Jacqui Hurley is still busy broadcasting on RTÉ Sport in a necessarily adjusted manner these days, but she is no less conscious of "how important sport is to us all and how much we all look forward to a day when it can return."
"A few weeks in and I think we're all still getting used to this new reality. At first we treated it a bit like a holiday in our house with all of us at home, but we’ve knuckled down into a bit of a routine now. We have found it challenging with two small children and both of us working, but like so many other families in this situation, we’re getting on with it and thankful to be able to do it.
"We stopped doing sports bulletins for the news a few weeks ago, but we’re all still working, with many from our sports desk being redeployed to the newsroom. I’ve been balancing my time between covering sports stories (as distinct from bulletins) for news, doing voice-overs for our RTE Classics series.
"I've also been presenting Sunday Sport, which thankfully is back in the schedule on RTE Radio One. It may be a long time before any live sport returns, but I think having some form of sport, as an outlet for people, has been really positive. If anything, I think it’s shown us how important sport is to us all and how much we all look forward to a day when it can return.
"When I’m not working, I’m spending my time home schooling and trying to be Mary Fitzgerald 'Make and Do’ - though not always with the same success rate! We’ve kept to a routine of doing work in the morning and playing in the afternoon. .
"Luke is six and Lily is nearly three. We bought a trampoline for the kids just before the restrictions and despite the five hours of our lives we lost putting it together, its been a saviour. I say we bought it for the kids, but in truth, I’ve spent a fair bit of time in it myself, still trying to master that flip.
"Whatever exercise I’m not getting on the trampoline, I’m lucky that my gym are running live classes, which has been great. My basketball season ended so abruptly when sport came to a halt, so it’s nice to have some exercise to look forward to. It’s great to clear the head and its necessary too, because with all of us at home, there’s some amount of snacking going on.
"Music is another passion of mine and a group of my friends have started a music club, where we listen to an album a day and share thoughts on it over whats app. We’ve had some fairly eclectic choices from Oasis, Paolo Nutini, Spice Girls, Elton John, Alanis Morissette, David Bowie and lots more besides, but it’s been great.
"It’s rare in normal times, that I would sit and listen to a whole album anymore, so it’s been a nice change of pace to just stick it on in the background and potter away. The kids are loving the variety too… I’m calling it part of their ‘cultural education’!
"We’ve been binge watching The Last Dance, on Netflix, about the Chicago Bulls team of the 90s, which I’m loving. I finally got around to watching the series adaptations of my favourite author, Harlan Coben’s books The Stranger and Safe, and would highly recommend both if you like crime dramas. I’m also currently reading Sally Rooney’s Normal People and Sibeal Hodge’s Their Last Breath.
"The extra time at home has definitely given us perspective - the one thing we keep telling ourselves is "this too shall pass" - and it will. In the meantime, stay safe everyone!"
