GAELIC GAMES/Rule 42 debate: The worm may finally be turning as two more counties last night voted to allow rugby and soccer to be played in Croke Park on a temporary basis. Kildare voted 51-13 in favour while it was unanimous in Offaly.
This means that all 12 Leinster counties are supporting the Sligo and Roscommon motions for change with the strongest opposition coming from Ulster.
Six of the nine Ulster counties and Cork are against change but their votes may not be enough to hold the dam. Donegal and Cavan are the only northern counties to buck that trend, but a close vote is expected in Down next Wednesday though they are unlikely to opt for change.
In 2001, Antrim were a surprise supporter to amending Rule 42, but under current county board chairman Joe O'Brien that mindset has changed. On Monday they are expected to confirm this.
The recent reversals of attitudes by traditionally conservative counties such as Meath, Tipperary, Galway and Waterford have finally made the idea of Central Council having the power to open the doors of Croke Park a reality before the year is out.
The temporary change to Rule 42, while Lansdowne Road is being redeveloped, seems to have edged wavering GAA delegates towards a historic change.
Although the Roscommon motion is set to be debated on the Congress clár on April 16th at Croke Park, it looks flawed as it puts a time limit, up to 2008, on any such arrangement.
The required two thirds majority came tantalisingly close at Congress in 2001, just one shy in a 176 to 89 vote.
Although Kildare and Offaly last night opted for change Mayo and Limerick could yet swing the pendulum back in favour of those who wish to keep the status quo.
Mayo have already voted against changing Rule 42, albeit by a single vote, and their delegates to Congress will meet next Monday to make a final decision.
The ever-changing mindset of those in Limerick will be forced into a final stance this Tuesday. After a recent reversal from 2001, when the majority of their delegates voted in favour of change, they now appear ready to acquiesce to the short-term lifting of the Croke Park ban.
The Limerick city GAA board have mandated their candidates to vote yes next week, as have clubs Adare, Mungret and the county senior hurling champions Ahane.
Opposition remains in the shape of Monaghan who on Monday night reversed their 2001 stance to a firm no to any change. There was strong criticism at the county board meeting of an alleged media-driven campaign with a local radio station coming in for particular criticism. Several delegates also called on the GAA to put forward a stronger argument for not opening Croke Park.
There was one proposal at the meeting from the Monaghan Harps club to support limited access as outlined in the Roscommon motion to Congress, but a proposal by county chairman John Connolly, seconded by Clontibret's Paul Ward, to keep Croke Park exclusive to Gaelic games was carried by 11 votes.
Fermanagh also took a similar stance on Monday with a majority of six votes.
Another issue that clouds the final outcome of the Congress debate on April 16th at Croke Park is the renegade delegate. Most counties will mandate their representatives to vote in a particular manner, but in the past this has not been adhered to.
Westmeath are one of the counties to introduce a whip system where one delegate will ensure all others toe the party line. Factor in a potential 40 overseas delegates and the waters get even murkier.
Still, the overwhelming margins in Tipperary (62-16), Meath (53-7), Galway (90-20) and Waterford (unanimous, no vote required) show that opinion at ground level doesn't want to see the national teams in soccer and rugby trotting on to foreign fields like a revamped Wembley, Twickenham or Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Naturally, as the Dublin Chamber of Commerce pointed out this week, the euro will depart with the people.
