There’s a lot going on but, more than ever, it feels like a niche pursuit, continuing in the background for the sake of its loyal followers while a wider audience looks elsewhere.

The fact that Monday’s derby win for Bohemians over Shamrock Rovers was restricted to just 100 spectators and fans watching on a stream while the football world was revelling in Denmark’s exploits in Copenhagen highlighted the strange existence of a summer league running up against a major tournament.

Dundalk’s May 7 defeat to Sligo Rovers was the last live game shown on RTÉ with the focus on the Euros, the GAA and the Olympics meaning it’s going to be a while before the national broadcaster picks up a baton again – although they had previously indicated they would follow Ireland’s Champions League representatives Shamrock Rovers all going to plan.

Eir Sport’s sad demise has removed the TV partner that used to do the heavy lifting through the summer, including for European ties, so the reality is that LOI football is now only being watched by the select few able to attend games and the hardcore who are paying for streaming services with the club-driven LOITV replacing RTÉ’s WatchLOI service at the mid-season break.

The word is that fewer people have shelled out for season passes for the new service because they are hoping the gates will open soon to allow them to attend matches so they are instead opting for game-by-game purchases.

Either way, LOITV is only ever going to be a service for the committed in a summer where there is so much sport available on traditional channels.

It’s feeding addictions rather than encouraging new habits; and it feels like the league is in a holding pattern until gates can properly be opened again.

It was always going to be difficult in 2021, but the authorities don’t make it easy for themselves sometimes, much as there’s a danger of FAI bashing for the sake of it.

Certain matters are out of their control here. Fixtures were devised at a time when the Euros was in doubt. And while there was criticism of the decision to take a mid-season break in the gap before the competition kicked off, international call-ups would likely have resulted in a number  of fixtures being called off anyway. 

But the LOITV service has not exactly been given the best opportunity to maximise its potential.

There is no clash this evening as the Euros rests but it’s hardly a marquee round of fixtures. Sligo Rovers and Bohemians, the game of the weekend, is on a Euros head-to-head tomorrow evening.

Next Friday, Shamrock Rovers face Dundalk with the Richie Towell angle adding further spice to that fixture, while Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic also lock horns in a Dublin derby.

But those matches will be taking place at the same time as a Euros quarter-final that will feature Italy and Belgium if the round of 16 goes to form.

For one week only, moving a couple of games to a blank Thursday might have increased exposure. And surely an alternative slot for Monday’s Dublin derby would have yielded an additional return, however small.

It’s believed there are plans to retain a version of LOITV going forward whether it’s for fans based overseas or supporters who don’t fancy long away trips.

That is a positive development. Perhaps it’s already geared towards the viewers who will pay for it no matter what – that’s the real target market as opposed to vague statements about the Irish diaspora in the US who are suddenly going to appear and input their credit card details for a league they know nothing about.  

At another time, clubs would be jumping up and down about scheduling issues.

But it’s not costing them at the gate so there’s no outrage.  

With the Government’s wage supports set to remain in place for the majority of the season, most clubs should be doing ok financially in these testing times.

Yet it’s frustrating for the protagonists to be performing in a vacuum.  

There is a feeling out there that an attendance spike will occur when stadiums are properly reopened, with the ability to attend live sport one of those things that has possibly been taken for granted.

Clubs need to be ready to capitalise on that and draw back in the once-or-twice-a-year customers who will be looking to get out of the house more often  when the chance arises.

FAI CEO Jonathan Hill is learning the terrain here and is bound for Limerick this evening as Treaty United welcome 100 fans through the gates for the first time. They are another good news story slipping under the radar.

Hill has a lot to plate but with his commercial hat on, he will know that it’s a struggle to sell a product which disappears off the screens for several months during the season and no longer has a weekly highlights show. 

Our national league should not only exist on the internet.