Offaly county board chairman Michael Duignan feels that larger venues should be allowed an increase in the current attendance limit at matches.

Yesterday’s decision to hold back entry into Phase 4 of the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions means that crowds at GAA games cannot exceed 200 for a further three weeks at least.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme, Duignan expressed his disappointment in the decision and his view that the figure should come down to the scale of the venue.

"It's understandable that some smaller venues that 500 would be a big crowd and it would be hard to social distance," he said.

"But in Offaly, for example, O'Connor Park capacity is 20,000. Birr, again a county ground, we could easily hold that sort of crowd safely and maybe a lot more as well.

"It was that compromise that people were looking for. Across society, people are looking for capacities to be linked to the size of the venue. I don't think one size fits all is good enough at this stage."

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