Ard Fheis Éirígí 2020 Postponed Due To Covid-19
Éirígí For A New Republic has announced that it’s annual Ard Fheis, which was due to take place on March 14th, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The decision to postpone came as the total number of confirmed cases of the virus in Ireland reached 50.
Speaking in relation to the postponement, Éirígí General Secretary Mickey Moran said, “We took the decision to postpone our Ard Fheis in light of the rapidly growing number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland.
In less than a fortnight the number of confirmed cases has gone from zero to fifty. A number of these cases have arisen from unknown sources of transmission within different communities in the South and East of the country. Based on the experience of other countries it is likely that many other cases of infection will emerge in the coming days and weeks.
Our Ard Fheis would have seen scores of party members and supporters from across Ireland coming together for several hours in an enclosed space, with many using public transport to get to it. Some of those who were expected to attend fall within the high risk category based on their age or underlying heath conditions. Many others have family members who fall within the high-risk category.
In these circumstances it would have been irresponsible for us to have gone ahead with the Ard Fheis.
Individuals and organisations of all types and sizes have a role to play in slowing the spread of this deadly pathogen within our communities. All non-essential gatherings should be paused for a number of weeks to help slow the spread of Covid-19. This will buy extra time for the health services to prepare for the expected wave of virus-related patients.
As things stand we intend to reschedule Ard Fheis 2020 for a date in the Autumn. A final decision will be taken during the summer months when the situation relating to Covid-19 should be clearer.”