The Ulster Council of the GAA is determined to complete this year's provincial SFC, despite new cases of foot and mouth, secretary Danny Murphy confirmed yesterday. Counties Tyrone and Armagh have been excluded from inter-county activity for 30 days. Tyrone were due to defend their provincial and under-21 titles, meaning that Fermanagh will now play either Limerick or Cork on April 28. They also had to relinquish their NFL semi-final place. The under-21 final will be played whenever possible.
The Ulster Council will meet today to discuss the options available for the senior championship, given that there is little flexibility in the fixtures. With the Derry – Antrim and Tyrone – Armagh games scheduled for May 13 and 20 called off, five matches will have to be played in three weeks. June 3 is the deadline in order to be ready for the first round qualifier on June 9.
Tyrone county secretary Dominic McCaughey has written to Croke Park to request the relaxation of foot and mouth restrictions, in an attempt to save their under-21 football title. "We have asked Management to review policy," said Mr McCaughey. We see two possibilities: one, whether a county could participate without its players in the exclusion zone, and two, if that can't be revised, to look at deferring dates for the under-21 and National Football League semi-finals." He sees anomalies in the foot and mouth regulations which were "not fully thought through". "A neighbouring county can play without players from the exclusion zone, but the county in question can't play at all despite the fact they might have fewer players in that same exclusion zone. Most of the clubs in the neighbouring county might be closer to the exclusion zone than most of the clubs in the county affected," he said.
GAA foot and mouth restrictions which state that any county with an outbreak of the disease could not field a team for 30 days, have already affected London, Armagh, Louth and, most recently, Antrim and Tyrone, who have all had to drop out of the league.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
