He addressed those issues that appear certain to play some part in his tenure . . . player welfare, the use of Croke Park, the structure of competition . . . and provided some definite opinion. All afternoon the plaudits were aimed his way and those who know him best presented Brennan as an energetic and dedicated official who has foraged through all aspects of the association.

His predecessor departed the arena as a generally popular president whose innovative legacy provided the organisation with some fresh and dynamic characteristics.

And those are adjectives not normally bestowed upon the organisation. Kelly loyalists should be generally happy with the new appointment.

There is little to suggest that Nickey Brennan will not continue in a similar vein and the transition of presidents should be seamless enough.

By the time the changing of the guard had come to pass, Brennan had reapplied his suit jacket and straightened his tie; he was ready for business. He spoke of an association that ?must continue to change and reflect the needs of all stakeholders" and drew a firm line in the sand with regard to player welfare.

Under Brennan's term, the welfare of players will be top of the agenda and he outlined a number of player-led initiatives. But the new president is unwilling to entertain in the slightest the idea of pay-for-play, a concept which he believes is central to the agenda of the Gaelic Players Association. It was a bold statement of intent and will be read as one of the central messages in his first speech as president.

Brennan knows as well as anybody the lot of the player as his fingerprints have rubbed over all aspects of his native Kilkenny; he picked up five All Ireland medals while hurling for the county, he managed at both codes and saw things from the other side during his tenure as county board chairman. If these are wide ranging experiences that will allow him speak with authority in the coming years, then it's the sense of the local that forms the bone of his opinions.

They say his home club, Conahy Shamrocks, is dear to his heart and with a grassroots mentality to the fore he tackled the ever increasing difficulties clubs now with regard to county players.

?All too often many [club] games are crammed into a short period. This is often down to a county team manager dictating to elected officials when games can be played. This is completely unacceptable and county players of all grades are no almost strangers in their club grounds." It was a statement that will win the minds of club folk throughout the country and he insisted that clubs must have access to all their to all their players for a minimum of one night a week.

As the issue of discipline within the association formed a large part of discussions at Congress yesterday, Brennan made it clear that progress must continue. ?At the heart of much of our disciplinary problems is a clear lack of respect for our referees, " he said. ?Any player, team mentor or official who publicly criticises a referee after a game in future can expect to be called into account for their actions."

But it's his unbending desire to ensure the GAA remains amateur to the core, grey areas be damned, that will form the core talking point in the week ahead.

Our association was fostered and developed on the incredible work of our thousands of loyal volunteers. Its future survival and continued progress cannot be assured unless core aspects of our character are maintained. Pay-for-play of any kind will not be entertained or even discussed by me during the next three years."

And with that the 36th president loped away from the Great Southern conference centre with his own set of opinions and plans that are already dangling above the GAA.

And he wasn't the only one to leave Killarney with a fresh role within the association. Just prior to the Kilkenny man's inauguration as president Albert Fallon from Longford and Joe Boyle of Antrim were elected as Trustees of the GAA. In a secret ballot Fallon received 117 votes, with 93 for Boyle.

John Lacey, a representative of London, was unlucky to miss out. He received 92 votes at Congress. The election of Fallon and Boyle allows them sit on the GAA's influential Management Committee.