The GAA’s annual congress in Derry this morning passed overwhelmingly the motion to make some of its grounds available to facilitate an Ireland bid for the 2023 or 2027 rugby World Cup.

Just eight years after the seismic and hotly debated decision to open Croke Park to rugby and soccer while Lansdowne Road was being redeveloped, today’s proposal from Central Council, moved by Eamonn O'Sullivan of Kerry, was passed by 93 per cent of the delegates with no-one speaking against.

Mike O’Riordan of Limerick supported the motion but asked that the GAA take up the issue of children in some schools in his county, who he said were being prevented from playing Gaelic games.