Shane Stapleton and Michael Verney talk about their first official training GAA training session since the outbreak of Covid-19.
It feels as if it has been a long time in the making, and yet the GAA’s return to play came out of nowhere too.
Since games activities were halted back in March, there were times where it felt as though there would be no more hurling or Gaelic football in 2020.
Some pundits even called for the association to give people certainty in their lives by scrapping the competitions for the season. It felt shortsighted then, and it feels that way now.
Of course, this is no time to get cocky because we don’t know what the future will hold, nor do we know if public health advice will change in the coming weeks.
What we do know is that huge swathes of GAA clubs returned to training today (June 24), and among them were Shane Stapleton and Micahel Verney with Cuala and Birr respectively.
Both men completed the GAA/LGFA/Camogie Covid-19 Club Education eLearning module — as is mandatory — before taking to the field.
Stapleton described his first collective session back in glowing terms: “you feel like you can work towards something again”.
Verney, from the comfort of his car after a session at St Brendan’s Park, added that it was “a bit weird to be back”.
Click play on the video above to get their thoughts on that first evening back in action, and comment below with your thoughts.
Note: All Covid Supervisors/Club Officers, Players/Team Personnel, and the Parents/Guardians of Underage Players must also complete the module prior to the first occasion that they return to their club.
Go HERE to access the GAA’s Covid-19 Club Education eLearning Module.
Anyone who has completed it already is encouraged to keep up-to-date with the latest advice from the Government and the Safe Return Guidelines for Gaelic Games available at learning.gaa.ie/covid19.
