YOU’VE SPENT DECADES in the stand, staring at that bainisteoir lettering on the back of the bib, wondering why he’s picking the wrong players and then putting them in the wrong positions, while employing a gameplan that’s tough to watch and ineffective.
You could do better, you know you could. But who is going to employ a former Junior C footballer whose main coaching experience is in Go Games?
Well, now is your chance. But be careful what you wish for. You’ll have to negotiate players opting out, penny-pinching county boards, and aspiring rivals out for your job in what the creator of Irish Sport Manager bills as the first-of-its-kind simulation into what it is to manage at county level.
*****
When calling someone named John Troy, who has developed the inaugural management simulation for Gaelic Games, the first surprise is the Brooklyn accent.
A second-generation American, Troy credits his Offaly hurler namesake for, in part, inspiring his GAA passion.
As a teenager, Troy would puck around in the local park with a friend of his, Tom, having picked up the hurley and sliotar from a family trip to Galway.
In recent years, Troy’s brother, Dan, has got really into the sport, taking John deeper into it with him.
John has got the sweeter end of the deal in recent years. He follows Clare, the county of his paternal grandfather. Dan supports Waterford, where his paternal grandmother was raised just south of Carrick-on-Suir.
John Troy.
They could’ve equally opted for Dublin, with his maternal grandparents being Fitzgeralds from Skerries, or Cork, where that side of the family also traces its lineage.
John has followed his family’s footsteps into law enforcement, working as a supervisor in the New York State Courts, but he follows his varied interests in his spare time.
*****
Troy set up Loophead Labs – named after the West Clare homeplace of his grandfather, who was from Doonaha East – and Irish Sport Manager is the first PC game he has developed.
He has been a Football Manager fan for about a decade, but the main inspiration was an American game, Out of the Park Baseball.
“When I would play Out of the Park Baseball, there’s a lot of customisation you’re allowed to do. One of those things is you’re allowed to have your own fictional players. That’s something that appealed to me,” says Troy.
Obviously, I don’t have a license for GAA. So I built a fictional world almost. Instead of using the GAA, I have my association called the HGA. It’s the Home Games Association.
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“I wanted to avoid any sort of trademark collision, so I’m very much into the fictional side of things.”
It may be a fictionalised text-based 2D version of Gaelic Games, but Troy has given his all to ground the gameplay in the realities of hurling/camogie and football.
New York are in the game, taking their place in the Connacht Championship, but they aren’t about to start dominating the Sam Maguire.
“I’ve spent thousands of seasons here just to check drift,” says Troy, “to make sure that the New York football team isn’t going to all of a sudden dominate and win. They’re in the game, but I want it to be plausible and realistic.”
*****
On the Mayo team in the game’s trailer, a name like Aidan McHale stands out in the No. 13 jersey as particularly authentic-sounding. That owes to hours of research into census data.
You start off with your playing squad, but thereafter, everyone comes into the game as 18-year-olds through the clubs.
Down the line, McHale could retire and become an option to join your management team. Later on, his son might appear as an up-and-coming prospect.
Among the storylines built into the game, there are also pitfalls.
Every individual has their own player card. Their commitment level may show up as wavering. Your star player could get an offer to join a professional team in Australia. A Kerry footballer may go to college in UCD and struggle to get back for training. A Tipperary hurler may emigrate and resurface playing for London, Lancashire, or Warwickshire.
It falls into the manager’s remit to potentially set a player up with a job to keep them local.
A player may request to head off to a cousin’s wedding. You can agree and they may come back worse for wear. You can deny permission, but they might go anyway. They all have individual personalities to manage.
“That’s also going to be something that’s customisable by the player,” says Troy. “You can build your own stories and then upload them to the Steam Cloud for other people to download.”
*****
There are tactical choices between a direct style of play, sweeper systems, and different puck-out and kick-out strategies. If it all goes to pot, a manager can choose to read the riot act at half-time.
For those who reach the top, they can expect to see a healthy representation on the game’s All-Star equivalent; the All-County 15.
For managers seeking a rebuild, the club campaign is the key scouting window to find new players.
“The clubs are generated also,” says Troy. “My grandfather’s town would have been O’Currys GAA, so O’Currys is not in there, but you might have Kilrush so and so. There’s stuff to do in the game after your season ends.”
The Kerry panel, for instance, features clubs such as Abbeydorney Mitchels, Ardfert Wolfe Tones, and Sneem Slashers.
The game is ahead of the curve on integration, with all four codes running off the one pot of money.
Managers don’t get it all their own way. They don’t have the ultimate say on finances. The County Board could opt for a stadium upgrade, which may affect your request for a training camp.
There is an U20 grade, which could be managed by a former player or a rival for the top job.
“You may want a player for your weekend game, but there may be a larger game for the U20s that he’s like, no, I want this person to play for me,” says Troy.
“And you’ll be able to overrule that, but it could affect your relationship with that person. It adds a little bit of pushback on the game.
That’s one of the dynamics. Because of the personalities, you may have a person who’s gunning for you, who knows that he’s next, and knows that your team is struggling.
“With the demo that’s out, you get one season, and at the end of the season, you get a verdict: whether they would have held you on or fired you, so that’s how it ends.”
*****
Troy is looking for feedback on the current demo version, taking a week off work to refresh his emails and address any patches that are required as they arise.
The demo will also be part of Steam Next Fest in October and heads for a full release in January to coincide with the 2027 season.
While not yet announced, Troy promises the price will “certainly be less than Football Manager”, with no additional cost for updates, and a 15% launch discount for the first fortnight.
