Glenelly boss wants more respect for clubs over Covid

By Niall McCoy

GLENELLY manager Dermot Corry has said that it’s time that the Tyrone County Board started applying the same courtesy to clubs that it does the county team when it comes to Covid-19 issues.

Corry was speaking in the aftermath of Tyrone’s successful appeal to have this Sunday’s scheduled All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry postponed due to Covid issues within the squad. Red Hand chairman Michael Kerr has since suggested that even a week’s grace may not be enough and they could be forced to withdraw.

The St Joseph’s boss made it very clear that he agreed with the GAA’s decision to grant Tyrone’s request, but he is left frustrated by the rigidness displayed towards clubs within the county – even though it meant a walkover win for his team at the weekend.

Last month Glenelly had to concede a league fixture with Derrytresk that they had asked to be postponed, and Corry feels that more flexibility is required.

“People say to me about having to concede that game, we didn’t try to concede, we tried to postpone,” he said. “The game was conceded by whoever was in charge of fixtures in the county.

“If that’s the law, then that’s the law but we would have preferred if the game had been postponed and played midweek.

“We were meant to play Brockagh there, who were only a point off the top of the league. Brockagh had a Covid case too and they looked for a postponement but they couldn’t get it and it was conceded.

“A bit tongue in cheek, we were looking at Tyrone and wondering how they were able to get that game postponed. Don’t get me wrong, I think it should have been. But if you’re going to have a law for a county then no bother at all, I think that’s deadly. But have the same for clubs. Have the same respect.

“I was chatting to lads from Fermanagh and they were saying in Fermanagh the games are just postponed.”

Read the rest of our interview with Dermot Corry in this week’s Ulster Herald