In Galway, during a season that saw Michael Donnellan switch from Dunmore to Salthill . . . his place of residence for the bulk of his senior career . . . talk has lingered of a club on the move.

When the city side overcame Carna-Cashel in the county final last autumn the view gathered pace.

The Mayo contingent was highlighted, Alan Kerins was mentioned and to a section of Galway's football congregation Salthill were recruiting outsiders. In reality, the vast majority of those senior players who didn't come through the underage system have lived in the area for a number of years. Call it the lure of the city but the point is this is not a team pieced together with fly-bynights.

As time passes, circumstances and priorities change and club captain Maurice Sheridan is an example.

Sheridan has called Galway city his home for the past 15 years yet he only transferred from his Mayo club, Balla, in 2000.

"Travelling back for training and club games would have a definite effect on quality of life, " he says. "Galway traffic was increasing and so was the length of time it was taking to get to training. The move to Salthill-Knocknacarra gave me a new lease of life with football and playing at a high club standard would have stood to me for the Mayo set up."

The real fear among those recruiting theorists is that the present shift towards city living will transfer an unassailable advantage to clubs in an urban environment. But this assumption hasn't stood up through the years and the migratory footballer doesn't always make the difference.

"People say to me, 'Look at the pick ye have in town.

Look at the fellows moving to Salthill, '" says secretary Tom Burke. "By that logic Dublin should dominate every year but that's not the reality. Football doesn't work that way."

When big name players migrate to the metropolis, when they begin to play locally, focus shifts to the notion of the outsider at the city club.

It's been a conversation starter since the club structure was put in place. Donnellan's move has inevitably brought it's own attention to Salthill but what's easily forgotten is that migration is a two-way system and urban clubs will lose as many players as they gain.

Today's semi-finalists will attest to that.

A major achievement for Salthill came in 1999 when they won the All Ireland Feile under-14 title. Hopes were high that the crop would yield a favourable harvest and while some members of that team have progressed to senior level, an amount of serious talent has also been lost to other sports and other counties.

One has found his way onto the Cork under-21 panel, another is putting his football skills to use in the Scottish Premierleague and still more have turned to rugby.

Even long-standing goalkeeper, Cathal McGinley, was forced to part ways with Salthill for a spell during the '90s when his job took him to Meath. And county star Niall Finnegan was also lost when work dictated a move to the capital.

Dublin is the traditional battleground for enrolling talent from other counties yet Kilmacud Crokes have managed to shed their image as a club made up of country folk. The team that won the All Ireland back in 1995 was an even mix of Dubliners and non-Dubliners and it left some observers concluding that Kilmacud's success was down to the outside influence.

"In 1995 we were regarded as a country team even though we had less country players than a lot of other Dublin clubs, " says Mick Dillon, captain that year. "It's whether your imports are profile players or not, that's what will dictate if you're seen as a Dublin club or a country club. We had Pat Burke, Mike Leahy and myself playing for counties outside of Dublin and that's why we were seen as a country club."

The same label could never be cast upon Kilmacud's present batch of All Ireland hopefuls. Of today's team, only three come from outside the capital and a generous portion of the side have already worn the Dublin county jersey.

"Realistically every club in the city will have guys from other parts playing for them and nobody really can have a problem with that, " adds Dillon. "When people come from the outside it's important that they continue to contribute down the line, that they're not just using the club as a reason to win a medal. That's where some of the cynicism comes from."

Though the Wexford native has been living in Kinsale for the past 12 months he still regards Kilmacud as his home club. He managed the senior side and coached underage before packing his boots and heading south. Dillon put back in and believes this attitude will ensure city clubs continue to breathe new life into the game.

A while back, he put the video of the 1995 celebrations into his VCR and noticed the kids running about in the background . . . youngsters like Paul Griffin and Liam Og O hEineachain. Kids then but a decade on they're heroes themselves. Dillon is glad that the great achievement of 1995 catapulted the GAA into the area and brought football to the nooks and crannies around Stillorgan.

"I'd love to see our name added to the roll of honour again. Nothing would please me more. It would help the club for years to come; it would give the kids of the area another reason to kick a football. When success like that comes to a city club it has a great knock on effect. We know that.

"The thing is, Salthill know that as well."