Declan Bogue: So much for the power of managers as more than Ulster says no

Eight out of nine Ulster counties spoke out against it. Down were the only county not to make a speaking contribution, but had said they were mandated to turn it down.

Within hours, Stephen Barker was back out with grass under his feet, on a pitch with his Moneymore Under-9s at Loup.

In the pre-pandemic world, back when Congress delegates could sit tweed jacket to club body-warmer and polish off the full three-courses at their leisure, there was a vote taken for GAA President.

At the time, Armagh’s Jarlath Burns was the hot favourite, with Larry McCarthy coming up along the rails. One northern journalist later related a snatched conversation he heard with one delegate telling another, ‘we have to keep the Nordies out.’ The comment feeds a certain perception, but so too does the sense that Ulster alone blocked Motion 19 at Saturday’s Special Congress.