ST Flannan’s College will not have the chance to defend their 2020 Harty Cup title after it was announced today that the Munster GAA Post Primary Schools board has cancelled the 2020/2021 season.
In a statement, Munster GAA Post Primary Schools said, “In light of recent announcements regarding Level 5 restrictions, Comhairle Iar-Bhunscoileanna na Mumhan has unfortunately made the decision to cancel all outstanding Munster GAA Post Primary Schools competitions for the remainder of the current school year 2020-2021.”
A letter send Post Primary Schools in Munster today (Thursday, February 25) read, “I hope this email finds you well and that you and all your loved ones are safe at this time. Following recent announcements from the Government regarding the extension of level 5 restrictions and also from Cumann Lúthchleas Gael indicating that no on-field activity will be permitted – training or games – until Easter at the earliest, Comhairle Iar-Bhunscoileanna na Mumhan has unfortunately had to make the decision to cancel all outstanding competitions for the remainder of the current school year 2020-2021.
“We know this decision will come as a great disappointment to all those hoping for Post Primary Schools GAA activity but the decision has been made and communicated at this time in order to bring greater clarity to the situation, especially for those students preparing for state examinations.
“Comhairle Iar-Bhunscoileanna na Mumhan would like to thank teachers/coaches for their understanding and acknowledge their efforts in preparing school teams for Munster GAA PPS competitions under the challenging conditions presented by the pandemic this year. We hope teachers/coaches can take comfort in the knowledge that they have played a vital role in supporting students through the current situation,” the letter concluded.
The Ennis school defeated CBC Cork in Mallow on March 1, 2020, to claim their first title since 2005. Winning on a final scoreline of 1-15 to 1-12, the final eventually took place in front of a bumper crowd of 2,947, having been postponed due to inclement weather two weeks previous and then deferred by a day before traffic congestion led to a ten minute delay to the throw-in time.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.