Cortoon Shamrocks GAA have clarified the reason for the postponement of their Intermediate Football Championship semi final v Dunmore McHales last weekend.

The match was due to be played last Sunday, but on the morning of the game one of their star player's Adrian Varley was notified that he was a close contact of a covid-19 case in his primary school.

One of the teacher's students had tested positive for Covid 19 and he was told he must self isolate immediately.

He immediately contacted the Cortoon Shamrocks Club team manager and Galway Senior football team doctor to pass on this information.

Cortoon Shamrocks  contacted the Galway county board to make them aware of the situation and to request the postponement of the game.

Varley was in close contact with a number of other panel members including a family member before he was notified that he was a close contact to a confirmed covid-19 case.

Shamrocks claim that The Galway county board advised  them that the game must still go ahead  to their surprise.

They made the decision not to field a team on health and safety grounds and they informed the county board of this decision.

Galway player Adrian Varley has since been tested for Covid 19 and received a negative result.

The club were informed from health experts that it would be 14 days from Adrian's last contact with his student on Wednesday 16th September before he could play the game.

The club expected the rescheduled semi final to be arranged for at least 14 days after this date which would be next Wednesday.

The game has since been fixed for tomorrow.

The Club requested a meeting with the County Board and Dunmore representatives to seek a resolution which would allow Adrian Varley to take part in the semi-final in compliance with health advice

This meeting took place on Thursday evening but Dunmore McHales would not under any circumstances agree to the fixture being moved back by 3 days to allow the player to take part.

As an agreement couldn’t be reached between the two clubs, the Galway County Board insisted that the game must proceed tomorrow.

Shamrocks said in a statement that they 'see no reason why the semi-final cannot be refixed for Wednesday 30th or the weekend of October 3rd as has happened in other counties.'

The club have asked the County Board and their opposing side to reconsider their position given the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the pandemic and in the interest of fair play.