Schools have been closed since mid-March, but children have never had a better opportunity to improve their hurling and football skills. The GAA, supported by the Cumann na mBunscol and the GPA, unveiled a series of weekly #GAAPrimary challenges on learning.gaa.ie/primary-school – a series of learning and physical activities for children in primary school.

According to Pat Culhane, national games development officer with the GAA: "These challenges are designed to help teachers and parents to work on the cross-curricular lesson plans with children to meet their learning needs. Gaelic games-themed lessons are spread out across all curriculum subjects and for children at every class level, based on the GAA Céim ar Aghaidh/Step Ahead resource."

There is no shortage of tips from top players online. Dublin footballer and primary teacher, Ciarán Kilkenny, features on the skills videos on Twitter @CKKilkenny93. Ciarán enlists the help of other Dublin stars such as Brian Fenton, Alan Brogan and Diarmuid Connolly. TJ Reid of Kilkenny has also proven popular through his Twitter page @_tjreid with his weekly PE and GAA skills classes. Limerick footballer Peter Nash has posted daily hurling and football coaching tips for young players on @LKCoachingGames, featuring a different skill every day. Cork hurler, Patrick Horgan, has many followers of his online hurling challenges on Twitter @Hoggie088.

Off the field, The Green and White magazine is well known to everybody involved in Cumann na mBunscol. Ciarán Crowe has been uploading a quiz each day on @LimerickGAAzine and has been getting a great reaction from followers throughout the country.

"When Cumann na mBunscol activities resume, we expect to see a huge rise in levels of skill and virtuosity", says Liam Magee, cathaoirleach of Coiste Náisiúnta, "as children have been honing their skills with the cream of GAA talent as their tutors!"

New PRO on Coiste Náisiúnta IN SECTION: TEACHING MATTERS

The AGM of Allianz Cumann na mBunscol took place on 7 March in Thurles, before the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

Jim Fennelly of Cill Chainnigh stepped down from his role as leas cathaoirleach, after a decade of service on the Coiste Náisiúnta. Joe Lyons, outgoing public relations officer (PRO), replaced Jim, while John Manley was elected as PRO.

John Manley has been teaching principal of Dualla NS, Cashel, Co Tipperary since 2009. He is the current PRO of Tipperary Cumann na mBunscol, Munster Cumann na mBunscol and, now, National Cumann na mBunscol. John has been involved in Allianz Cumann na mBunscol since his time teaching in Rathfarnham in the early noughties. He has a keen interest in coaching and, from 2009 to 2017, coached juvenile and minor players in his home club, Nenagh Éire óg, with whom he won two County Minor A hurling medals as a player. He has also coached the adult team, Boherlahan Dualla, in the parish where he teaches and was one of the club’s coaches in 2018 when they won the County Junior A hurling championship to return to intermediate ranks.

Among John’s duties will be contributing the Cumann na mBunscol article to InTouch and maintaining the Cumann na mBunscol website www.cnmbnaisiunta.com and Twitter page @cnambnaisiunta. Having devised and delivered inservice courses for teachers in IT for many years, John is ideally equipped for this aspect of his role. "It was a huge honour to be elected as National Cumann na mBunscol PRO", John said.