Gaelic Games Croke Park: GAA president Seán Kelly has again raised the question of Rule 42. In an interview on Sky News Ireland, he said the prospect of Irish soccer and rugby internationals being played overseas would prompt a response from the rank and file membership.

Referring to the number of motions on the subject that were ruled out of order before last April's annual congress, he said he expected more would be tabled for the next congress.

"They didn't meet with success last year because they were deemed out of order, but I think those who were putting forward the motions last year indicated they would be coming back again, and now, with the imminent closure of Lansdowne Road and the Ireland team doing well in soccer and the Irish rugby team winning the Triple Crown . . .

"I think a lot of people would feel not very happy and a certain amount of disquiet and dissatisfaction if those games are moved abroad, and I think that will manifest itself in clubs and in motions eventually to congress next April."

Once again the president iterated his views on the issue of relaxing the controversial rule.

"Well, my own position has always been clear. I'm in favour of opening up Croke Park and I look at it from a business point of view. I see it as the best stadium in the world and it is closed for up to nine months of the year. That makes no sense to me.

"But there are those who are against it and I think no argument in the world is going to change them. They just feel that to open Croke Park will be to open other venues, which I don't see the logic of but they see the logic of it. All the arguments in the world won't sway them.

"So the people you need to sway are the middle ground, those who would have an open mind, those who would be slightly worried about the consequences of opening Croke Park. I think if they can be assured that it is Croke Park, and Croke Park alone, then you may get enough people to look at it from another perspective."

Speaking elsewhere yesterday, Kelly addressed the recent violence in club matches. Asked whether he felt that this constituted a worrying trend in the wake of a summer of ambivalence on the indiscipline issue, or a blip on the screen, he replied: "A bit of both. Things go in cycles. In maybe in six or 12 months there'll be no such situation.

"But there is a worry there, because within an organisation, particularly of our size, discipline is the kernel of the operation and if you have a breakdown of discipline and the questioning of everything, you're into a different situation. It's something that I intend to raise with Coiste Bainistí (Management Committee)."

He also acknowledged the growing tendency of players to dispute decisions in the courts. "The refusal to accept referees' decisions has posed a whole new dimension for us, which we have to address."

Among the possible remedies under consideration by the president was to seek advice on the whole question of injunctions being handed down in the courts, allowing players to evade suspension.

"I think we need to talk to the Department of Justice, because they can advise us on a difficult situation, which has arisen over the past 12 to 24 months. We have to be more up front in challenging these situations. Last week we had a meeting with our solicitors regarding that. We need to challenge them."

Finally, former All Star Damien Quigley has taken Limerick GAA by surprise by informing board officers he's standing down as senior hurling team selector after just one year.