News that James McCartan had applied for a transfer from Down to Armagh came as a surprise to the counties involved. Whereas there had been rumours of the move, the terms of the application to the Ulster Council were unexpected.

They were based on the fact that Armagh is his county of birth - he was born in Craigavon Hospital. But the Ulster Council turned down the application on the grounds that native qualification is based on the residence of parents at the time of birth rather than the actual birthplace (this is to get around precisely the problems posed by the location of maternity hospitals).

Patrick Nugent, the Armagh county secretary, attended the provincial council meeting. "There had been a lot of rumours around that he was looking at clubs in the county. But it was only at the meeting that I heard he wanted to declare for his county of birth. We didn't get involved in this in any shape or form."

McCartan, 31 this year, was a prominent member of the Down All-Ireland winning teams of 1991 and '94, winning All Stars both years. He has been out of favour with the county management since the beginning of the current National Football League campaign although manager Peter McGrath was reported yesterday as denying the door had been closed on anyone.

The player endured controversy before when transferring clubs from Tullylish to Burren in Down and is not believed to be seeking a transfer to an Armagh club despite rumours linking him with Ballyhegan. The matter may be reopened in the future as McCartan has bought a house in the Lurgan area.