ULSTER will say yes to Gaelic football’s proposed new playing rules, paving the way for their introduction at this weekend’s Special Congress.
So far, seven of the nine counties are set to throw their weight behind the changes.
That could become eight by tomorrow night with Down’s clubs and executive committee due to meet to discuss the changes, while following a meeting on Tuesday night, Tyrone’s delegates will have a ‘free vote’ at the weekend.
Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Fermanagh and Monaghan are all either broadly or completely in favour of the changes.
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While reservations about how they will translate to the club game were voiced from the floor of meetings in a number of counties, the general consensus across the Ulster counties is that they would, as one delegate put it, rather take that chance than risk the idea being shelved.
The first motion at Saturday’s Special Congress would write into rule that the rules must be adopted by March 31, 2025, and that alterations for under-18 and younger grades could be made with approval from the GAA’s Development Competitions Control Committee.
Saturday’s first motion, if passed, would also confirm that the rules are on a one-year trial basis and that Central Council will have the power to “rescind or amend” the rules through the year.
Jim Gavin will attend tomorrow night’s meeting in Down having been in both Fermanagh and Armagh earlier this week, with Seamus Kenny having attended meetings in Derry, Monaghan and Cavan.
Antrim’s position is that while there are reservations as regards the club game, they are generally in favour of the new rules.
Armagh clubs mandated them last night to vote in favour after a meeting that was described as ‘positive’ towards the proposals, while the majority of clubs in Derry were also behind the changes.
Cavan’s meeting on Monday night will lead them to vote in favour of “almost all” the rules, but they will vote against the 50m penalty for delaying a free being taken, and the introduction of a hooter.
Donegal heard some concern from clubs as regard the demands it will place on referees at club level but there was “general agreement” from the clubs to support the rule enhancements on the whole, which they will do.
There was no strong opposition to the rules in either Fermanagh or Monaghan, both of whom will vote at least largely in favour.
The position of Tyrone, whose manager Malachy O’Rourke was part of the FRC, is less clear, with their delegates set to make their own decision on each motion and no over-arching position.
Given that historically opposition to some of the GAA’s major motions for change has been grounded in Ulster, close to blanket support for the rule changes bodes well for the FRC and those in favour.
In all, there will be 49 motions heard in Croke Park on Saturday, broken into 18 headings.
Rules will be grouped together, such as motions 13-18 that come under the heading of ‘goalkeeper’.
It’s understood that, for example, if any of the six motions within that grouping were to fail, then the whole grouping would fail.
The other groupings are: 1v1 (throw-in); kickouts; 3v3; advanced mark; scoring; delay fouling; solo & go; black card; fouls; advantage; dissent; captain; pitch markings; public clock and hooter; line umpires; crossing a line.
All motions will require 60 per cent of the vote from the floor in order to be passed into rule.
There is no motion on the clár that relates to the payment of managers, despite Pat Gilroy’s recent claim that the GAA planned to introduce one to the meeting that would seek to regulate financial compensation.