One of the more esoteric ideas to emerge from the Strategic Review Committee (SRC) report is that of a "catchment cap" of 25,000 for urban clubs and 5,000 for rural clubs. The initiative is central to the unifying theme of the SRC, that of enhancing the GAA's role in the community. The feeling is that the above figures represent the maximum that urban and rural clubs can feasibly serve. But while the principle is fine, is it practical? asks Keith Duggan

"Our recommendation is that the process would be supervised by the provincial councils and if they identified a club they saw as not fitting into the criteria, they would act upon that in conjunction with the relevant county board," explains Michael Delaney of the Leinster Council, who sat on the review committee.

"It will be difficult to bring about and clubs' natural impulse will be to resist it for fear of weakening their own positions or whatever. But our findings are that clubs are already under great strain trying to serve communities that have expanded greatly in recent years."

The figures, he stresses, are not cut and dry, but will be used as guidelines.

"If a Dublin city club was examined and it was found that although its catchment area was excessive it was serving the community extremely well, then the status quo would conceivably remain the same. However, as a contrasting example, if a small rural club with a relatively small catchment area was not sufficiently meeting the needs of that community, then steps to improve the situation would be taken," he says.

It has been speculated that this aspect of the SRC could have stark repercussions for south Dublin, which has a sparse club to population ratio. "It has simply never been an issue," says Kilmacud Crokes chairman Liam O'Flaherty when asked if it is felt that there is a need for more clubs in the south city.

"As a club, we cater for a percentage of the community and work on that basis. I think that this proposal is really about the future, something that may come into being by the end of the decade and, given the way that population trends are going, it may be necessary by then."

However, it also has implications for smaller provincial towns, particularly those within commuting distance of the major urban centres. Many clubs are now serving a catchment area of 8,000 plus and the SRC feel that sections of those communities are being left uninvolved by local branches of the GAA.

"The geography and scale of many towns and urban centres have been altered greatly in recent times," says Delaney. "We studied this in detail and spoke to many people and the perception was that once populations exceeded a certain number, it became very difficult for the clubs to adequately reach the entire community. For instance, many towns have undergone considerable expansion in terms of housing and those occupants are less likely to feel as if they have a belonging with the GAA club in their area if the demands on that club are already considerable."

The principle of a catchment cap ties in with the one of the SRC's primary objectives, that of "using the national games to build a sense of local community identity and national tír grá within Irish communities everywhere".