Leitrim chairman Enda Stenson believes that GAA president John Horan softened his stance on return-to-play on foot of expert advice.
Horan gave a grim outlook on the prospect of Gaelic games activity resuming on a large scale this year when appearing on RTE’s opening Sunday Game show of the season on May 10, though within a few weeks the mood music from Croke Park was more upbeat.
It culminated in the publication of a 15-page roadmap for resumption of training and games last Friday, with competitive club action set to restart at the end of next month.
Speaking to Shannonside Northern Sound, Stenson said: “We did have meetings and John Horan’s stance was discussed at the meetings. We were at the height of the pandemic at that stage.
“I think things accelerated in the meantime, things didn’t seem as dark as they had been at that time.
“With the proper discussions from the health people, I think John Horan kind of relaxed his position a bit, it was kind of outlined where the safety aspect could come into this.
“If people can still observe the proper social distancing, the washing of the hands, the disinfection of everything, I cannot see and I don’t think John Horan at this stage can see where an issue can arise.
“I can still understand where John Horan was coming from in the middle of this pandemic, when death numbers were very high.
“People didn’t want to be responsible for bringing that onto any family member in their club,” Stenson added.
