Croke Park is unlikely to have floodlights installed in time for the second International Rules Test in the autumn. The plan had been to stage the series climax under lights on the weekend of November 4th-5th. That now looks too soon for the planning process, which is considering the GAA's application.

"It's with An Bord Pleanála at the moment," says Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna, "and it's unlikely unless we get the go-ahead in the next couple of days that we'll meet that deadline. It's unfortunate, but that's the system and we're well familiar with it at this stage and it's worked well for us in the past."

Earlier this year, the proposal to install lights was approved by Dublin City Council.

But despite attempts at mediation by Finbarr Flood, former chair of the Labour Court and chair of the Decentralisation Implementation Group, local concerns about the project were not allayed and the permission was then appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Should the planning authority come down against the idea, a further appeal would take even longer to conclude.

"When a decision goes to the board," says McKenna, "it tends to be four months minimum, and this has been with them since the end of April and it's known that they're backed up with a lot of applications at the moment. A further appeal would take until the end of September at least."

Although the seeking of permission to install floodlights was expected once the staging of rugby and soccer internationals was confirmed last January, the GAA have been interested in the idea for their own games.

In Australia, the International Rules series are always played under lights and it creates a very distinctive match environment - "makes for a completely different atmosphere," according to McKenna - and the GAA have begun the roll out of floodlit facilities around the country with a growing number of National League fixtures having been played at night over the past four seasons.

Croke Park's floodlights would be attached to the roof of the stands and also mounted on collapsible pylons at the northern end of the ground.

"The pylon would drop down on itself when not in use and so there would be no visual obstruction from outside the ground, no change in the skyline from the northern end at Clonliffe Road," says McKenna.

The need for pylons comes about because of the size of Gaelic games pitches, which make them too broad for solely the type of floodlights used at Lansdowne Road - those mounted underneath the roof of the stands.

"The pitch is too wide," says McKenna, "so the stands are too far away from the middle of it, which leads to a dimming in the required light around the centre."

So the lights will be on top of the stands and additional lights on pylons are needed to maintain the brightness and avoid distorting shadows.

"Hurling and football are high-ball games, and to prevent players being dazzled when going for high catches the light needs to be fixed at a higher level. But even though they will be mounted on the stands, these lights still won't be visible from outside."

The floodlights would be the strongest in Ireland. The top-of- the-range installations will have a strength of around 2,000 lux (unit for floodlighting), which is up with the standards suitable for international cricket.

Should the second Test not be played under lights and permission is confirmed, it is still expected that the installation will have its official opening at a Gaelic games fixture.

"If we don't get the go-ahead in time for the International Rules we'll definitely be looking at putting on a GAA event for the first night," says McKenna. "Nickey (Brennan, GAA president) is discussing the possibilities and the likelihood is that we would do something before the National Leagues begin."

The first of the rugby and soccer internationals takes place on February 11th next with the Six Nations match with France.