By tea-time today, the identity of the GAA's new president-elect will be known. The successful candidate will be undertaking what has become an extremely demanding role. If recent trends are anything to go by, he will have to work in conjunction with the office.

This entails juggling a livelihood with frequent journeys to and from Dublin to attend endless rounds of meetings and making himself available for functions run by clubs and other units of the association.

Presidents tend to become characterised by reference to whatever aspect of official duty suits them best. Peter Quinn was president when the project to redevelop Croke Park was initiated. Given his background in finance and knowledge of the construction industry, his presidency was always going to be dominated by the building plans.

His successor Jack Boothman was a gregarious presence whose itinerary while in office would have exhausted Marco Polo. He is best remembered in that role, maintaining a link between the GAA at head-office level and the membership scattered around the country and beyond.

Incumbent Joe McDonagh, who is embarking on his final year, combines a high level of administrative input without losing sight of the other functions - he recently visited 14 schools in one day on the Dingle peninsula - but his presidency is probably most associated with a higher-profile, more media-friendly image which exploits McDonagh's charisma and oratorical talents as much as possible.

Danny Lynch, the GAA PRO, has worked closely with four presidents in his 11 years in Croke Park. Even in that time, he has noticed changes.

"The workload has increased out of all proportion. There are factors which didn't exist five years ago, let alone 10. Take the Croke Park development. There's a design-team meeting once a week and the president is meant to attend that and it's only the tip of the iceberg concerning meetings.

"Then there are media commitments. Joe (McDonagh) is as well-known as any public figure and is always available for interview. The advent of the mobile phone means that he's available on a constant basis to people like me.

"Travelling around the country is a commitment that wouldn't have happened 20 years ago but if a club in Donegal or Kerry has spent a quarter of a million on a facility, they like the acknowledgement. As (US President) Nixon once said about the American presidency that it had to balance kissing babies and making policy.

"It has its own importance and is perceived as recognition for what the ordinary members are doing. In any club, it will be remembered by a plaque in the clubhouse or a photograph hanging on the wall."

As things stand, any presidential hopeful will be strictly defined. Unless they live near Dublin, they will have to be self-employed or else have an indulgent employer who effectively seconds them to the GAA for the duration of the period of office.

Two of today's three candidates are teachers who hope to be able to juggle commitments and one is retired. Even for a self-employed president, the implications are profound. Either someone has to be found to run the business or else it has to be shelved for three years.

"That happened in my case," says former president Peter Quinn, who is a financial consultant. "Most of my work then was overseas and I was going to change that emphasis anyway but it wouldn't have happened as abruptly but for the presidency."

He sees these restrictions as being partly financial but also due to the acquiescence of successive presidents in the broadening of the office's activities.

"There are two aspects to that. Firstly, fewer people are in a position to accept the presidency for economic reasons. Secondly, and I was as guilty as anyone, since the 1960s, presidents have involved themselves in things they shouldn't have by travelling all around the country.

"While we all do it, it's not the sort of thing a president should prioritise. The late Alf Murray was the first one to see his role as being an ambassador within the association rather than to a wider public."

Concern about the expanding workload of the presidency finds a resonance amongst this weekend's candidates. "I think there's a need to sit down and look at the role of the president and see how it should develop," says Sean McCague. "The president will sometimes attend functions where there's already two or three provincial chairman present. There's a need to prioritise."

"The demands are unreal," says Albert Fallon. "Maybe the chairmen of the provincial councils should be appointed vice-presidents of the GAA and spread the burden. The GAA Trustees are appraising the situation but at the moment everyone wants a piece of the president."

Noel Walsh believes the office should be full-time. "The president should be seconded full-time from whatever job he's doing. It's not possible to take three years off without getting some remuneration."

Quinn has sympathy with the proposal but believes the status quo should be retained.

"The current situation preserves the amateur ethos and I support it on those grounds, even though I can see reasons why it should be a full-time office and support some of those reasons. One factor against the argument is that the job could lead to a conflict with the role of the Ard Stiurthoir (general secretary).

"That needs to be avoided. Theoretically in the past you could have had a president and Ard Stiurthoir who were barely on speaking terms and it wouldn't have affected the ability of the association to get things done. That would not be possible in the future - there's too great a need for communication between them."

Although the rebuilding of Croke Park consumes a large amount of a president's time, even when it is completed the pressures of office are unlikely to abate. The new stadium will involve greatly-expanded activities and the work of policy-making and implementation will intensify as the GAA meets the challenges ahead.

"I would think that the president will have a bigger decision-making role in the future," says Quinn. "More decisions will be made at central level and the president will be required to make those decisions on the hoof. In doing so, a president has to take cognisance of the ability of the executive staff in Croke Park to implement those decisions."

As the demands spiral, how are presidents going to cope with the twin demands of work and office? Danny Lynch believes there is a burn-out theory at work, that people can endure the burden because it is for a fixed term.

"Maybe because it's a three-year stint. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it keeps the adrenalin pumping."