cumman together Horan: GAA grounds will be made available for roll-out of Covid vaccine

John Horan has revealed the GAA will assist in the national roll-out of coronavirus vaccines by providing use of their facilities.

Horan, whose three-year term as GAA president ends next month, insisted the Association's reaction to the pandemic had "served the country well", the last phase of which would be opening their club and county grounds to help accelerate the national vaccination programme.

"That's the last big phase of this in the cycle - GAA clubs and counties facilitating the administering of vaccines," Horan said ahead of a wide-ranging interview in tomorrow's Irish Independent.

"I know doctors who are concerned that their own practices just physically won't be able to handle mass vaccination.

"And I think the GAA, provided the insurance and safety protocols are in place, should be able to assist pharmacies and GPs in the roll-out of the vaccine.

He added: "I think if we can do that, as our final part in this, we'll have served the country well."

Horan was also scathing of those who breached training bans and match-day protocols, insisting they "showed a lack of respect for people's health" in doing so.

The footballers of Cork and Down are set to receive notice of proposed sanctions for alleged training breaches in the coming days, while the Mayo County Board suspended three members of their footballers' management team who gained unauthorised access to last month's All-Ireland final.

Without mentioning any individual or county, Horan said that "those who caused the breaches - it doesn't reflect well on them, at all".

Violations

Stressing that the number of violations was "tiny when you look at the overall amount of activity", Horan added: "They showed a lack of respect for people's health. At the end of the day, people were facing a loss of family members. They were dealing with lifelong changes because they contracted Covid.

"Those who led or allowed those breaches to happen, it's a poor reflection on them - those individuals who organised it, be they managers or whoever - that they decided that activity was worth it, given the risks around it."

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