GAELIC GAMES:Former county chair John Bailey withdrew from the race to regain the office at last night's Dublin county convention in Parnell Park. The withdrawal and that of Jim Roche left outgoing chair Gerry Harrington, from Naomh Mearnóg, the sole candidate and he was returned unopposed.

Bailey has had two previous stints in office but told the meeting that he wouldn't be contesting the election. There was no change either in the vice-chair with outgoing Danny O'Connor (St Sylvester's) defeating Noel Murphy (Trinity Gaels).

John Costello, chief executive of the county board, was elected unopposed as the new Central Council delegate, following the death this year of Gerry Brady, after the withdrawal of other nominees, Jim Roche and Donal Hickey.

Meanwhile the Kerry county convention is to debate a motion proposing that the GAA not enter any further arrangements with the AFL concerning the international rules series that was suspended for at least a year at the weekend's Central Council meeting.

Another motion to catch the eye suggests establishing All-Ireland club hurling championships for counties involved in the Ring and Rackard Cups.

In his annual report county secretary Eamonn O'Sullivan said that the future of the county's senior hurling team was in the balance: "Internal strife involving clubs, county and divisional boards, individuals, officials and past mentors saw many issues receiving much unfavourable media attention, some of it of a personal nature and most unfair to the people involved.

"We are now at a crossroads. We can move forward with co-operation all round. On the other hand, if we continue as before, the status of senior inter-county hurling will have a bleak future - if indeed any future at all!"

In the county's financial report it was revealed that team administration costs ran to €776,871, an increase of around €150,00 on the previous year. None the less the profit and loss account showed a surplus of just over €80,000, a drop of €35,000 on 2005.

At the county's annual convention at the weekend Kildare proposed that the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) be abolished. Speaking on Saturday, county chair Syl Merrins advocated that the authority be abolished and that the Central Appeals Committee be the final arbiter of disciplinary issues within the GAA.

"The DRA was set up to counteract the number of cases going to court. It is a good idea in theory but it hasn't worked. It is now viewed as part of the appeals process. I believe that the vast majority of appeals going to the DRA would not have gone to court and so the DRA should be abolished and we should go back to the old system."

The county also proposed that the temporary replacement rule, the subject of controversy during Kildare's Leinster championship match with Offaly, be changed so that a player replaced by a temporary substitute can only re-take the field as replacement for that temporary substitute.