Longford senior footballer Mickey Quinn says he would have no problem playing inter-county football late into the year, and feels many other players would be of the same thinking.
The former Aussie Rules star spoke with Ger Gilroy on this morning's OTB AM about the current down period given the coronavirus outbreak.
The Wexford county chairman Derek Kent suggested in today's Irish Independent that perhaps the right thing to do would be to play the club championships first and gradually step back into inter-county.
That way there would be smaller crowds as we ease ourselves into bigger games and bigger crowds over time. And Quinn told us that he agrees with the logic behind that thinking.
"I think there's a lot of sense to it. You almost need to sit on your hands for a long time here and not make any real quick decisions, it's long-term.
"That does make sense. Club games, bringing [in] that community side of things on a smaller scale and then gradually building it up. [That would] ensure they're not massive crowds at games.
"I also heard [it proposed] play the last two league games and then go straight into a knockout championship. The two league games would be almost your warm-up for the championship structure.
"It's one of those things - what's the most important, and why is it most important? Is it the league, is it the province, is it the All-Ireland series? Or do you go back to the basics and go with your club - [make it] that club is the be and end all at the moment.
"It could be a great point to start with that and see. It's one of those difficult decisions that you kind of have to just sit and wait. No-one likes doing that, and the uncertainty builds even more. But it's not one of those things that can be rushed into with the circumstances."
Quinn was also asked if, as an inter-county player, he would mind playing games as late as October and November, given the circumstances.
"I don't think so, it's unprecedented times. Whether it be November or December I'm at the stage now where I'd be like a newborn calf being let out into a field!
9 November 2019; Antrim hurler Neil McManus, Cork camogie player Aoife Murray and Longford footballer Mickey Quinn during a GPA Rookie Camp at Johnstown Estate in Enfield, Co. Meath. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile"You'd be crazy to just get out and play ball. It wouldn't make a difference and I think most people would be of the same thinking. Just to get out and get going again.
"If it meant going right up until November or December, I don't think it would be an issue."
Quinn is a PE and Maths teacher and spoke of the difficulty in getting his Junior Cert Maths students in particular to do study and school work from home.
"I'm lucky enough, Leaving Cert is [where] it's going to be a lot more difficult. Probably at the beginning it was quite difficult to get guys engaging in the process.
"Taking pictures of assignments, sending them off and doing the work... whereas I think now definitely two-thirds or more are probably engaging really well.
"I think it's the unknown - when's it going to happen, is it going to happen in terms of the Junior Cert? That's the fear across the board with everything, no one really knows. Especially for students to try and get motivated, if you don't know when it's coming up, that's hard."
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