A leading Irish disease expert believes that on the country's current track there will be no inter-county GAA season this year, warning that the number of cases of Covid-19 will continue to rebound if restrictions on sports and wider society are eased while the disease is still spreading.

UCC Professor Gerry Killeen the college's Research Chair in Applied Pathogen Ecology, told the RTÉ GAA Podcast that the prospects of completing the All-Ireland Championship in 2020 is “zero”.

Killeen, who has experienced outbreaks of malaria and Ebola in Africa, praised the GAA for its "community-based approach" to tackling the virus and declared "Ireland is going to need the GAA before this is over".

However, he backed the Government's decision this week to delay the move to Phase 4 of the easing of restrictions, which would have increased the numbers allowed at outdoor events such as matches from 200 to 500.