The most inclusive Ireland team of modern years is expected to oppose England, Wales and Scotland at Cardiff on June 3rd in a quadrangular meeting which, for many, will mark the start of the build-up to the Sydney Olympics. Under the terms of the unity package which is likely to be approved on Saturday, Ireland teams will in future be selected on an island-wide basis. It means that even those Northern athletes who have pledged their allegiance to Britain for Olympic and Commonwealth championships will be eligible to represent Ireland in non-Category A events, such as the one in Cardiff.

This is a significant upgrading of the local rule in force in recent years under which many members of the Northern Ireland Athletics Federation chose to pursue international careers with Ireland. Members of the National Athletic and Cultural Association (NACA), debarred from IAAF competition for so long, have also enjoyed the benefits of the growing mood of ecumenism in what traditionally was among the most divisive of all sporting disciplines in the country.

Twelve years ago, Rosie Lambe became the first NACA athlete in more than 50 years to compete in a major international event; since then the number has grown significantly. The progressive elements in all three of the organisations currently administering different segments of Irish athletics acknowledge that the move towards unity is all about the desire to give athletes a better deal in terms of competition.

And to point up their determination to play a full and active part in promoting a new image for the sport, BLE yesterday outlined their programme for the coming year.

It includes an international meeting at Castleisland on June 11th to mark the official opening of the new track there, the first purpose-built complex for athletics in Co Kerry.

Participation in events in Riga, Istanbul and Bergen will ensure ample opportunity for athletes in search of suitable early season competition, and the Europa Cup teams going to Kaunus (men) and Bydgoszcz (women) on July 8th and 9th are expected to be the most representative of modern times.

The Dublin international meeting at the Morton Stadium on July 29th will address a notable void in the calendar in the last decade, and two days later the entourage of visiting athletes will be in Belfast for the Antrim Games.

The Cork City Sports, long established as the centre-piece of the domestic programme, is scheduled for the Mardyke on July 15th.

It is proposed to send a strong team to the meeting at Hechtel on August 5th, and later that month the national track and field championships at the Morton Stadium, and the finals of the Mazda Leagues at Tullamore will offer those on the fringe of selection late opportunities to achieve qualifying standards for Sydney.

Nick Davis, the president of BLE, said: "The current moves towards unity are being driven by the need to help athletes, and I believe that the programme we have put in place for the year 2000 reflects our determination to succeed in that goal.

"The moves to rationalise the administration of Irish athletics were started many years ago," Davis added. "Now, hopefully, we have reached a position where all three associations are ready to move forward together."

NACA delegates are due to assemble in Dublin at the start of their two-day congress on Saturday morning, and the historic meeting, which it is anticipated will lead to the formation of a new unified body, the Amateur Athletics Association of Ireland, will take place in the Burlington Hotel in the afternoon.