GALWAY HURLING HAS been thrown into chaos after the senior hurlers backed a vote of no confidence in manager Anthony Cunningham, weeks after he led the team to a second All-Ireland final in four years.
Cunningham, who was part of the last Galway side to lift the Liam MacCarthy in 1988 and who has also tasted All-Ireland glory as a manager with the county’s Under-21s, has been at the helm since 2012.
In his first season in charge of the seniors, Galway reached the championship final, losing to Kilkenny in a replay.
Last month, Cunningham’s charges were back at GAA HQ for a repeat of that decider but ultimately lost to the Cats again by four points.
When the players met as a group last weekend, it was decided unanimously that a new manager was needed and Cunningham was informed of their stance.
Still, at a county board meeting just two days later, Cunningham was reappointed as manager for the 2016 season.
With the players deeply frustrated at such a development, a stand-off looks inevitable.
In recent days, Mayo GAA have been hit with a similar story with the senior footballers tabling a vote of no confidence in co-managers Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes and the pair subsequently walking away on Friday night.
