Paul Rouse: A second spring of GAA uncertainty in 20 years

When the foot and mouth outbreak spread to Ireland in 2001, with news that a case had been detected in Co Armagh, there was grave concern for Irish farming

Pat King, a member of the ground staff at Semple Stadium, sprays disinfectant on to a matt at an entrance in an effort to stop the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease before the 2001
All-Ireland Club SHC semi-final replay between Graigue Ballycallan and Sixmilebridge at Semple Stadium.

The iconic historic image of 2001 will always be the sight of two airliners flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It was an event that marked a turning in global history. But on a more local level, the most striking images were also of plumes of smoke rising toward the sky. In Britain —where more than six million cows and sheep were killed — distraught farmers burned pyres of animals in an attempt to contain an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease.

Ireland had been free of Foot and Mouth since 1941. The disease manifests itself as lameness and mouth blisters in cattle, sheep, and goats. Humans are seldom infected, and if they are it is ordinarily temporary and mild impact.