Fifteen-hundred delegates will gather in Killarney this weekend for the inaugural National GAA Club Forum.

Jim Forbes, chair of the organising committee, says he is happy with the turnout, although it represents just half of the approximately 1,700 GAA clubs in the country.

"It's a very good take-up," according to Forbes, "and I always felt that 1,500 delegates would be more or less the final number.

"There's a lot of activity in clubs at the moment, with championship games all around the country, and the location in the southern part of the country makes it hard for some clubs to travel."

In support of that explanation is that only 75 Ulster clubs will be represented.

The forum will feature a number of practical sessions on such subjects as games development, physical and amenity development, communications, refereeing and club planning.

"There will also be a big discussion on club versus county issues," said Forbes, "and we're expecting that to be pretty fiery.

"We finish with an open forum at which Liam Mulvihill and officers from the provincial councils will be on the panel.

"We also wanted to change tack, as most of the speakers are addressing various topics, relating to the running and working of clubs. So we have invited Kevin Heffernan and Donal O'Grady to speak generally from football and hurling perspectives."

Meanwhile, former intercounty hurling referee John Denton has been suspended for eight weeks for verbally abusing Kilkenny official Eddie Crowley, who officiated at a Leinster under-16 fixture between Carlow and the Wexford team managed by Denton.

The Leinster Activities Committee also imposed a fine of €1,000 on the Wexford County Board.

Denton's most controversial match as a referee was the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final between Galway and Tipperary, during which he sent off three Galway players.

Ulster and Leinster have named their teams for tomorrow's Railway Cup football final in Parnell Park. Ulster manager Brian McEniff was able to select Armagh's Enda McNulty, who was cleared to play by the Central Disciplinary Committee after being sent off, together with Munster's Kieran Donaghy, in the semi-final.

Leinster manager Val Andrews has introduced Laois's two international players, Tom Kelly and Ross Munnelly, in place of Meath pair Niall McKeigue and Daithi Regan, who played in the semi-final against Connacht.

RAILWAY CUP FOOTBALL FINAL TEAMS

LEINSTER (SF v Ulster): F Byron (Laois); M Ennis (Westmeath), B Cahill (Dublin), D Healy (Westmeath); K Slattery (Offaly), T Kelly (Laois), P Andrews (Dublin); C Whelan (Dublin, capt), N Garvan (Laois); A Mangan (Westmeath), C Moran (Dublin), P Clancy (Laois); R Munnelly (Laois), G Geraghty (Meath), J Sherlock (Dublin). Subs: P Kelly (Offaly), J Doyle (Kildare), T Walsh (Carlow), T Gill (Wicklow), L Glynn (Wicklow), S Gerrard (Louth), C Morris (Wexford), D Dolan (Westmeath), B Sheehan (Laois), M Forde (Wexford), S Ryan (Dublin).

ULSTER: J Reilly (Cavan); K McGuckin (Derry), K McCloy (Derry), E McNulty (Armagh); A Kernan (Armagh), C Gormley (Tyrone), A Mallon (Armagh); D Gordon (Down), S Cavanagh (Tyrone); B Dooher (Tyrone), S O'Neill (Tyrone), D Clerkin (Monaghan); T Freeman (Monaghan), P Bradley (Derry), S McDonnell (Armagh). Subs: P Hearty (Armagh), B Owens (Fermanagh), D Diver (Donegal), A O'Rourke (Armagh), C Holmes (Tyrone), L Doyle (Down), C Toye (Donegal), P Finlay (Monaghan), R Mellon (Tyrone), B Coulter (Down), R Clarke (Armagh).

Finally, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) have re-iterated their unhappiness over Sony's PlayStation Gaelic football game, describing the absence of recognisable player images as "an oversight and an injustice to both players and parents given no option but to purchase a product that is clearly inferior to other PlayStation sporting games".

Sony Ireland say they were unable to secure the use of player's image rights, most of which are vested in the GPA.

Tonight sees the GPA awards evening at Dublin's Citywest Hotel, at which the players' footballer and hurler of the year will be announced.

Football: Seán Cavanagh (Tyrone), Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone), Colm Cooper (Kerry), Tomás Ó Sé (Kerry), Paddy Bradley (Derry), Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Stephen O'Neill (Tyrone).

Hurling: Jerry O'Connor (Cork), Tommy Walsh (Kilkenny), Damien Hayes (Galway), Eoin Kelly (Tipperary), Ger Farragher (Galway), John Gardiner (Cork).