One of Gaelic football's top referees David Gough says the success of the GAA’s Cúl Camps helped demonstrate to him that it was safe to resume officiating again.
Six months on since he took charge of his last fixture, the Slane clubman refereed again last weekend in the Meath SFC.
In June, amidst an ever-changing Covid-19 backdrop, the 2019 All-Ireland senior football final referee opted not to make himself available for refereeing duties as long as social distancing was required, or until a vaccine was found.
But following on from last weekend’s revelation that 71,000 children had passed through the Cúl Camps with only one positive Covid-19 case (which was not directly traced back to a camp), Gough made himself available to cover underage games in Meath.
And a year to the day of last year’s All-Ireland drawn final, Gough once again answered the call from Meath officials when they contacted him as a late replacement for another match official who became unavailable to take Sunday’s Dunshaughlin and Kells Meath SFC clash.
Meath’s referees’ administrator Frank Gallogly gave Gough time and space to make his decision and said he would respect it either way. Upon consulting with his team, the Slane official decided to make himself available to help out.
"It was a big call," he says.
"I looked at the figures from the Cúl Camps and they were incredible really," Gough told RTÉ Sport.
"A massive success and I also looked at how schools have resumed as well.
"Based on that I had contacted the administrators in Meath to offer up my services for underage games and took one kids game on Saturday.
"Everything was in order with regard to that game itself and it went well.
"Later, I received a call asking if I would fill in for a colleague and take a senior game on Sunday and I wasn’t sure about it. But after consulting with my team of umpires and linesmen, we decided we would take it."
These figures are incredible. The @officialgaa should be delighted with all that @harr_charlie did in preparation for mid Pandemic Cúl Camps to operate successfully and provide such welcome playing opportunities for GAA children nationwide. https://t.co/DpTmpAz9Zp
— David Gough (@goughd4) August 25, 2020
The well-respected Meath official has a tight-knit unit around him on matchdays with his father Eugene, brother Stephen, his uncle, Terry, and cousin Dean making up his umpiring team since he started out many years ago.
Due to lockdown and injury, Gough had only officiated in four games in the past 12 months and he and his team were looking forward to getting back in action.
He says he thoroughly enjoyed the decision to resume refereeing duties.
"From talking to my refereeing colleagues over the past few weeks I had seen and heard of all the hard work they put into making sure everything ran smoothly so we ourselves left nothing to chance when going back," he says,
"We completed the return to play questionnaires and forms on Saturday night and my team and I all drove separately to the game as we were coming from five different households. "
Gough and his fellow officials arrived already togged out and took eight individual pouches from the boot of Eugene’s car.
"There were eight different microphone sets, everyone took their own pouch and we wired up. There were antiseptic wipes and hand sanitisers and the lads wiped down the umpires’ flags before the game.
"The only thing I had to worry about handling was the teamsheet and I guess that’s one aspect that can probably be dealt with better going forward by using a clipboard, signing, taking a picture of the sheet and emailing in to the county board rather than everyone handling the sheet.
"In the 70 minutes, just one player came to me to contest a decision and when the game finished there was no shaking hands, we were all very careful and made our own way home.
"As I say, over the past few weeks, I had listened to all of my refereeing colleagues and I found for myself last Sunday that it was do-able for sure.
"But that said we really did everything to the nth degree. We took all the necessary precautions and were totally observant throughout. We got through with no contact from anyone and it was hugely enjoyable. The buzz from being back in a game was great."
Having initially expressed strong concern about taking games within a pandemic, returning was not a decision that Gough took lightly.
But he points out that a lot more is known about the virus at this stage.
"I had listened to the advice of deputy chief medical officer Ronan Glynn who stated that GAA pitches and matches – and what happens on the pitch are low risk environments and I was also aware that profile of disease in Meath is quite low so that helped in reaching a decision."
For now, he is unsure of what lies ahead for him as autumn looms and the prospect of a 2020 inter-county series remains a live one.
"I don’t know," Gough states.
"I just made the decision to go back and take kids games in Meath and when the opportunity landed to take a senior game, I consulted with everyone before we took it.
"I guess I saw for myself that getting through games safely in the current environment can be done. All I know for certain is that it was great to be back after six months out of it."
