East Belfast GAC suspends all activity after club member tests positive for coronavirus

A RECENTLY formed GAA club has said it is suspending all activities after a club member tested positive for Covid-19.

East Belfast GAA, which was founded in May, announced the news in a statement issued on Saturday.

It read: "East Belfast GAA has been informed by one of our members that they have tested positive for Covid-19.

"In accordance with GAA and NHS guidelines on dealing with a positive case, the club has suspended all further activity until public health contact tracers carry out full close contact assessment and testing.

"The club will be making no further comment at this time."

The news comes a month after the club was forced to halt training following reports of a suspicious device left at Henry Jones playing fields on Church Road in Castlereagh.

An anonymous call to police claimed that explosive devices had been left under cars parked at the council-owned pitches on August 5th, but "nothing untoward" was found following searches.

The following day there were two further security alerts in east and west Belfast after the PSNI urged people connected with the club to check underneath their vehicles.

East Belfast GAC is the first Gaelic club in the area in almost half a century following the collapse of St Colmcille's.

Its president is Irish language campaigner Linda Ervine, the sister-in-law of the late loyalist leader David Ervine.