Replying To zinny:  "The GAA announced a suspension of all activities after the government had said that all indoor events greater than 100 and outdoor greater than 500 be cancelled. This was in my view the best thing that they did. However the cynic in me would say it was the only thing they could do as there was no way that they could ensure that this happened at a 500 limit, in addition there were some big inter-county league games coming up and they would lose all the gate.
After that everything went into a lockdown and nothing really happened until Leo went on the Late Late and said he could see the inter country championship being played in July but behind closed doors. Rather than read the signals from the government on the potential easing of the lockdown and focus on a return to play, Horan doubled down and said he couldn't see how games could be played with social distancing in place and all GAA grounds and activities would remain closed until July 20th.
This was also the start of the club v county debate as the press release said counties were asked in the interest of players to suspend training until further notice. This ended up in a complete debacle, was it a rule or not? if it was it was a rule without any sanction and who asked for it anyway. Suddenly club games would start before inter county regardless of if that made sense (in my view it didn't) or would work with government guidelines - having inter county games behind closed doors is very different to thousands of club games.
Yet while the government had released a timeline of the opening of the country the GAA were fixed with a date of July 20 well beyond what the guidelines were and the reason for this - they were being very cautious and putting health and safety first. In the same press release they announced a Covid Advisory group that did not contain one person that was an expert on infectious diseases.
Could it be that while the lockdown was on the GAA actually did no planning for return to play and Horans statements were the confirmation of this? So much for a professional setup - their initial advisory group was made up of GPs and specialists in sports medicine, just because you are a doctor it doesn't mean you understand this virus.
Then we enter into the phases of the GAA where it should be described as, lets pretend we never said that, lets make this all about the club vs county and we will be on the side of the club so that we can distract from the fact we were caught with out trousers down on return to play. Not once has the GAA ever explained its stance other than to say we have to be more conservative then the government. They tried to get the health authorities to say if playing GAA was casual or close contact, despite Horan saying all along it was close contact.
Which brings us to last weekend, (which everyone should be reminded that in the revised phase 3 there would always have been a 200 limit) where Horan goes on the national airwaves to say that the government should give the GAA a blanket approval for 500 per game. Did he forget that the GAA had shut things down completely when it was 500 a game? Was the GAA not the organization that said that they would not open up in the same timeframe as the government allowed, as they were being more conservative and thinking of everyone's safety. The GAA could have went with proposals like Wexford CB did and seek to work with the government on how they could get more than 200 into the bigger stadiums but no, lets hit the airwaves and demand that we have 500 for all games. A sure chance of success.
I don't blame the GAA for being unprepared for the epidemic, what I do blame them for was not working with the government to understand what the end game was and not reacting and creating a coherent return to play plan. As the paid head of the GAA, Horan has to take responsibility for that."

Replying To Trump2020:  "Where did this 200 and 500 limit come from? I only ask because I just watched Liverpool vs Chelsea and there was no one in the stands so why even bother with 200 or 500 at all?"

Replying To carlovia:  "The 200 allowed is phase 3 of the government plan and 500 is phase 4.

As the cases have recently increased the move to phase 4 has been delayed."

Replying To Lockjaw:  "Question - if 500 are permitted for county games, would any of you be all that bothered about going assuming you could get a ticket?

I don't think I would to be honest."

Replying To Trump2020:  "I'd go. Just wear a mask while you're around people waiting to get in."

Replying To Lockjaw:  "Question - if 500 are permitted for county games, would any of you be all that bothered about going assuming you could get a ticket?

I don't think I would to be honest."

Replying To Breezy:  "Definitively. I dont see any danger for a spectator if gel and masks are being used"

Replying To Lockjaw:  "But I'm not even talking in terms of the health factor, which is vital obviously.

Ok it's great to see games up close. You see things live that you simply can't on TV. Off the ball runs, who is picking up who etc.

But in terms of atmosphere and all that. You'd most likely be standing/sitting on your own, too far way to have a chat with other supporters and most likely be cold and wet in the process.

Each to their own and that, but I don't think I'd be in a major panic to attend Championship games with the inevitable restrictions in place."

Replying To GreenandRed:  "At least you can stay longer than an hour and 3/4 and don't have to have a meal to watch the match. The atmosphere sounds subdued alright but the knovmckout nature should make for some good contests."

Replying To Lockjaw:  "True. Being stuck at home isn't great and the do-or-die nature of the games should add a bit of spice to proceedings. I wonder how they're planning of dividing up the tickets?"

Replying To Lockjaw:  "But I'm not even talking in terms of the health factor, which is vital obviously.

Ok it's great to see games up close. You see things live that you simply can't on TV. Off the ball runs, who is picking up who etc.

But in terms of atmosphere and all that. You'd most likely be standing/sitting on your own, too far way to have a chat with other supporters and most likely be cold and wet in the process.

Each to their own and that, but I don't think I'd be in a major panic to attend Championship games with the inevitable restrictions in place."

Replying To Lockjaw:  "But I'm not even talking in terms of the health factor, which is vital obviously.

Ok it's great to see games up close. You see things live that you simply can't on TV. Off the ball runs, who is picking up who etc.

But in terms of atmosphere and all that. You'd most likely be standing/sitting on your own, too far way to have a chat with other supporters and most likely be cold and wet in the process.

Each to their own and that, but I don't think I'd be in a major panic to attend Championship games with the inevitable restrictions in place."

Replying To carlovia:  "The 200 allowed is phase 3 of the government plan and 500 is phase 4.

As the cases have recently increased the move to phase 4 has been delayed."

Replying To FootblockREF:  "From what I can recall, every club has to have a capacity estimate on their insurance form. You take this number and and take (say) 25% and that should be the number allowed in. This makes it tailored to the ground instead of the cruder "one size fits all" plan. Look at that game in Limerick last night. Joke of a crowd."

Replying To Trump2020:  "I see the baseball in the USA has no fans at the games. I wonder if the GAA would be ok with Zero fans for matches."

Replying To suckvalleypaddy:  "That country is a bad example. USA has no national strategy to combat the virus. 50 states doing there own thang.
Its all about money."