"It is such a complex issue," says Jarlath Burns, the former Armagh captain and now chairman of the GAA Players' Committee.

"You know, when we in Armagh had no pitch, we availed for many years of the kindness of the Armagh rugby club. That we can't return that seems almost an embarrassment.

"I believe that most of the (GAA Players') members would have no massive difficulty with the end of Rule 42. From a personal perspective, I do harbour some reservations. There is a sense of sacredness about Croke Park, about the act of actually walking on the park.

"Say, theoretically, the GAA broached an agreement with the FAI for a number of internationals and supposing England or even Northern Ireland was scheduled to play there. Now, there is absolutely no problem with teams from either country playing in the ground, that is not the issue. But such an occasion could attract troublesome elements, as happened in 1995. "It would be naive to believe that national front organisations would not be aware of way Croke Park is regarded in Ireland. You could - and this is a worst-case scenario - see the tricolour being burnt on Hill 16. Now, I know that sounds very emotive and dramatic but it is not beyond possibility. And people have to understand that GAA people genuinely see Croke Park as a shrine to tradition and culture. It would be terrible to see anything undermine that."

Burns admits that there is probably an unspoken fear at grassroots level that an open-door policy would hasten the erosion of the GAA. Soccer would, as the undisputed global sport, survive dips in popularity in Ireland. The GAA could not.

"Let's be honest, we are in competition in a sense in terms of youngsters playing the game. People work tremendously hard to promote the GAA. Soccer has a massive marketing machine. If Gaelic games weakens at club level, if it loses ground, the games will go. You have to be almost paranoid about it in a sense."

But for all that, Burns is not vehemently opposed to the end of Rule 42. He agrees that the amendments are persuasive and realises that if they are rejected many of those aligned to other sports will be left incredulous.

"I know failure to adopt this will make us appear extremely inward and perhaps negative in terms of our ideology. And it is perhaps a difficult position to justify. But there are many layers to this and to comprehend it requires an understanding of just how many people give their life and time to the promotion of the GAA. It is a dearly held thing. Now, I'm not obsessive about this. The time might be right for change. But we have to take our people with us."