Snow joke.
The GAA is set to have a few problems on its hands in the coming weeks as Storm Emma blows her way into Ireland.
This coming weekend sees a full programme in both the football and hurling national leagues but several matches are under threat of being postponed with the bad weather predicted to wreak havoc on pitches across the country.
Postponed football games will almost certainly be pushed back to the weekend of 10-11 March, as there are no ties currently scheduled for that weekend.
What looked like another exciting weekend of league action, including Dublin taking on Kerry at Croke Park on Saturday night and the final round of Division 1A and 1B matches in the hurling to decide the quarter-final ties, may well end up being decimated by The Beast from the East (which still sounds to me like it would be a better nickname for a no-nonsense soccer defender from Russia).
With predictions for heavy snowfalls on Thursday and Friday, it's not looking all that promising.
However, negotiating the hurling schedule will be more problematic.
https://twitter.com/officialgaa/status/968505293410881536
There is hurling every weekend up until the league final, which takes place on Saturday, March 24. If there are postponements to this weekend's games, the final may be pushed back as well.
In a statement on their website, the GAA said:
"The GAA can confirm that a fixtures plan is being put in place to cater for any potential negative impact caused by the adverse weather on the Allianz Leagues. If required, the details of this contingency plan will be announced later in the week."
There is a chance that the hurling final will be played just 24 hours before the football final on Easter Sunday, March 31. While we'll have to endure the bad weather this weekend, it might make for an exciting Easter for GAA fans.
