GAA/Congress Countdown: Noel Walsh has withdrawn from this weekend's election for the GAA presidency.

Characteristically, he has gone out with guns blazing, criticising "totally undemocratic" pressure on counties to drop opposition to Rule 42 and calling for the GAA's Players' Committee to be directly elected by the players.

The GAA trustee from Clare said that he had never intended to contest Saturday's poll and didn't wish to split his province's vote with Seán Kelly, his successor as Munster Council chairman.

"I was never a serious candidate," he said, "and the main reason for that is that you can't have two candidates from the one province. Seán withdrew the last time (1999) when we were both candidates and I feel I must reciprocate."

The two most significant areas of policy on which Walsh has expressed an opinion have been those concerning Rule 42, which is used to prevent other sports being played at Croke Park, and amateur status. He is the sponsor of motion four - proposing that the power to decide on the use of Croke Park by other sports be devolved to the GAA's Central Council - on this weekend's congress agenda.

Recently he spoke out on the issue of amateurism, announcing that he had changed his mind on the subject and now supported proposals that elite players be paid.

He maintains both positions despite a marked lack of encouragement. The likelihood is that the Clare motion will do well to get to the clár and is almost certain not to be passed.

"The only reason I put the motion was because I heard about pressure from on high to persuade Longford and Roscommon not to bring it forward again this year. That's totally undemocratic.

"People say that Rule 42 should be voted on at the special congress (to consider the report of Strategic Review Committee), but I disagree. Now is the time to do it. In fact, last year was the time to do it. If passed then, it would have made things very hard for the Government to proceed with Stadium Ireland in Abbotstown.

"Once we lose the bargaining tool of having Croke Park available for rent, the rule and the debate about it are irrelevant."

On the amateurism issue he restated his views. "There are a number of officials who believe that players should be kept in their place. But I feel that the level of expenses being looked for by the players (the €127 per week being sought by the unofficial players' union, the GPA) is sustainable.

"We have to pay more attention to the players. Without them there are no big games. At the moment the Players Committee is nominated by the president so it reflects his views and not necessarily the players'. It should be elected by the players."

Walsh's withdrawal would appear to enhance the chances of Seán Kelly securing election. The first Kerry candidate for the GAA's top position, he now has a clear run at the vote in Munster, which hasn't provided a president since Cork's Con Murphy was elected 27 years ago.

The field for this year's election is now reduced to four candidates, which if there are no further withdrawals will be the largest for 12 years. The last two elections have been decided emphatically on the first count.

Another distinguishing feature of Saturday's vote will be the use of the Single Transferable Vote for the first time - assuming that the winner does not get a quota on the first count. This means that delegates will have to make up their minds on preferences before filling in the ballot paper. In the past close elections each round was balloted separately.