IF AN impressive CV were to be the deciding factor for any posit ion in the GAA from president down, Peter McDermott would have no challengers. His list of achievements since 1936, when he captained the Rathfeigh team to win the Meath minor championship, is quite astonishing.

Even now as a sprightly 78 year old, who is still in charge of the family business in Navan he gives the impression that his service to the GAA and all it stands for is far from over.

Although his name will always be associated with Meath, both as a player and administrator he has strong connections with Cork. Born in Belgooley near Kinsale in 1918 to Meath parents, who had moved briefly there, he played at under age level for a number of clubs before making his first senior inter county match in the National League against Wexford at the age of 20.

His leadership qualities were soon recognised and a year later he captained the Leinster team in the Railway Cup.

In 1945 and 46 he was the Meath representative on the Central Council of the GAA and also the Leinster Council.

In 1946 he coached (the term manager hadn't come into fashion at that stage) the Down team which won the All Ireland junior title. He won an All Ireland medal when Meath beat Cavan in the 1949 final and played in the losing Meath team beaten by Mayo in the final of 1951.

He was secretary of the Meath county board from 1953 to 1955. During that period he was captain of the Meath team which won the National League title in 1951 as well as the All Ireland championship in 1954.

With Meath he won six Leinster titles between 1940 and 1954. Martin O'Connell equalled that feat this year.

He also made his mark on the field as a referee and was in charge of the Kerry Armagh final in 1953, winning his second AllIreland medal as a player the following year. He was also the referee in the All Ireland final between Galway and Cork in 1956.

His playing days over, his influence on the game continued and he was coach to the Down team which won the All Ireland championship in 1960 and 61 and then coached the Meath team which won the All Ireland in 1967.

He was a leading figure in the trip by the Meath team to Australia the following year, his duties including those of coaching the players in the composite rules which he helped to draft. In Centenary Year, 1984, he was manager of the Ireland team for a series of matches against Australia and was awarded the Hall of Fame in the All Star scheme in 1989.

His knowledge of the game and his commitment to it is legendary. He feels that refereeing the game has become more difficult, particularly at the top level and would favour the use of two referees in the top inter county matches, in the play offs of the National League and in the provincial championships and AllIreland series.

"I would see no difficulty in this. I would go for two referees in the top matches. I would also advocate the direct pick up and a possible curb on the solo run but what I am most violently opposed to is the pulling and dragging that goes on and I would punish these fouls severely.

"There is a lot going on off the ball and I believe that refereeing is too big a job for one man.

"In my days as a referee I always tried to be on the side of the field away from the side on which the ball was. In that way I got a side on view of the play. I never believed that the referee should always be up and down the middle of the pitch.

"Another responsibility for the referee is time keeping and that presents its own problems. An official time keeper and a hooter were used on an experimental basis some years ago. Perhaps it should be tried again. Spectators would be able to see the official time recorded and stoppages for injury or allowances made for time wasting would be there for all to see.

"The fact that Meath are in the final this year has come as a big surprise to people in Meath. Earlier in the season there was a feeling in the county that a change of manager might be needed but Sean Boylan is a very shrewd man and he has moulded a very good side," he says.

"They will have to reproduce their best form to beat Mayo. The defeat by Mayo in the 1951 final was a great disappointment. The Meath team was going to America the week following the match and the players were inoculated and some of them reacted badly to the injection and we were beaten by 2-8 to 0-9."

He toys with the idea of some kind of a `mark' in Gaelic football: "There is no legitimate way to dispossess a player, that is a serious problem and I'm not sure how we could solve it. One man's solution is another man's problem but the popularity of the game survives and that is what is most important."

What is important too, is that people who are as dedicated and loyal to the game as Peter McDermott are to be cherished. There are few enough left.