Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he will not be attending this weekend's Connacht football final when his home county of Mayo faces defending champion Roscommon.
The Roscommon Hospital Action Committee is expected to stage a peaceful protest before Sunday's match in Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon to highlight its opposition to the closure of the emergency department at the county hospital.
Speaking to reporters in Galway, Mr Kenny broke into Irish to explain that he intended to visit his children who were at Irish college in the Gaeltacht, and who he had not seen for three weeks. “Anyway I never mix… I always go to matches to enjoy them,” he said.
“Family first, sport second,” he added in English.
The Roscommon Hospital Action Committee has said its protest at Sunday’s football final will be peaceful, and it is not intended to disrupt the match in any way.
The committee has pledged to continue its campaign to have the decision to close the emergency department reversed.
Earlier this week, it emerged that both Mr Kenny and Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore had given commitments when in opposition during the general election campaign to maintain services at Roscommon.
Minister for Health James Reilly also gave a written commitment to retain and develop services at Roscommon before the general election.