Mike Quirke: Tyrone ‘played it beautifully’ with GAA in Covid standoff

Quirke believes the correct outcome was eventually arrived at of an extra week’s reprieve for the Covid-hit Tyrone camp

Mike Quirke. Pic: Evan Treacy

Former Kerry footballer Mike Quirke has said Tyrone “played it beautifully” with the Covid statement they released on Saturday and that the Red Hand County “did what they had to do to get the result they wanted”.

A statement released by Tyrone GAA on Saturday afternoon said the county was not in a position to field a team for the rescheduled All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry on Saturday, August 21.

The statement, rather crucially though, did not say that Tyrone were forfeiting the game or withdrawing from the championship, placing the ball firmly in the court of Croke Park and, to a lesser extent, Kerry.

Quirke — who believes the correct outcome was eventually arrived at of an extra week’s reprieve for the Covid-hit Tyrone camp — said Tyrone’s statement effectively backed Kerry into a corner and that the Kingdom had no option but to state they were willing to allow the semi-final go back another week.

When asked on the  Irish Examiner GAA podcast for his view on the flurry of weekend statements concerning the All-Ireland semi-final, Quirke replied: “Tyrone played it beautifully, they did what they had to do to get the result that they wanted. In doing so, they backed Kerry into a corner, really.

“What could Kerry say, ‘no, we are not going to put the game back, we want a walkover into the final’. Of course they are not going to say that. And Kerry need the game. If Kerry went to play Mayo without having a game since they played Cork five or six weeks ago, sure they’d be miles off that level.

“Kerry were forced into the position that they were in. They did the right thing and said, we are willing to wait to play the game until it is safe to play the game.

“We are after getting to the right conclusion in a very circumvented way.”

Former Laois manager Quirke had earlier stated on the podcast that no player should be asked to play a fixture at a time when it had the potential to compromise their health.

“While we are all consumed with football and the joy of the weekend, that is the most important thing — that these fellas are okay and fixtures aren’t forcing them to try and come back too quickly from something that has a negative health impact on their lives. The game will get played, no doubt, but we want to make sure that everybody is okay first of all.”

Quirke is adamant Mayo’s four-week lead-in to the All-Ireland final was perfect preparation time for James Horan’s charges. “They’ll recover, sit back, relax, watch Kerry and Tyrone take lumps out of each other, and then gear themselves up. They are in a fabulous position.”

Former Mayo footballer Keith Higgins, who retired earlier this year, admitted to being “a bit jealous” of his old teammates for what they achieved on Saturday.

“In the second half, they just took Dublin out of their comfort zone, not by any tactical masterclass, but by bringing loads of energy and getting loads of tackles in, which they weren’t doing in the first half. How we pegged back that five-point deficit, because Dublin did tag on another point between the 62nd minute and the end, it was just a mental second half.”

Reflecting on Dublin’s failed seven-in-a-row bid, Higgins added: “When you lose once-in-a-generation players, you are not going to replace them with the same quality. When five or six of them go from a dressing-room, it is a completely different place.”