The GAA did not cause the second wave of Covid-19. In the last week there have been a record number of cases in Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Few or no county finals have been played in these countries.
One is to blame for the fact that the virus follows the same pattern in Ireland as it does in almost all parts of Europe. Not the GAA, not the young people at house parties, not the Spanish Arch students, not the hipsters on South William Street, not the Oliver Bond Flats ravers, not the Berlin bartender, the American tourists in MAGA hats, Black Lives Matter protesters, fascist anti-mask maskers, people who go to their vacation homes, people who went to Cheltenham, golfers, meat moguls, politicians, health administrators or anyone else who has been in the goat chair expiatory since the beginning of the pandemic.
Covid-19 is simply a force of nature.
It is difficult to accept, but the terrible truth is that we cannot do much more than stop the spread of the virus. The idea that Ireland can emulate dictatorships like China or Vietnam, which have long experience in controlling their population to an extent unthinkable in democratic countries, or a uniquely isolated nation like New Zealand, is a fantasy.
So is the idea that we could copy a “flat out and let the old folks take a chance” approach, which is not really what is happening in Sweden anyway. Hopes that a vaccine or herd immunity are imminent are simply wishful thinking. There is no practical way out of this.
The desire to find someone to blame is perhaps understandable. However, it is beyond ridiculous to suggest that some post-match celebrations, silly as they may be, are the main drivers of a surge that simply reflects a trend across the continent.
This hasn’t stopped a sizeable cohort from using the GAA as a punching bag in the past week. It’s a terrible pity. Because few organizations have had the same profoundly benign effect on Irish society as GAA. He has been a provider of recreation and enjoyment for young and old, a creator and enhancer of community spirit, an incomparable machine for the production of joy that has done more to improve the mental and physical health of the nation than a hundred government campaigns. could have.
It has been surprising to see it portrayed in some sectors as a kind of malignant fifth column. And also deeply hurtful to the many people who have donated countless hours of their unpaid lives to GAA in the belief that by doing so they are making their country a better place. The injustice has been staggering.
Those who committed high-profile disciplinary infractions are a minority. If not, we would know everything in this great era of self-surveillance. Players deserve better than being suddenly condemned as outcasts. The GAA deserves better.
Instead, these violations have been filed as an indictment against GAA as a whole. The decision to play the inter-county championships has been portrayed as an act of selfishness on the part of an organization that disregards the general public good.
Could not be farther from the truth. The GAA’s motivation for holding the championships is altruistic. In fact, you can lose money doing so. But he does so because he believes this will boost the morale of the nation.
The Taoiseach spoke in those terms about the championships not long ago. The GAA was led to believe that holding the contest was part of its national duty, and the GAA has always taken that duty very seriously.
His reward has not been just to be translated by critics acting in bad faith, but to hear Leo Varadkar declare Thursday that there will be no championships below Level 5. Whatever the hits and misses of this, the current position of Nphet was that championships would be allowed below level 5.
If this has changed, Nphet would have informed the GAA and the public. Instead, Varadkar unilaterally declared a policy change on radio waves for his own political gain. In doing so, he stabbed the GAA in the back. It wasn’t about leadership, but the grossest kind of opportunism.
The possibility of further betrayal by politicians who believe there is mileage in attacking GAA means that the association could also cancel the championships. The good is being removed from that altruistic gesture.
But Croke Park may be better off taking the lead from Nphet. If the championships pose a danger to public health, they should be canceled. If they don’t, there is no reason why they shouldn’t move on. Let the people who know these things make the call.
It has been a bad week for the GAA. But it has been a much worse week for Ireland. Because if people are going to turn against the most popular sports corps in the country in the blink of an eye, it means that no one is immune from suddenly becoming a national scapegoat.
Things are getting toxic and it’s time to scream out loud. If we don’t, this winter will soon go from difficult to unbearable.
