Offaly withdraw from O'Byrne Cup

Offaly GAA say they will not be in a position to field a team this weekend for the proposed O'Byrne Cup semi-final fixture against Louth on Sunday.

Offaly County Board said, in a statement, that it had requested a deferral of the game to the following weekend, but that this was not facilitated.

It pointed to players lining out in the Sigerson Cup next week as well as a number of injured and sick players.

The full statement is, as follows:

"Offaly GAA have reluctantly informed Leinster GAA this morning that we will be unable to fulfil our proposed O'Byrne Cup semi-final fixture v Louth on Sunday. Offaly County Board requested a deferral of the game to Friday 20th January or Saturday 21st January, which would have required a new date for the final. Leinster GAA were willing to explore the idea, however, Louth GAA could not facilitate our request.

"Offaly GAA have a large number of players playing Sigerson Cup next week, and we also have a number of injured and sick players. Following consultation between team management, players and County Board we agreed that we could not field a team without asking a large number of players to play their third match in eight days in current conditions. Medical and player welfare advice was very much against that happening.

"Offaly GAA, our team management and players are fully committed to all competitions we enter and have really enjoyed the O'Byrne Cup challenge over the past week. However, we cannot field a team this weekend without putting some of our players at risk of injury. We will commence a busy schedule of games in the National League on 29th January next and this remains our primary focus at this time."

*See here for separate article including the comments of Offaly senior football manager Liam Kearns after his side's win over Dublin.