Irvine residents face the prospect of Marymass actually being cancelled for the first time since the war.

Organisers have been unable to meet since the lockdown, with the selection process obviously scuppered since the school closure.

However any cancellation or scaling back of the traditional festivities is yet to be agreed, with captain Danny Kerr telling the Times organisers still need to get all committee members on the phone.

One source told the Times: "Obviously we've not had any meetings, the selection process will not be going ahead as the schools are not back. The selection process starts the first Monday in June, I think the schools are closed beyond that, I don't think there will be a selection. 

"There's the Edinburgh festival cancelled today, it runs alongside Marymass, so I personally cannot see anything positive. The Edinburgh festival has been running 70 years and this is the first year it has been cancelled.

"Who knows, things might change for the better and we may get things sorted out, but at this moment in time I don't think so, nobody knows what's going to happen there might be spike in deaths, I've no idea how it's going to pan out. 

"If we did resume in June it would give us two months to book the bands and get all the infrastructure. Don't get me wrong we could do it but I don't know if we'll get back to normality.

"Then there's the funding and sponsors, every business is going have a hell of an effect will the sponsors still be willing to sponsor? However we've got to be upbeat."

Speaking exclusively to the Irvine Times, Captain of Irvine Carters' Society Danny Kerr said: "Nothing has been decided yet, Monday is the scheduled committee meeting so I'll need to phone round them all and see what their thoughts are.

"I have noticed there had been a few events in August cancelled, I think that is telling."