- The Irish Sport Manager Demo is available now on Steam.
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Inspired by Football Manager and John Troy, the first management sim launches for Gaelic games
YOU’VE SPENT DECADES in the stand, staring at that bainisteoir lettering on the back of the bib, wondering why he’s picking the wrong players and then putting them in the wrong positions, while employing a gameplan that’s tough to watch and ineffective.
You could do better, you know you could. But who is going to employ a former Junior C footballer whose main coaching experience is in Go Games?
Well, now is your chance. But be careful what you wish for. You’ll have to negotiate players opting out, penny-pinching county boards, and aspiring rivals out for your job in what the creator of Irish Sport Manager bills as the first-of-its-kind simulation into what it is to manage at county level.
*****
When calling someone named John Troy, who has developed the inaugural management simulation for Gaelic Games, the first surprise is the Brooklyn accent.
A second-generation American, Troy credits his Offaly hurler namesake for, in part, inspiring his GAA passion.
As a teenager, Troy would puck around in the local park with a friend of his, Tom, having picked up the hurley and sliotar from a family trip to Galway.
In recent years, Troy’s brother, Dan, has got really into the sport, taking John deeper into it with him.
John has got the sweeter end of the deal in recent years. He follows Clare, the county of his paternal grandfather. Dan supports Waterford, where his paternal grandmother was raised just south of Carrick-on-Suir.
They could’ve equally opted for Dublin, with his maternal grandparents being Fitzgeralds from Skerries, or Cork, where that side of the family also traces its lineage.
John has followed his family’s footsteps into law enforcement, working as a supervisor in the New York State Courts, but he follows his varied interests in his spare time.
*****
Troy set up Loophead Labs – named after the West Clare homeplace of his grandfather, who was from Doonaha East – and Irish Sport Manager is the first PC game he has developed.
He has been a Football Manager fan for about a decade, but the main inspiration was an American game, Out of the Park Baseball.
“When I would play Out of the Park Baseball, there’s a lot of customisation you’re allowed to do. One of those things is you’re allowed to have your own fictional players. That’s something that appealed to me,” says Troy.
“I wanted to avoid any sort of trademark collision, so I’m very much into the fictional side of things.”
It may be a fictionalised text-based 2D version of Gaelic Games, but Troy has given his all to ground the gameplay in the realities of hurling/camogie and football.
New York are in the game, taking their place in the Connacht Championship, but they aren’t about to start dominating the Sam Maguire.
“I’ve spent thousands of seasons here just to check drift,” says Troy, “to make sure that the New York football team isn’t going to all of a sudden dominate and win. They’re in the game, but I want it to be plausible and realistic.”
*****
On the Mayo team in the game’s trailer, a name like Aidan McHale stands out in the No. 13 jersey as particularly authentic-sounding. That owes to hours of research into census data.
You start off with your playing squad, but thereafter, everyone comes into the game as 18-year-olds through the clubs.
Down the line, McHale could retire and become an option to join your management team. Later on, his son might appear as an up-and-coming prospect.
Among the storylines built into the game, there are also pitfalls.
Every individual has their own player card. Their commitment level may show up as wavering. Your star player could get an offer to join a professional team in Australia. A Kerry footballer may go to college in UCD and struggle to get back for training. A Tipperary hurler may emigrate and resurface playing for London, Lancashire, or Warwickshire.
It falls into the manager’s remit to potentially set a player up with a job to keep them local.
A player may request to head off to a cousin’s wedding. You can agree and they may come back worse for wear. You can deny permission, but they might go anyway. They all have individual personalities to manage.
“That’s also going to be something that’s customisable by the player,” says Troy. “You can build your own stories and then upload them to the Steam Cloud for other people to download.”
*****
There are tactical choices between a direct style of play, sweeper systems, and different puck-out and kick-out strategies. If it all goes to pot, a manager can choose to read the riot act at half-time.
For those who reach the top, they can expect to see a healthy representation on the game’s All-Star equivalent; the All-County 15.
For managers seeking a rebuild, the club campaign is the key scouting window to find new players.
“The clubs are generated also,” says Troy. “My grandfather’s town would have been O’Currys GAA, so O’Currys is not in there, but you might have Kilrush so and so. There’s stuff to do in the game after your season ends.”
The Kerry panel, for instance, features clubs such as Abbeydorney Mitchels, Ardfert Wolfe Tones, and Sneem Slashers.
The game is ahead of the curve on integration, with all four codes running off the one pot of money.
Managers don’t get it all their own way. They don’t have the ultimate say on finances. The County Board could opt for a stadium upgrade, which may affect your request for a training camp.
There is an U20 grade, which could be managed by a former player or a rival for the top job.
“You may want a player for your weekend game, but there may be a larger game for the U20s that he’s like, no, I want this person to play for me,” says Troy.
“And you’ll be able to overrule that, but it could affect your relationship with that person. It adds a little bit of pushback on the game.
“With the demo that’s out, you get one season, and at the end of the season, you get a verdict: whether they would have held you on or fired you, so that’s how it ends.”
*****
Troy is looking for feedback on the current demo version, taking a week off work to refresh his emails and address any patches that are required as they arise.
The demo will also be part of Steam Next Fest in October and heads for a full release in January to coincide with the 2027 season.
While not yet announced, Troy promises the price will “certainly be less than Football Manager”, with no additional cost for updates, and a 15% launch discount for the first fortnight.
- The Irish Sport Manager Demo is available now on Steam.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Camogie Computer game GAA Gaelic Football Gaming Hurling