THE TAOISEACH, John Bruton, or as he is pleased to call himself "The Boy From Dunboyne" was in splendid form after watching his native Meath force themselves back into a match which they appeared to have lost to earn a replay against Mayo in two weeks' time.

He was willing to admit that his Mayo born wife, Finola, remained somewhat quiet following the match which saw her native county squander a six point lead. Presumably some kind of domestic coalition within the Bruton household will be effected between now and the replay.

Members of the Bruton Government were present in Croke Park in numbers. Jimmy Deenihan from Kerry, who held the Sam Maguire Cup over his head by right when he captained Kerry, Enda Kenny, son of Henry Kenny from Mayo of the 40s and 50s, Austin Currie (who surely wished that Tyrone were there), Michael Lowry from Tipperary was also there, but the Taoiseach was reflecting that when the replay takes place on Sunday week he would be meeting the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo.

He summed up the match as a man of his responsibility would be expected to do. "It was very tense. As tense as any sporting event I was ever at. I know I was part of that myself but it seemed to me that the players were tense also.

"I felt that Mayo were on top for three quarters of the match and that Meath got into contention in the last quarter. I felt that Meath might have won if it went on any longer, but by and large, I think that a draw was a fair result and it is anybody's guess who will win the replay."

By and large there was a mixed reaction to the draw in the corridors of GAA power. Staff at the GAA headquarters were adopting a resigned approach to the fact that holiday breaks, which might have started this morning, are now postponed and that the frantic and frenetic search for tickets begins anew instead.

The fact that Meath and Mayo players and their mentors must gear themselves up for a further two weeks of effort brought about a certain anti climactic air to Croke Park at the end of the match. Needless to say, there will be some who will suggest that the referee Pat McEneaney from Monaghan was somewhat over enthusiastic with his decision to end the match as far as time was concerned.

Other cynics will suggest that the lure of filthy lucre had something to do with it, but others will feel that the influx of an extra £1.5 million into the coffers of the GAA is well earned and that both teams deserve another chance after a match in which neither side did themselves full justice.

A former Meath stalwart, Peter McDermott, believes that more time should have been played, and was not the only person to suggest that an official time keeper and a public clock controlled by somebody other than the referee should be used. "I think Meath would have won if another two or three minutes were allowed but I'm not complaining, I believe that they will win the replay," be said.

The president elect of the GAA, Joe McDonagh, from Galway, was not admitting any bias in favour of his neighbouring county: "I think Mayo surprised a lot of people today and demonstrated that Connacht football is in a healthy state. Meath were very resourceful when they were in trouble and pulled back a six point lead, point by point.

"It was an interesting match to watch. Both teams put everything into it and there was no question about their commitment. In the long run, I suppose that a replay is the best result for all concerned and I believe that we will get a much better match in two weeks' time," he said.

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, was being diplomatic about his view. Like everybody else he felt that Mayo seemed to have it won before Meath staged their comeback rally. "Meath never give up and Mayo let them back into the match and I suppose a draw was a fair result in the end he said," delicately straddling the fact that as a Longford man he had constituents in two provinces.

Former presidents of the GAA were theme in force, including Seamus O Riain, from Tipperary, Paddy McFlynn, from Down, Paddy Buggy, from Kilkenny, Pat Fanning, from Waterford and, inevitably, Mick Loftus, from Mayo. He was concealing his disappointment quite well: "We are not beaten yet. I think we played better for most of the match but we lost our way towards the end. Meath are a very hard team to beat in any circumstances and they certainly never gave up and pulled back that lead brilliantly.

"We missed a few chances that could have sewn it up for us but that is the way things go. It was a great occasion " he said.