Brennan and GPA in 'exploratory' meeting

New GAA president Nickey Brennan honoured a scheduled meeting with the Gaelic Players Association today but both parties have…

New GAA president Nickey Brennan honoured a scheduled meeting with the Gaelic Players Association today but both parties have refused to divulge the precise nature of the talks.

A joint statement was issued this afternoon and in it the meeting was described as one of an "exploratory nature".

"The meeting was of an exploratory nature to discuss a possible engagement process to consider issues of concern and interest to both parties. A series of further meetings are scheduled," the statement read.

No further comment will be made while this process is in progress, the two parties said.

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Last week Brennan touched on the meeting during his inaugural speech at Congress, making it clear he viewed the talks as the beginning of a complicated process of dealing with the GPA's demands on player welfare.

"First of all I need to get to know them," he said. "I've never formally met the GPA before. Obviously I know DJ Carey very well and would know Dessie Farrell to talk to. So I would see it as a getting to know one another, and understanding each of our positions.

"They have issued us with a number of items they want to discuss, and we have issues to discuss with them. We also need to know more about their long-term aims and ambitions. So we'll probably get into some of the substance of what they're about, but it will take a number of meetings before we get to the bottom of that. We're not expecting to solve everything [today]."