GAA PRESIDENT Jack Boothman has said that although there has been no demand for the removal of Rule 21 which prohibits members of the northern security forces from joining the association - both he and Central Council remain prepared to call a Special Congress to consider the matter.

The provision that enables a Special Congress was passed at last year's Congress as a compromise measure designed to prevent the matter being debated in what, it was feared, would be a divisive and rancorous fashion, which might lead to the proposed abolition being heavily defeated and consequently incapable of being raised at Congress for three years.

The terms of the compromise were: "That motion 43 on the Congress clar not be moved on the condition that Congress deputes to Ard Comhairle (Central Council) authority to call Special Congress to deal with: Rule 21, should circumstances in the Six Counties call for such action."

"It was considered and talked about at a recent Central Council meeting and no progress was reported," says Boothman. "There has been no proposal to have it raised and there was no demand for it, even from the counties that had proposed it last year. It's not high on our agenda, but I am, and the association is, prepared to call a Special Congress. The wording of the motion passed at last Congress leaves us able to calls a Congress at any time. It doesn't need prompting from the counties.

Last year, my biggest fear was if it had gone ahead, it could have been wiped out and had there been significant moves in the north, we would have been left unable to act. I wanted to avoid that and the motion put forward was the only way I could find to take the heat out of it."

Boothman was non-committal on the question of whether last year's compromise motion had created a situation where Rule 21 could not be raised by counties at this - or any - year's Congress, without the permission of Central Council.

"I'm not able to answer that. The interpretation put on it by Central Council didn't emphasise the negative. Can any county still raise it without the consent of Central Council? It's a moot point."

For the time being, the question doesn't really arise as greater pessimism about the political situation in the North has slowed what momentum - existed a year ago for the repeal of Rule 21.

The most significant gesture 12 months ago came from Down, whose annual convention narrowly voted to support repeal and became the first of the cross-border counties to do so. The club sponsoring the motion was Loughinisland and it was proposed by Eamonn O'Toole.

This year's Down convention has no such proposal on the clar. O'Toole reflects on the current status of the debate a year after he was denied the opportunity of putting the argument to Congress. "When we put the proposal forward, it was never about the pros and cons of Rule 21. Everyone addressed the question of `when' not `if'. The Association feels it should go, but that the timing is not right and that if it (the debate) had gone ahead, they would have had a split.

"I don't know what impact we would have had, but the majority of the southern counties look to the north on this issue."

Is the idea that northern counties should lead on the issue valid? I don't think so. The association introduced it and only the association can take it away. I'm not sure it should be an issue left to northern counties.

"Debating it might have caused difficulties because my perspective would be very different to the perspectives in East Tyrone, Fermanagh or South Armagh. When you look at the situation, at the end of the day we need leadership from the centre. Leaving it to northern counties would be an abrogation of responsibility."

Having guided the proposal through a tense convention debate in Newcastle, did O'Toole feel let down by the subsequent pulling of the motion?

"I don't know. I was aware of what was going to happen. I knew what way things were going. If you thought about it, you had jumped the first hurdle and it was disappointing not to have the opportunity to attempt to jump the next hurdle. But no more than on any other issue. I suppose we were sorry rather than greatly disappointed."

O'Toole remains hopeful that the matter will be given an airing in the next 15 months or so, although he believes that it will require "the judgement of Solomon for Central Council to decide when the "circumstances in the Six Counties" are appropriate for the matter to be dealt with.

"I have confidence in people like Jack Boothman that the issue won't be pushed away and that he won't end his presidency before - looking, at it and taking a decision.