Croke Park had sought the expansion to address their concerns that an outside body, RIGS, would be in charge of the facility, lessening the GAA's control.

Outgoing president Sean Kelly, his successor Nickey Brennan, former president Peter Quinn and Dublin solicitor and former Dublin player Tony Hanahoe are on the reconstituted board.

The New York GAA have also been offered four seats on the new RIGS Board, although New York GAA chairman Seamus Dooley cautiously said that he will consult his group's lawyers before accepting.

Moore's removal is a bitter blow for the former New York GAA vice-president who has been involved in this project from its beginnings in 1998 when he worked under RIGS president Monty Maloney, who instituted the search for a new home as association president.

The RIGS corporation came out of that search, established to petition the City of New York for the right to build Gaelic grounds on Randall's Island on Manhattan's East River.

The group's request for that proposal was granted by the city in November of 2003, giving RIGS the right to build and operate a Gaelic games centre to include pitches, concessions and a function hall among other amenities on 20-plus acres on the rapidly developing island.

But the project stalled as fundraising proved difficult.

Although the city granted numerous extensions as deadlines came and went, the project was foundering when in December 2004 the GAA offered a lifeline, in the form of a $2 million grant.

Still the project failed to take flight and the following July the GAA appointed a committee to advise the New York association on Randall's Island. That committee was chaired by Peter Quinn and also included Sean Kelly, Tony Hanahoe and Brian McEniff.

Quinn and company had concerns about the financial viability of the scheme and were unhappy that control of the facility would ultimately not be in GAA hands.

Citing those concerns, Croke Park withdrew from the project this past February, only to reverse course a week later.

Seats on the RIGS Board are key as only RIGS has the legal right to build and operate the facility, and only they can negotiate with the city.

Moore contends that his removal was in violation of the RIGS corporation bylaws and he confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that his attorney would be filing an injunction "in a matter of days".

Moore also submitted a letter to the New York GAA proposing a $33 million offer from CBS Outdoor, a division of American broadcast giant CBS, that would be paid out over 30 years, and would centre around four large billboards. It is Moore's contention that the CBS deal would allow the project to be built without Croke Park.

CBS Outdoor refused to comment.

The depth of the split in the RIGS camp was illustrated on Thursday night when Moore accused the three remaining original RIGS board members of putting personal financial gain before the good of the project and receiving "several hundred thousand dollars" each from the GAA.

RIGS member Kieran O'Sullivan denied the explosive charge and urged delegates to put the question to Peter Quinn, who is expected in New York for the association's next meeting this coming Thursday.