GAELIC GAMES/STRATEGIC REVIEW 2002: Dublin is too important a region to be left exclusively to the county itself. That was the essential message of yesterday's media conference to launch the report of the GAA's Strategic Review Committee.

The headline proposal of the review, the division of Dublin into two county units with the Liffey as a boundary, was presented yesterday as part of an overall strategy to cope with the challenges facing the capital.

Responding to questions as to whether the GAA would proceed with plans for Dublin without the agreement of its county board and clubs, committee chairman Peter Quinn set out his opinion forcefully.

"We don't want to override the Dublin county board, but Dublin isn't just a Dublin problem. It accounts for 30 per cent of the state's population and 25 per cent of the people living on this island. It can't be considered the preserve of 90 clubs and one county executive. The county may want to vary the proposals but we do want progress in Dublin."

Christy Cooney, chairman of the Munster Council, chaired the sub-committee examining Dublin. "You must remember that there are 1.4 million people in the region and 2,000,000 or more will be there in 20 years time. There's no way one county board is going to manage that. We met all of the units in Dublin last year, as well as the county board. Improvements are necessary and that's not the fault of the board or clubs."

Quinn added that the division of the county was just part of the envisaged package for the city. "We are recommending sizeable investment in terms of finance and personnel. We recognise that Dublin needs special attention, it's a key strategic matter."

The Dublin county board met the SRC yesterday morning and received the proposals "positively", according to Quinn. Clubs in the county will now consider the report before the county responds formally.

Tommy Lyons, newly-appointed manager of the Dublin senior footballers, was upbeat when responding to the measures.

"I'm happy we're talking about change. We shouldn't be afraid of change, irrespective of how it affects individuals. Something radical is needed when you're dealing with a county of 1.2 million people. In isolation, the idea of splitting Dublin in two mightn't have any particular value but as part of a whole review programme of development and investment, it might well make sense. There are so many areas in the Dublin region that are not properly serviced."

Quinn outlined the timetable for the changeover. The SRC propose that from next year, two separate minor teams - selected on the north-south basis - will be entered into the championship. A year later, two senior teams will contest the National League from 2004.

Strangely, the proposals governing the senior championship seem to leave up in the air the question of two Dublin teams. The SRC "recognises that the two county committees will ultimately decide on whether two separate teams will be entered in the senior football championship, but the committee recommends that the two county committees should field separate in the Leinster and All-Ireland championships in 2005."

Asked did this effectively leave the matter up to Dublin, Quinn was diplomatic. "We would see the logical follow-on from entering separate teams in the National League that the same thing would apply in the senior championship. Dublin would be allowed a certain flexibility in the implementation of this, but we would hope that the transition would be completed."

The county will inevitably be affected by the restriction on urban clubs serving catchment areas with a population greater than 25,000. But this cap - together with the rural equivalent of 5,000 - was presented as central to the review's theme of 'Enhancing Community Identity'.

"If a club exceeds those catchment limits, it's impossible to sustain a community base - and that's totally consistent with our theme of identity within the community," said Quinn.

Finally, the chairman said that a south Dublin team would be allowed play its matches in Croke Park, given that there is no county ground anywhere near the specification in the report for county grounds - venues with a capacity of between 15,000 and 25,000.