IF THE matter that reached a head at Monday night's extraordinary meeting of the Dublin county committee can be said to have originated in the now infamous Dublin-Offaly under-21 match in March, the attitudes that triggered the response to it go back a bit further.

It has been obvious since his sensational breakthrough season in football two years ago, that Jason Sherlock has inspired mixed emotions amongst the GAA. Hugely popular amongst the Dublin supporters whom he significantly helped to deliver the 1995 All-Ireland title and enjoying teen idol status amongst the younger fans in the county, his celebrity hasn't gone down universally well.

After winning his All-Ireland medal, Sherlock was overlooked by fellow players in the Players' All Stars awards of 1995, a decision that appeared to bear little explanation other than jealousy.

Even within his own county, there were many uncomfortable at his combining a soccer scholarship with a football career during the summer.

scholarship are explicit and understood by current senior manager Mickey Whelan and his predecessor Pat O'Neill, there is no shortage of people who see Sherlock's dual commitments as some sort of cultural betrayal or disloyalty to the county.

His high media profile and the teenage fans who mobbed him during the successful days of 1995 have added to a sense of puritanical disapproval. All of these matters became focused on the under-21 team for whom Sherlock was eligible.

Selected for the team's first two matches, against Wexford and Offaly, Sherlock was unavailable for both because of soccer commitments with UCD the following day. Nonetheless, he turned up for both matches and was on sideline that fateful afternoon on March 15th.

The match itself, between Dublin and Offaly, went on to achieve notoriety because of a fight that broke out and the heavy suspensions that followed, including the removal of Dublin from this year's under-21 championship and the banning of both counties from next year's.

During the match, Sherlock's side-line altercation with county vice-chairman Paddy Delaney was said to involve comments being passed from the official to the players on the field. After they had exchanged words, Delaney is alleged to have spat on Sherlock. This is the action which was later complained of by the player in a letter of official complaint to the county board. It is also the action which the management committee - despite strenuous denials by Delaney - found had taken place.

The witnesses backing the allegations against Delaney could not be dismissed lightly and include a permanent official of the county board the county secretary or chief executive, John Costelloe, an under-21 selector, Gerry O'Connor, and a number of Dublin substitutes.

Delaney is a popular figure in Dublin GAA. His involvement in the incident surprised many who knew him and this popularity almost certainly underpinned the decision of the county committee to ignore the findings of its own investigating committee.

Delaney has always denied the allegation and as a result, no easy way of defusing the controversy could be found. He was not going to apologise for something he claims not to have done.

The county board's response came on April 7th. Couched in coy terms about "certain allegations made", a proposal to refer the matter to the county management committee was accepted. The management committee consists of 15 members.

Some, Costelloe as a witness and Delaney, could take no part in the deliberations. Four others were not present on Monday night. One, Donal Hickey is an employee of the county board but of the remaining eight, two resigned their offices and the others walked out.

At the heart of the problem was the finding by the investigating committee that Delaney had been guilty of bringing the association into disrepute, an offence under Rule 38 of the Official Guide. The punishment of a two-month suspension was seen yesterday as quite lenient, even by one member of the committee.

It is believed that the committee took into account Delaney's long service to the GAA in Dublin when arriving at the decision, the smallest suspension allowed under the rule.

When, however, the decision was laid before the meeting, there was obvious discontent amongst delegates. The meeting was being chaired by Dublin's delegate to Central Council, Gerry Brady, a solicitor with a reputation for abrasiveness when pursuing points of principle.

A member of the management committee he took the chair because county chairman John Bailey is currently in hospital and Delaney is the vice-chairman but unsurprisingly opted to take his place on the floor rather than the top table.

Brady refused to allow matters be diverted by what one observer described as "red herrings" concerning Sherlock's unavailability for the team. One such contribution said that the player and not Delaney should be suspended "for six months" for "refusing" to play for the county".

When the vote was taken, the findings of the committee were rejected.

Later, a proposal by Brady to abandon the meeting was rejected and in the absence of those who had walked out, Delaney took the chair and guided the remaining delegates through the rest of the meeting.