Gaelic Games: The new Waterford football management was confirmed at their county convention on Monday night. Billy Harty is the new manager, while former dual star Peter Queally has been named as trainer.

Harty, from the Ardmore GAA club, has no experience at senior intercounty level but he has a decent pedigree at underage level. He would be familiar with the successful under-21 panel that won this year's Munster championship, as he trained them at both under-14 and under-16 levels.

Harty's son, also named Billy, was a member of the side that beat both Cork and Kerry on their way to the county's first ever under-21 provincial title.

The most interesting appointment is that of Queally who, along with Brian Flannery and Brian Greene, recently quit the senior hurling panel in controversial circumstances. The three players refused to play under the management of Justin McCarthy.

There is a possibility that Queally, an accomplished footballer, may now also make himself available for selection.

The other selectors named were Liam Dalton, who retired from the football panel this year, and former hurling goalkeeper Pat Curran.

Also at the Waterford convention, the proposed motion from the Cashmore club regarding the opening of Croke Park to other sports, was defeated by an almost two-to-one margin. Similar motions have been defeated at the two previous conventions, but never by such a large margin.

Although GAA president Seán Kelly openly backs the move, this result makes it questionable whether those in favour of opening Croke Park will have the required support at April's Congress. Motions regarding such amendments to the rules were recently passed in Dublin, Wicklow, Sligo and Clare but these counties have been behind the change for some time.

Serious opposition in Cork and from Limerick chairman Pat Fitzgerald indicates that those in favour of change look to have their work cut out in the coming months.

Although the vote was just two shy of the two-thirds majority required in 2001 (176 to 89), last year's motion from Clare was defeated on a count of 197 to 106.

This week, the Kilmacud Crokes motion to Congress was easily passed in Dublin (174 to 34), with a view to Croke Park being opened for non-association sports. It read: "The usage of Páirc an Chrócaigh shall be maximised for the benefit of the Association and this usage shall be determined by Central Council."

Also at the Dublin convention, John Bailey was returned unopposed as chairman and he also beat long-serving delegate Gerry Brady to the seat on Central Council. Brady has just been made chairman of the group charged with looking at ways of improving GAC structures.

Meanwhile, despite playing in a challenge match for the footballers recently against the University of Limerick, Tipperary hurling goalkeeper Brendan Cummins hasn't decided whether he will return to his dual status of two seasons ago.

"I won't be making any declaration until after January," he said "There is no chance of dropping the hurling, it's just a case of whether the body is in shape to do both. It's been almost a year and a half since I kicked a football, so I said I would play two matches to see how it was. It didn't feel bad."

Cummins kicked three points against UL last weekend. The Ardfinnan man has represented the Tipperary footballers at minor, under-21, junior and senior level.

He was last a part of the panel in 2002, when Tipperary reached the Munster final, losing to Cork in controversial circumstances after their opponents played a sixth substitute.