AS the GAA world waits with bated breath for the outcome of one of the most extensive inquiries into an All Ireland final in the history of the game, Finbar McConnell is in no doubt about his immediate future having been sent off in an intermediate club match on Sunday.

He and his brother, Declan, were both dismissed as their club Newtownstewart lost to Carrickmore, an event which automatically disqualifies Finbar from the Tyrone team which meets Donegal in the second series of matches in the National League in Omagh on Sunday.

McConnell will be replaced by Plunkett McCallan, from Carrickmore, who has been a regular member of the panel for some time as Tyrone attempt to put the bleak memories of defeat by Meath in the All Ireland semi final followed by a seven points to three loss to Derry in the opening round of the league two weeks ago.

The other matches in the first division fixed for Sunday are Cork at home to All Ireland champions Meath, in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, Kerry at home in Killarney to Derry and Cavan at home to Kildare in Kingscourt.

In the other matches in the first series, Meath dropped a point to Cavan while Kildare beat Kerry.

In the second division beaten All Ireland finalists Mayo will travel to Portlaoise to play Laois. Needless to say, neither Mayo nor Meath will be naming their teams until they know the outcome of last night's Games Administration Committee meeting.

There will be considerable interest in Dublin's second division match against Armagh in Parnell Park following their defeat by Leitrim last time out. The other matches in Division Two are Louth at home to Clare in Drogheda and Monaghan at home to Leitrim in Scotstown.

Some good quality county championship finals last Sunday has given a number of counties some hope of success at inter county level. In Kerry, where Laune Rangers beat West Kerry to retain the county title, the quality of the game suggested good times for the county. Laune, of course, went on to win the All Ireland club title last year.

Other interesting results included another win for Carlow champions Fire Og over Kinnegad from Westmeath. It once again raises hopes that the Carlow side can make yet another bid to lift the All Ireland club title which they have pursued for so long.

With hurling league fare put on hold for the moment, there was a lot of interest in the performance of Galway when they met Laois in the once prestigious Oireachtas competition in Ballinasloe. The main reason for interest here was the return of Cyril Farrell to the Galway hurling helm and he made it a winning one.

With only four of the team beaten by All Ireland champions Wexford in the semi final, Farrell "blooded" several of the under 21 team and to good effect as Galway won by 17 points to eight against Laois, under the guidance of another former Galway manager, Michael "Babs" Keating.

In hurling also, one of the most interesting matches of the day was that in which Young Irelands beat James Stephens in the Kilkenny county final by 3-9 to 2-10. A feature of this match was the feat of the Carey family in providing three brothers to the team including the captain DJ. The family contributed 3-4 to the total team score, with DJ finishing with 2-4 to his credit.

This was Young Irelands first county championship since 1952. It also means that DJ Carey will be captain of the Kilkenny team for next year's championship.

Tom Dempsey from Wexford and Trevor Giles of Meath have been named GAA Personalities of the Month in the scheme sponsored by National Irish Bank.

Dempsey was honoured for his role in Wexford's exciting victory over Limerick in the All Ireland hurling final and Giles for his contribution to Meath's All Ireland displays in the drawn match and the replay.

In the meantime, one of the most fascinating things about the All Ireland women's football final was the big attendance, which underlines the fact that the game has caught the imagination of the public and is certain to continue to grow.

The high standard of football in the drawn match and the prospect of a repeat certainly attracted great interest and the attendance of some 13,000 got good value for their money.

There will be many National League matches in both football and hurling which will do very well to match that attendance before the leagues reach the play off stages. Indeed many matches in the lower divisions will not go anywhere near five figures.

The next move is for the women's association to join the parent body of the GAA and efforts are now being made to have the matter debated and voted upon at the next annual Congress next Easter.