms will remain open but for individual training only so no classes.

In Level Two they were open for all with the necessary cleaning and hygiene elements.

Matches are now restricted to the elite level of field sports and they are back behind closed doors.  All juvenile matches are halted, though non-contact training can carry on in pods of 15 with each sport having its own guidance for volunteers and coaches.

GAA Shut Down

The GAA has taken the stronger step of shutting down all of its matches.  This is in response to sharp criticism over the way in which celebrations have been held at the end of County Finals up and down the country.

A special request was made of all clubs competing at the weekend to be very mindful of the way they were behaving but this was, in some cases at least, ignored in the rush of excitement that a win can bring.

Speaking on last night’s RTÉ News GAA President John Horan revealed that “Dr Glynn and myself had a conversation during the week when he asked me for extra compliance throughout the organisation.  Based on that we sent our communication out to the membership.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get what we required and we are where we are.”

County Finals on Hold

There were six County Finals scheduled for next weekend.  One of then was the Cork Senior Football Final featuring Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s club Nemo Rangers.  There have been pleas from some of the counties to allow the games to go ahead but that is not going to happen now until after the conclusion of the Inter-County Championships due to get underway in just two weeks time.

While Level Three requires us to stay within our own county except in limited circumstances, one of those is the playing of top-flight sport.

Inter-County players on a number of panels have already been given letters confirming they are playing for their county, in case they are stopped on the roads by Gardaí.

The limited crowds of 200 are now no more under level Three so the first games at least in the Championship will be played behind closed doors.

Plans are already in place to stream most if not all of the games that are not being shown live on RTÉ or Sky Sports.

Irish Rugby Boost

The move to Level three instead of Five is a major relief for Irish Rugby which can now still proceed with plans for the Autumn series of internationals, including the conclusion of the Guinness Men’s and the Women’s 6 Nations.

The Energia All Ireland League will continue, as will the Guinness PRO14 and the SSE Airtricity League in soccer.

It may be that the shock of last night’s leaks will serve as a hefty nudge that we all need to do more of the right things to stop the spread of the virus.

This is tighter than we would have wanted but a lot less than what it could have been.