Want to know what went down at the GAA Congress today? Come this way.

The introduction of mandatory gumshields, the abolition of the square ball rule in football and an amendment to the controversial training ban were the main talking points from GAA Congress today.

This year’s event in Laois wasn’t merely a chance for members of the GAA fraternity to hobnob and socialise, there was plenty of business to conduct, with 77 motions in all coming up for discussion.

Often in the GAA, it requires the formation of numerous committees and sub committees (pronounced comm-it-tea, of course) for change to take place, but as a result of today’s discussions, there will be a number of significant alterations to the existing modus operandi.

Here’s a breakdown of the main talking points:

Motion 30 regarding the mandatory wearing of Mouth Guards was overwhelmingly approved, with 98 per cent of delegates in favour of the proposal. The rule comes into effect for senior players from 2014 and from 2013 for players up to and including minor level.

Motion 27, which proposed a change to the ever controversial training ban, was carried by a significant majority, with 84 percent of voting delegates voting for amendments to be made. As a result, senior Inter-County panels may return to training for a following year on a timetable determined by their time of exit from the All-Ireland Championships in a current year.

Teams that exit the championship in June will be allowed to commence training on 15 November. Teams that exit the championship in July can start training again on 1 December. The two teams in both codes that finish up their championship campaigns in September must wait until 29 December before going into the hard slog once again.

No games or collective training will be allowed from December 21-28 inclusive. The months of November and December shall be closed months for games and collective training for all other Inter-County panels. Outgoing President Christy Cooney was particularly insistent on these rules being upheld saying: "I would implore to you to stop undermining the rules of the Association. You should stand up as leaders of the Association and I appeal to you to do what is right."

Motion 5, relating to a change in the procedure in inter-county transfers, was also passed, with 80 per cent of delegates voting in favour. As a result, a player will have to play in the club championship in a county in the previous or current year before being eligible to represent that county in inter-county competition. We imagine Seanie Johnston in particular, will be taking note of that one.

Those were the main issues being discussed in Laois today and for more information on what else was going down – apart from the copius amount of pints that will no doubt be swallowed tonight – click here.