Mild-mannered. Genuine. Diligent. Workaholic. As Páraic Duffy prepares to wave goodbye as GAA director general this Saturday, there has been similarities in the tributes paid to him. Rightly too: He is all of the above but we can add steeliness to it.

Fake news was rife in the GAA again this past weekend. As the stakes rose in the league, what several managers were prepared to release for information purposes was a weak variation of the truth.

After Kilkenny’s first All-Ireland senior title under Brian Cody in 2000, the strength of his panel was lauded to such an extent that when the Cats cruised through Leinster the following year their second 15 were deemed the next best side in the country.

And so 82 National League fixtures shoehorned for five March weekends will be ramrodded into four.

Negativity, according to new GAA president John Horan, attracts more attention than positivity so it was with extra emphasis that he delivered a plea to Congress delegates on Saturday.

Only as good as your last game. That axiom, irrespective of how fair or true it is, sticks hard in elite Gaelic games, writes John Forgarty

March isn’t yet in, but the GAA has madness in abundance. John Fogarty sets out five examples of how some have recently been losing the run of themselves:

The strength of Kerry selector Mikey Sheehy’s commentary last month about the county’s paltry numbers at last August’s All-Ireland semi-final replay meant his remarks about cynical play went largely unnoticed, writes John Fogarty.

“Tipp v Clare...another turkey shoot. Goals are getting scarce. Sliothar has to be looked at. Travelling far too far. Points from distance. Boring.”

Fifteen years to the month since his late friend and team-mate attempted to do the same, Mikey Sheehy brought the sacred cows to the slaughterhouse.