On this day three years ago the Tipperary hurlers arrived at Shannon Airport to fly out for a warm-weather training camp in Spain. But the world was about to stop spinning.
When they returned to Ireland five days later, Tipperary were one of the country’s first high-profile sports teams required to restrict their movements, a phrase that was to enter our daily lexicon, eventually trumped by the loathed “self-isolate”.
Tipp played Galway in a National Hurling League match in Salthill on Sunday, March 8th 2020, and flew out the following morning to Spain. The training camp in Campoamor near Alicante had been planned months in advance.
But as Covid-19 spread across continental Europe, concerns grew about international travel and in the days before the trip there were discussions about possibly cancelling. However, after consulting with numerous relevant bodies, Tipp decided to go.
“We were very close to pulling late on,” recalls Liam Sheedy, the Tipperary manager at the time.
“But we went, and then the whole thing started to shift dramatically as the week was going on. It was a really tough time.”
Few could have predicted how rapidly the landscape would change. As cases continued to increase, especially in Italy and Spain, various European governments started to consider limiting the movement of people and curtailing international travel.
With the situation changing daily, it soon became evident the most important outcome of the camp would be just to get everybody home.
“We were in our own little bubble over there,” adds Sheedy. “We had our own hotel, there were no occupants, so we had it all to ourselves, we were safe.
“Then, as the news was breaking, we were hearing about what was happening. The news broke that Spain was on the list, and we were still there, I said, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be happening.’ There were frantic moves to see how quickly we could get home at that stage.
“We were trying to make sure everybody was safe, and getting everybody home, they were the priorities. We were safe, but the optics of us being away when this was happening was not good.”
On Thursday, March 12th, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar – who himself was in Washington at the time – called a press conference.
“Good morning,” he began. “I need to speak to you about coronavirus and Covid-19.”
By the time he finished, our lives had changed.
Within hours of the Government announcing those first raft of measures, several sporting bodies – including the GAA – declared the shutters would be coming down on their activities.
A statement read: “In light of this morning’s Government announcement, the GAA, An Cumann Camógaíochta and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association have decided to suspend all activity at club, inter-county and educational levels until March 29th (inclusive) from midnight. This is to include all games, training and team gatherings at all ages and all grades.”
Over in Spain, the Tipperary hurlers were simply counting down the minutes until their flight home the following day – Friday, March 13th.
The then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, announced on the Friday morning that following a meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team, it was decided anybody returning from Spain and Italy would be asked to restrict their movements, while further advice was issued not to travel to Italy or Spain, bar exceptional circumstances.
On arriving back at Shannon Airport on Friday night, the Tipperary players and management were met by HSE staff and instructed to restrict their movements for a fortnight.
A statement from the Tipperary County Board outlined: “They followed HSE and WHO advice in relation to protection against Covid-19 at all times while travelling and while on the training camp.
“They were advised by representatives of the HSE at Shannon Airport that they should restrict their movements for the next two weeks which includes not going to work and reducing social interactions. All members of the travelling party are complying fully with these requirements.”
The following day, March 14th, Spain announced a nationwide state of alarm.
Thankfully, the travelling party had got home, but it had been a testing five days for all involved.
“With the outcome that turned out, we were better off we didn’t go,” says Sheedy.
“We came back, and self-isolated for the time period we had to. It was a really tough time. You make these decisions based on the information you have at the time. The way things turned out, and how quickly things started to happen, it was the wrong decision. You just have to stand over that.
“There were way more important things happening in our country at that stage than hurling.”
It would be October before intercounty action resumed, by which stage just the mere fact games were taking place again was actually hugely important for many people.
It can feel like a lifetime ago now when players had to travel on their own to training and matches, the use of changingrooms was prohibited, and no supporters were allowed attend games. And yet it is all so recent.
“I found 2020 hard because we were travelling on our own in cars, we weren’t using the dressingrooms and then we only had a few weeks together after the club championship,” adds Sheedy, whose wife and daughters were also unable to attend games
“[They] would be at all the matches [usually], so to leave them at home in 2020 because they couldn’t go, it just didn’t feel right.
“But at the same time, it was important, the country needed a lift and needed matches, so it was the right thing to do but it certainly wasn’t an easy piece on our side.”
