In a strongly-worded statement, John Arnold, a member of the Bride Rovers club in Cork, has accused Kelly of "vainglorious notions of populism" and of not telling it as it was on radio last weekend.

At a recent Central Council meeting, Arnold asserts, Kelly confirmed on two occasions that other sports could not be played at Croke Park if planning permission for Lansdowne Road had not been granted and reconstruction work not commenced.

"But last Saturday week [18 March] he said the exact opposite on RTE Radio One, " Arnold declares. The Rule 42 decision at Congress last year, which gave Central Council the power to authorise the renting of Croke Park, is the decision that should be implemented, Arnold says . . . not "the Kelly version of it".

Arnold also claims that Kelly rushed the Management Committee and Central Council into an early decision on making Croke Park available for rugby and soccer internationals in 2007.

By way of reply, Kelly pointed out to the Tribune that there were 750,000 members of the GAA and that the president couldn't be expected to answer a communication from each one of them. In this instance, however, he would make a brief exception. From correspondence he's received from a member of Arnold's club, Kelly says, he understands that the club voted in favour of opening Croke Park and that Arnold subsequently resigned in protest. "Who is Mr Arnold representing?" Kelly asks.

The president will, he promises, respond fully to Arnold's "inaccurate allegations" in due course.

Expect this one to run for a while yet.