‘TIS THE SEASON for inter-county managerial changes.
There has been plenty of movement across ladies football over the past few weeks and months, with some ins and outs to report from senior teams in particular.
Here, The 42 looks at how the LGFA county football manager scene is shaping up for 2024.
Dublin
Mick Bohan steered Dublin to their fifth All-Ireland title in September, having overseen a huge rebuild after a ‘drought’ from 2020. In the build-up to the final win over Kerry, he spoke about almost quitting the job last year, but he stayed on and Dublin won their sweetest All-Ireland yet.
Asked about his future in the immediate aftermath, Bohan said: “I’m going to be straight with you on this one, regardless of what my decision is today wouldn’t be the day. Today is about players, today is about All-Irelands.”
He has been linked with various different jobs in the men’s game throughout the years, most recently the Clare vacancy, now filled by Mark Fitzgerald. Whether he will go again, with the likes of Frankie Roebuck, Seaghan Kearney, Paul Casey, Derek Murray and Sami Dowling in his backroom team, remains to be seen.
Kerry
There’s been little word from Declan Quill and Darragh Long since their disappointing second All-Ireland final defeat in-a-row, though the Kingdom have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence under the duo.
As well as the pair of finals, they steered Kerry through the league ranks to an emphatic Division 1 final win over Galway earlier this year. Quill was non-committal on their future after the All-Ireland decider defeat.
“We put our heart and soul into it,” he said. “This has been a very long and enjoyable four years. It’s a seven-day-a-week job. I have three young kids at home. Darragh has two young kids at home
“We put a lot of things on the back-burner, missing my son’s football matches and not being there all the time to train his team. Things like that, it impacts your family life too.
“It’s been brilliant. I don’t know. We’ll have to really think about it. There’s a fabulous group there. I know there’s going to be a few girls who will walk away. But there’s a good nucleus there of younger girls coming through as well.”
Meath
Former Kildare goalkeeper Shane McCormack is the man tasked with leading the 2021 and 2022 All-Ireland champions forward. They endured a turbulent 2023 as life after Eamonn Murray began. Davy Nelson took the reins, but he stepped down just before the championship with ex-Meath player Jenny Rispin taking over in an interim capacity.
Former key background team members Paul Garrigan and Eugene Ivers also returned, double-jobbing with their Meath GAA commitments. They bowed out of after a quarter-final defeat to Kerry.
McCormack is in the hot-seat now, having spent the past few seasons with Armagh — first as a selector and then as manager, guiding the Orchard to Division 1 status.
Armagh
Gregory McGonigle succeeds McCormack as manager, and this appointment is certainly an interesting one. He was Dublin manager from 2014 to 2016, overseeing three consecutive All-Ireland final appearances. They lost all three narrowly to Cork — by a point in ’14 and ’16, and two in ’15. In that period, they also won three Leinster senior titles and reached a first National League final.
The Derry native previously managed Monaghan for three years, falling short in two All-Ireland finals. Armagh will be hoping he can take them to the next level, having been a rising team in recent seasons.
Cork
Shane Ronayne will be in charge in 2024, barring any unexpected changes over the next few months. The All-Ireland winning Mourneabbey manager has been in situ since September 2021, with Cork exiting last season’s championship after a comprehensive semi-final defeat to Dublin.
Asked about his future after that clash, Ronayne told Off The Ball: “I’ve another year left on my three-year term. Look, we’re not ridiculous about our opinions of ourselves. We’re going to have a long, hard look at ourselves and see what we need to do. If I’m right the person to stay involved going forward, I’ll stay involved.”
The Rebels crashed out at the quarter-final stage the previous year, and have been competitive in Division 1.
Donegal
Donegal are on the hunt for a new manager after Maxi Curran stepped down following six years at the helm. Dublin overcame the Tír Chonaill in this year’s quarter-final, in a reverse result to last year. That was undoubtedly one of Curran’s most memorable days at the helm, Donegal reaching just their second All-Ireland semi-final after 2018.
An All-Ireland final appearance alluded them, but they did reach the 2022 Division 1 league final under his watch. They also contested every Ulster final possible, winning in 2018, 2019 and 2023.
It is with regret that we announce that Maxi Curran has stepped away from his role as Donegal Senior Ladies Manager.
— Donegal LGFA (@DonegalLGFA) July 17, 2023
We would like to thank Maxi for his time, commitment & dedication to Donegal Ladies Football over the past 6 years & wish him well in the future. pic.twitter.com/Gbpeogd1MI
Mayo
There’s a vacancy in Mayo too after the departure of Michael Moyles in August. The former Green and Red player guided the team to three All-Ireland semi-finals and a Connacht title since starting his three-year term in 2021.
Moyles was tasked with a huge rebuilding job, with Mayo losing several big names to the AFLW in recent years. Liam McHale is reportedly in mix for the job after his exit from Kevin McStay’s men’s backroom team.
Galway
The managerial position has been advertised in recent weeks after Mághnus Breathnach and Fiona Wynne’s two seasons at the helm. The duo filled the void left by Gerry Fahy amidst a tumultuous start to the 2022 campaign; steadied the ship and oversaw back-to-back All-Ireland quarter-finals and a Division 1 league final.
Kerry blew them away in Croke Park after their bright start to 2023, and they struggled to recover, while the 2019 All-Ireland finalists’ championship campaigns under Breathnach and Wynne were ended by Meath and Mayo respectively.
Laois
Donie Brennan stepped down in July after four seasons in charge. Under the Arles-Killeen clubman’s guidance, Laois won the All-Ireland intermediate title in 2022 and secured their senior status last season after a relegation play-off win over Cavan. They also climbed the league ladder, lifting the Division 3 title and then contesting the Division 2 final.
“You must take credit in bringing the pride back into the Laois jersey,” a Laois LGFA statement read as Brennan departed. “Words cannot say how much you have given to Laois LGFA since you took over in 2019.”
Waterford
Having also beaten the Breffni to avoid the drop, Pat Sullivan’s Waterford consolidated their top-flight status once again in 2023. There has been no word from the Déise about whether he will go again in this, his second coming. They started 2023 well with some impressive Division 1 league wins, and will hope to build on that going forward.
Tipperary
It was Tipperary who consigned Waterford to the relegation play-off final after a free-taking competition in July, and similarly, there has been little soundings from the Premier county about their managerial situation. Peter Creedon took over ahead of the 2022 season, Tipp having yo-yo’d between intermediate and senior in recent years.
Kildare
Diane O’Hora is staying on with the reigning All-Ireland intermediate champions. A four-time All-Ireland winner with Mayo as a player, O’Hora shut down speculation about taking charge of her native county by committing to Kildare. She has had a colourful coaching career, previously managing Sligo, Longford, Meath and Roscommon. Now, she’ll look to keep the Lilywhites in the senior ranks.
Others
Cavan, operating at intermediate level for the first time since 2013, are on the lookout for a new manager after the departure of Gerry Moane, with long-time heavyweights Monaghan similarly searching for their next leader as they look to bounce back to the top-tier.
There are also vacancies in Westmeath, Roscommon, Offaly, Louth, Limerick, London and Kilkenny.
Fermanagh have announced former Antrim dual star CJ McGourty as their new manager, with Pat Tiernan taking over Longford.
Wayne Freeman will continue at the Clare helm after guiding them to the 2023 All-Ireland intermediate final, while Lizzy Kent (Wexford) is among the other managers going again.
