In December 2019 the secretary Iain Cheyne and the President Michael Dowling met Fidelma Sheridan, the vice chairperson of Cumann na mBunscol.
Gaa Rounders proposed helping Cumann na mBunscol hold a new national rounders competition in May 2020 with the object of spreading the playing of our game throughout the primary schools in lreland. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the Cumann na mBunscol officers present for the idea.
We also sought speaking time at the 2020 Cumann na mBunscol AGM to outline our proposal and to offer coaching to counties not currently playing rounders in primary school.
Following on from that meeting, the rounders secretary emailed the Cumann na mBunscol secretary with further details of our our proposal for a National rounders competition. We proposed offering coaching to interested teachers in the provinces in March and April 2020. We outlined how we’d run the competition depending on the interest from schools and counties.
The word back from Cumann na mBunscol was that they were very interested in going ahead with our proposal of a National rounders competition.
However the advent of Covid 19 to lreland in March 2020 and the subsequent closure of the Primary schools put paid to that venture for now.
At the time of writing ( January 2021 ) we are in another lockdown and the likelihood of Cumann na mBunscol action for the remainder of this school year is unlikely. However when life gets back to normal, GAA Rounders will work with Cumann na mBunscol to promote the game of rounders in the Primary schools of lreland.