Dublin initiative needed

GAA Congress Opening session: The 2003 GAA annual congress opened in Belfast's Europa Hotel last night with the ongoing Dublin controversy and a severe warning on insurance topping the agenda.

Antrim chairman Joe O'Boyle reminded the opening session that Centenary Year, 1984, and 32 years ago when the ban on foreign games was repealed, were the most recent occasions on which Congress had been held in Belfast. A tame enough clár will ensure that this year's version struggles to match the momentous precedent.

Yesterday's Central Council meeting heard that new GAA president Sean Kelly - who takes office today - will meet with Dublin officials in an effort to break the deadlock over the proposed committee to develop the GAA in the capital. The Dublin Overarching Committee is the product of last year's Strategic Review Committee report and is intended to represent Dublin, Leinster Council and Central Council.

For the past year controversy has simmered over the composition of the committee and its chairperson.

Lately, it appeared that Christy Cooney, who chaired the SRC sub-committee on Dublin, had worked a compromise that would see a joint chairperson for the first 12 months of the committee.

On Wednesday, the Leinster Council voted down the proposal and last night re-iterated its belief in the need for the appointment of an independent chair to the committee. With one of the three stakeholders opposed to Cooney's compromise, some initiative is required and Kelly will have a robust start to his presidency.

Later last night Ciaran O'Neill, secretary of the GAA's Insurance Work Group, warned that the Players' Voluntary Insurance scheme would cease to exist if subscriptions do not improve.

"I don't know why only 20,000 saw fit to join the players' voluntary insurance when there are 500,000 players in the association. It will not be there in a year's time unless we get out of neutral." He added that the poor take-up had caused the under-writers to threaten withdrawal from the scheme.

Central Council announced that the prices for next weekend's NFL semi-final double bill at Croke Park would be €20 for the stand (the Hogan will be all-ticket) and €15 for terraces. Other League semi-finals (not at Croke Park) will be priced at €15 and €10.

Dan McCartan formally recorded Down's reservations about the decision to re-fix the Sligo-Kildare NFL Division One B match. Kildare are already relegated and the re-match will not affect that. Down will be relegated unless Kildare win. McCartan said that the county was unhappy that the re-fixture had been made after the end of the League rather than before.