Now, I don't know about you, maybe you're the kind of person who obediently believes everything they are told by those in authority, who happily resorts to the role of sheep in a field. Or maybe you are among the growing number in this country who are beginning to think for themselves, who feel it is their duty to question what they are told.

Whatever category you populate, there can be no denying that something strange occurred in Croke Park when Dublin beat Meath. The Eoghan O'Gara point that wasn't... then was... may in time come to be one of the most crucial pieces of footage shown in the headquarters of the GAA – the Zapruder film of Gaelic games if you like.

Look back at that clip from the Leinster Final and examine the sequence of events. From the time that Marty Duffy instructs his umpire to wave the shot wide to the time when that same umpire is told to raise the white flag, it takes thirty seconds. What occurred in between is what may herald a new era in the GAA.

Those of us who frequent Croke Park will be aware of protocol when it comes to the big screen and replays of incidents. Anything controversial, any hint of an incident that could prove combustible, and those in the stadium are treated like mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed shite.

Alas, the individual who was in charge of big screen operations  must have dozed off for a moment, or failing that was a vexed Dublin supporter who wanted the world to see the injustice that was done. In any event, as those of us watched the replay in our homes, we could hear the reaction of the crowd in the stadium. There, before their very eyes, was the conclusive proof.

Cue camera panning to Pat Gilroy on the sideline, gesticulating madly to the linesman and eighth official (as we might call him). Gilroy did what any manager would have done in the situation, imploring them to take into account the evidence of two massive screens that had broadcast the truth to everyone in the stadium. It is to Maurice Deegan's, and indeed Marty Duffy's, credit that they ensured justice was achieved in the end.

Of course the spin being put on this by HQ would have done former Australian bowler Shane Warne proud. We are being told that linesman Maurice Deegan saw that the score was good with his own eyes. Fair enough you might think, but how does that explain the thirty second lapse between the umpire waving the kick wide and then Deegan informing the referee that it was in fact a score? The linesman was linked up to the referee, hence communication should be instantaneous. Count to thirty seconds...it's not that short a time is it?... especially not in the heat of a Leinster Final. Are we supposed to swallow the line that Maurice Deegan saw that Eoghan O'Gara's kick was a point, witnessed it being waved wide, then chose to wait thirty seconds before informing Marty Duffy that it was in fact a legitimate score?

A more logical conclusion of course is that Deegan saw the replay on the big screen and had the balls to ensure that justice prevailed. While this may not have been strictly by the letter of the law, it was most definitely in the spirit of the game. One can go back to the Leinster Championship clash between Laois and Carlow in the nineties when Laois offered a replay after video evidence showed one of their points was actually wide (Laois had won the game by a point) to see that in the GAA, sometimes common sense and fairness are allowed to override the rule book.

The repercussions for the GAA from last Sunday can be positive if the Association wants them to be. What they saw was how simple and efficient it would be to have a TMO deliberating on controversial decisions. The argument that it slows the game down is superfluous as the amount of frees, obstruction of frees, delaying of kick-outs, shemozzles, substitutions etc already lends a severe staccato effect to many contests. All it would take is a rule to be passed introducing the TMO for all senior inter-county games (if that's not feasible, then for all senior championship games).

In years to come it may not just be Eoghan O'Gara and Dublin who have reason to thank Maurice Deegan and Marty Duffy for their bravery and common sense. Anything that ensures fairness and justice in our games can't be a bad thing.

The Zabruder film ... Deeley Plaza, Dallas, Texas 22nd November 1963