Danny Lynch should be somewhere in the White House. The spanking new, triple-tiered Croke Park does not do him justice. Danny needs something like the Iraqi war on his hands so that he can tell 'them militants' and 'opponents of regime-change' exactly what 'the administration' thinks of them. Shut 'em up, 'good and well'.

On Thursday morning, the word 'opportunistic' was used by Danny Lynch.

He was calling the Gaelic Players Association opportunistic in demanding to have their say in the same week as the GAA unveiled the size of the estimated 7m cheque they will have in their possession when the IRFU and the FAI are finished paying their rent for Croke Park over a 12-month period. He landed that word, amazingly, and without even a hint of embarrassment, square on McGeeney's jaw.

But he didn't leave it at that. No, no, no, no, not Danny, not for one minute. Next thing he's back on his toes, dancing and weaving, trotting out stuff about the GAA's accounts being open and audited. He's throwing out jabs, and giving the distinct impression that after the GAA has looked after everyone it needs to look after throughout the country each year, it is, more or less, skint.

And that is the case. We know what the GAA takes in each year and we know how much money they give out.

We know the association has put loads of money into Croker and all its other grounds, and we know that next on the spending list are lights. Lots of fantastic, gigantic, bright lights, so that our best hurlers and footballers can entertain, and earn more money for the GAA, on Wednesday and Friday and Saturday nights, and not just Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

But the accounts of the most sacred amateur organisation in the world do not reveal what Danny Lynch receives in his 12 months package. Neither do they give a hint of Liam Mulvihill's earnings. The boss has a package which is bundled to over a quarter of a million euro per year. Yep!

I said it before and I'll say it again, the GAA is doing itself a grave disservice by not revealing what its officials earn in the public domain. It boils down to transparency, which should be the bedrock of every modern organisation. Both Lynch and Mulvihill do excellent jobs for their employer, but that is not the issue for me.

GAA officials all over Ireland get their full expenses.

Lots and lots of GAA managers at club and county level, also, are not out of pocket at the end of each month. It's a fact of GAA life. It's how the organisation works. And yet, the men who play in Croke Park are given only a pair of boots, a bag of free gear, cans of petrol if their lucky and, if they're unlucky, a slap in the jaw for themselves.

It's wrong, it's unfair, it's immoral, and it stinks. However, this week, with the historic opening of Croke Park and the shredding of the great amateur organisation's beginnings, the GAA has stepped over a line from where there is surely no return. We're now in the real world, thanks be to who ever. It's a good place to be. We're going to be so proud of watching Steve Staunton's men, whether they win, lose or draw in the European Championship. The Six Nations rolling down Clonliffe Road, turning onto Jones's Road and entering Croker will encourage shivers up our spines, and a warm tingly feeling at the backs of our necks.

It will be strange and unbelievable, and fantastic. Even if the GAA was not receiving a cent from the IRFU and FAI it would be fantastic to watch. Quite like an awful wall crumbling in Berlin.

Except, for GAA folk, we will have to watch the Union Jack being raised. We'll listen, too, to 'God Save The Queen' and probably understand ourselves, and what the GAA now stands for at this early point in the 21st century, a little bit better.

It's going to be strange. It's going to take time to get used to, and I'm not certain I'm going to like it a whole lot all of the time, but surely it will be good for you and me, and those amongst us who would not have been certain which way to vote on that historic day in 2005. I've got to admit I was saddened a little when the result came in, but only some. The rest of me arrived at a state of fascination of what was to come next.

And when Steve Staunton and Eddie O'Sullivan and their men have come and gone, I'm intrigued about who or what will turn up next on the finest grass in Europe.

We're told, definitely, we will not see professional Gaelic footballers and hurlers, or camogie players either. Sorry girls. We keep hearing that reply, even though no footballer or hurler in the country is asking to turn professional or even semi-professional.

It's classic republican political party strategy . . . put somebody, anybody, George W, whoever, out front and get him to keep telling 'folk' what's good for them.

The GAA puts Danny Lynch out front and we heard him loud and clear.

Except, no footballer or hurler has asked to be paid as much as Robbie Keane or Malcolm O'Kelly or any of the other great Irishmen who are about to grace Croke Park. No gaelic footballer of hurler has even asked for Danny's wages for playing our native games. All they want is not to be out of pocket at the end of the week. All they want is not to have their work mates or, more importantly, their families disadvantaged by the fact that they are full-time Countymen.

All they want is mileage and, perhaps, a car allowance, so that they can enjoy a little more comfort getting to and from training and games. All they want are their telephone bills paid for. All they want are good clothing on match days, on and off the field, so that they can feel extra proud of who they are and what they have become. All they want is to be able to fully afford the special grub and fancy energy drinks they are being encouraged to take so that they can become the footballers and hurlers they truly wish to become. And, also, even though they don't need it, and don't especially want it, they'd like a thank you at the end of each year for trying their hearts out.

Oh, and there's one more thingfnearly forgot! Don't worry, it won't cost a single euro.

What our Gaelic footballers and hurlers desperately want is to be trusted and genuinely listened to by the great body of GAA officialdom. The lads and girls want to be trusted and treated as good, decent GAA people who care for the association as much as the next person or any person in Croke Park. Kieran McGeeney has nothing more than that in mind. Believe him. Listen to him, talk to him.

Don't just open the door, and follow old battling routines. The players . . . the stars of the entire GAA show . . .

deserve a bit more respect than that.