GAA President Jack Boothman said on the RTE Liveline show the other day that the GAA "is a religion" (and a way of life).

Well of course it is, sure everyone, knows that. So am I going to make obvious "jokes" about the GAA catechism, about bowing to no other God, keeping holy the Sabbath day, bearing false witness against team mates, coveting thy neighbour's AllStar nomination and so on?

No. I am not here to mock religion with cheap jibes.

But the GAA religion is more Old Testament than New. As my esteemed colleague Sean Kilfeather observed some time ago, "Rules are being enacted for a game which no longer exists". He meant that current rules have not taken account or developments in the (football) game. That is a problem for many religions.

For the individual, the comfort of religion lies, very simply, is being in" the state of grace. Now as I understand it, for a GAA player to be in a state of grace, he or she must either, be in personal possession of the ball, or be a member of the team in possession. So far so clear.

In possession, however, a GAA, football player's body is in mortal danger. Yet loss of possession puts the player's soul in mortal danger. And there is no forgiveness without restitution/reparation. It's no good just being contrite - you have to get the bloody ball back. The fact that there is no valid means of dispossession, yet that dispossession is regularly achieved without penalty, is one of the mysteries of the religion. No one is meant to understand it, and no one does. It is a mystical thing.

I may be a lapsed GAA player but that much I know.

Anyway. I am deeply interested in this business of GAA inter county players regularly flying off to play in New York. As amateurs they are never, ever, paid. Good Lord, no. Perish the thought. However, their are covered and they are wined and dined and allowed expenses these expenses have often been described as "lavish" but no doubt lavish is in the eyes of the beholder, or receiver.

Any decent inter county player, asked if a New York game is among his ambitions, will react as if Mephistopheles has just made a bid for his soul. His horror will know no bounds. To an inter county player in the state of grace, mention of the "Bronx Weekend" is like suggesting a pub crawl to a reformed alcoholic (or a teetotaller) - cruel beyond belief.

However, there are times when players feel obliged to submit to the entreaties of the New York GAA authorities. They then reluctantly apply to the Games Administration Committee, which, Solomonlike, leaves the final decision up to the individual conscience: "Ye shall merely have authorisation forms in order, and otherwise we care not what ye do. On your own heads be it. But enjoy."

The New York authorities, when issuing invitations to our intercounty players, themselves invoke one of the religious sub commandments: "Ye shall not receive payment, but ye might get the oul few bob in hand, for ye know not the day nor the hour when ye might have to buy a few beers in Eamonn Doran's, or a souvenir trinket for the girlfriend."

Are we talking of junkets? I hope, not. These players give their time and skills for the pleasure of Irish fans living in New York. They foster relations, and are often fostered by them, at least for the weekend.

However, the GAA curates in New York are expected to be strict, in the application of one particular religious rule: "Ye shall be welcome to Gaelic Park but shall not be permitted to play more than three visiting players per team."

When the inter county players arrive in New York, it has been known to happen that the numbers amount to something rather more than three visiting players per team. I don't mean 500, but definitely not three.

What happens then? The catechism is consulted. The GAA religion now requires all but three players to undergo identity changes: "Ye shall be as new men, forgoing all former personality, and taking your place among the nations of the Earth in New York City, more particularly the Bronx, just for the few days, ye understand."

Which is to say that for the duration of the match, and any subsequent official checks, Michael "Pats" Kiernan of Ballybofey now becomes Elijah Silverstein, Jimmy Joe Coolihan of Crossmolina becomes Moses Barth, Harry "Junior". O'Kennedy of Cloonfad metamorphoses into Hiram J Witherspoon and they all acquire new temporary homes in the leafy suburbs of New York and New Jersey, where they are welcomed as long lost cousins, for the excellent reason that they often are.