GAELIC GAMES: Seán Moran profiles the two candidates in an election that has suffered a bit from lack of exposure

It was inevitable with all the noise generated by the debate on Rule 42 that the GAA presidential election would suffer a bit for exposure. But the nature of the candidacies hasn't helped. In the first straight contest for the presidency since Joe McDonagh defeated Seán McCague in London three elections ago, the runners are low-key.

Nickey Brennan's luminous hurling CV means that he is the better known of the two but both he and Christy Cooney have remarkably similar administrative track records as county and provincial chairs as well as members of the ill-fated Strategic Review Committee.

Cooney is favourite and, as if in recognition of that status, has disengaged from any further media comment, making the approach to tomorrow's election even quieter than it might have been.

Both he and Brennan are irritated by the focus on Rule 42 ahead of what they see as more pressing items on the GAA agenda and inevitably coverage of their election has been dominated by the respective stances on the opening of Croke Park.

They may resent the intrusion but Rule 42 has become a cipher for how the candidacies are seen.

Brennan supports the motion to devolve authority in the matter to Central Council but has steadfastly refused to say whether he agrees with the staging of soccer and rugby in Croke Park - beyond commenting any such concession would be strictly for the duration of work on Lansdowne Road.

Although that point of view generally implies support for opening up, Brennan has been at pains to remain on the fence - even to be fair to him with the "yes" votes clocking up a big majority.

Cooney on the other hand has been resolutely on the record as opposing any relaxation of Rule 42. His views aren't surprising given Cork's traditional stance on the issue and they form part of a staggeringly conservative agenda, which includes no dealings with the GPA unless they come under the Croke Park umbrella and a stated belief that people shouldn't get too worked up over the lack of competition in hurling given it's no worse than 30 years ago.

Yet the universal view of the Cork man seems to be that he is an excellent administrator both in his career as deputy head of FÁS and in the various roles in which he has served the GAA over the years.

There is also the basic consideration of how much do the views of an incoming president really matter. The successful candidate will have three years to make an impact on the bureaucracy in Croke Park and to whip up enthusiasm for his plans around the country.

Three years ago when the incumbent, Seán Kelly, was elected, he baffled many by his reference to the return of the "fourth green field" - an unusual piece of old-time nationalist rhetoric, particularly for a former Fine Gael local election candidate. Needless to say the green-fields talk has lain fallow during his term of office.

For those who admire Cooney as an administrator, the stridency of some of his views shouldn't be taken as an indicator of what to expect. According to one source, "He's a pragmatist and knows the tide is going out on Rule 42 because of the way the membership is thinking and I don't think he's going to have too much of a problem with that."

Brennan has the more rounded track record in that he has been prominent in hurling for over 30 years, as a successful player and All-Ireland winner at different levels as well as a manager of both the Kilkenny hurlers and, more surprisingly, the county's consistently downtrodden footballers. He was one of Ollie Walsh's selectors in the back-to-back All-Ireland wins of 1992-93.

Eleven years ago at the GAA congress in Cavan he made a famous speech about how hurling was in crisis and became centrally involved in the moves that helped reshape the game in the mid-1990s, most prominently the introduction of the championship reform that saw defeated finalists in Munster and Leinster re-enter the All-Ireland series.

The move was a success that led to the qualifier series that has considerably raised the number of matches for teams in the championship.

Both men's paths crossed in the Strategic Review Committee, established at the start of Seán McCague's presidency to plot a course for the next 30 years.

Under the chair of former president Peter Quinn, both Brennan and Cooney - by now chairs of Leinster and Munster respectively - served on the SRC and were entrusted with guiding through some of the less contentious provisions of the report while Quinn and Joe McDonagh took the heat for the "big-idea" stuff.

The contrasting styles of the two men were to be seen in the work of the SRC. "Nickey works really hard. You couldn't fault his hours," says one member of the committee who served with both. "But he doesn't delegate, throws himself into everything and was likely to keep discussing decisions after they'd been made whereas with Christy once the decision was made that was that and he stuck by it."

Another official who has worked with both, and who supports Cooney, agrees. "Nickey tends to agree with you all the time and I would have had more differences with Christy but in a way I prefer that."

Brennan's strengths are seen as his ability to seek and find consensus as well as his willingness to work hard and his broader range of experiences. He is perceived as a more open and accessible candidate although he would be unlikely to emulate the "open-all-hours" access of the incumbent, Seán Kelly.

The role of the president has changed enormously over the years. Where once the position was one of figurehead, making rousing speeches and rallying Gaeldom, nowadays it's almost become an executive role. Instead of opening pitches around the country - although that still has to be done - all the time, a contemporary president is equally likely to have to sit in on high-finance meetings, help negotiate eight different bundles of broadcasting rights and deal with constant media attention.

The GAA have been lucky with the calibre of candidates elected given there's no guarantee built into the system. Kelly was the first president in two decades elected on his first campaign. Up until then there had been a sequence of runners-up getting elected three years later. Given Cooney looks a likely winner, that route may be Brennan's best chance of making the presidency.

Cooney has the support of Munster and the vast majority of the Ulster delegates. Leinster is the least homogenous of the provinces and Brennan concedes he won't get all 12 counties.

Overseas delegates will have an important role to play in the Rule 42 debate but their input to the presidential election is unlikely to be critical.

One observer says that the only way Cooney can lose is if Cork were to make a show of themselves on the Rule 42 and antagonise some delegates. Consequently we can expect a quiet performance from Frank Murphy and co.

The election might be quiet but whoever wins will have long enough in the spotlight.