They had a lunch with the office staff and that was them relieved of duties, victims of the ongoing impasse of the Stormont Executive as funding for their jobs is finished less than a fortnight before Christmas.

It’s not like this hasn’t been coming. The Curriculum Sports Programme has always been dependent on Government funding, but given it had been in place since 2007 and provided an invaluable resource to schools and teachers who were already stretched in all directions, it might have been safe to assume it would continue.

It’s worth noting the figures here. Ulster Council coaches went into 346 schools across Northern Ireland. This year, that amounted to 9,208 boys and 9,031 girls they were delivering coaching to.

The Irish Football Association had their coaches delivering the same programme, to similar numbers of children and schools. Dozens of IFA coaches are clearing their desks too.

“This is the third time we have been given a six-month recess and this time it was really on the cards. The department was coming back every time and saying there was no money for it, and that’s it,” says Karol McQuade, a married father of three who played in Moy Tír Na nÓg’s All-Ireland Intermediate Championship win in February.

“Still, it’s hard to take, but what do you do? The Government is in complete disarray at the minute.”

McQuade had been with the Ulster Council since the scheme began in 2007. He was coaching a similar programme through the Tyrone county board for five years before that. As he says himself, “This is all I have ever done.”

“I am thinking of going across the water to do teaching. I can’t get in here, it’s just with the three kids at home it is not going to be easy,” he continues.

While he may be lucky enough to get a teaching placement at home, the course is in Carlisle.

Local politicians have met with representatives of the Ulster Council. The case was put forward and all parties supported it.

“They say that if they were in Government they would sign off on it and their minister would keep it going because they see the benefits of the project,” says Jimmy Darragh, line manager of all the coaches made redundant.

Ultimately though, they cannot make that decision. Darragh and Ulster Council vice-President Oliver Galligan recently visited Permanent secretary Derek Baker who is the senior civil servant left in charge of these matters. The funding had actually ended on October 31 but the Ulster Council continued to fund the scheme in the hope they could find a resolution.

They couldn’t.

It seems churlish given how holistic the course actually is. This is not Gaelic Games sneaking through the backdoor into every school.

“We cover everything. The only thing we cannot cover is swimming,” says Michelle O’Connor of Kildress, a mother of two who is also losing her job.

“Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics…

“We are Fundamental coaches so we cover the whole curriculum. With the gymnastics, we teach them the basic skills of every sport. They could go on to play basketball or whatever, it was never sports specific.”

Jimmy Darragh describes how things have been over the last few weeks, where the Ulster Council have been going through the redundancy process as a matter of course, all the while hoping and canvassing for a change in circumstances.

“Honest to God it is tearing the whole place apart, the fact that this is happening. And particularly at this time of the year as well, makes it even worse,” he says.

“The bottom line is that we created a programme and achieved what we set out to achieve and more.

“But, without a Government in place and without a minister making that decision, they can’t make the decision to put money our way. They see other priorities within budget and unfortunately, they won’t fund it any further.”

The nature of the funding was always dicey, but it didn’t stop some from being attracted to the job for wholesome reasons.

Kevin Curran of Tullysaran, just outside Armagh City, had worked in recruitment for decades, but his passion was coaching children and so, at the age of 46 and a wife and two children at home, applied and got a job with the Ulster Council last December.

“To be honest, I just took one of those ‘I am sick of doing this’ moments. Given that I am heavily involved in my local club, youth officer and all that, Chairman of the Board of Governors in the local school in Tullysaran, I just thought I would love to give this a go,” says Curran.

“You take the recruitment side of things, it is quite sedentary but it is a sales job and your boss is asking you, ‘how much money are you making for the company?’

“Whereas this job is all about working with young kids. Getting them to appreciate their bodies and the building blocks of agility, balance, co-ordination. I see young kids who can’t stand up straight in P1 and by week 5 or 6 they are flying through hula hoops, able to balance; it is hard to put that into words, that sense of achievement.

“You are getting the kids to express themselves and it is an unbelievably fulfilling role.”

All the while, politicians continue to collect their wage from the Stormont Executive; 698 days since it last functioned.