The 16th Man

Kerry native Liam Kearns has been linked with a return to managing the Limerick senior footballers.

Kearns is one of six nominees to succeed Mickey Ned O’Sullivan in the post, after the 58-year-old recently stepped aside after a five-year reign in Limerick.

Kearns was at the Shannonsiders’ helm from 1999 to 2005, guiding them to Munster SFC final appearances in 2003 and 2004.

Limerick lost out to Kerry in both deciders, and they also reached a National League Division 2 final in 2003 under Kearns’ stewardship.

Kearns was nominated before last night’s deadline when a meeting of the Limerick Football Committee took place at the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare.

However, that committee also has the ability to source a manager from outside the shortlist.

Also in the running for the position are former Clare manager John Kennedy and ex-Tipperary boss Tom McGlinchey.

Kennedy was linked with the Limerick job back in 2005, before O’Sullivan was confirmed as Kearns’ replacement.

The three remaining nominees are former Limerick footballers John Cummins and Maurice Horan, and John Brudair, who has managed Dromcollogher-Broadford to back-to-back Limerick SFC titles.

Kearns has also been mooted as a possible replacement for Joe Kernan as Galway senior football manager. Kernan stepped down last month after just one season out west.

Meath’s David Coldrick has been appointed by the GAA to referee the 2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final between Cork and Down at Croke Park on Sunday, September 19.

It will be the Blackhall Gaels clubman’s second time to referee an All-Ireland SFC final, after he took charge of the 2007 decider which saw Kerry beat Munster rivals Cork by 3-13 to 1-9.

Coldrick has already officiated at some high-profile games this summer, including the Ulster SFC final between Tyrone and Monaghan and the All-Ireland quarter-final between Dublin and Tyrone.

He began refereeing as a 17-year-old back in 1994, and has also been the Irish match official for the International Rules Series between Ireland and Australia.

The stand-by referee for the senior final will be Galway’s Gearóid Ó Conámha, and the linesman is Maurice Deegan (Laois) with Wexford’s Syl Doyle the sideline official.

Blackhall Gaels clubmen Tony Kearney and John Coldrick, James Matthews of Cortown and Syddan’s Stephen O’Hare will be the umpires for the game.

Meanwhile, the officials for the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final involving Cork and Tyrone have also been announced.

Sligo’s Michael Duffy will follow in the footsteps of his brother Marty by taking charge of an All-Ireland decider on the third Sunday in September.

The Enniscrone/Kilglass clubman will have Meath’s Joe Curley as his standby referee, with Leitrim’s Frank Flynn as the second linesman.

The umpires for the minor final are Kevin Bourke (Enniscrone/Kilglass), Pat Cawley (Easkey), Pádraig McGourty (Glenfarne/Kiltycloger) and Pádraic Hamilton (Coolaney/Mullinabreena).

In a historic first for the GAA, John Fitzpatrick will become the first official from overseas to be involved as a match day official.

The New York GAA member will be the sideline official for the minor decider.

Tom Cribbin has received the backing of the Offaly County Board to continue as manager of the Offaly senior footballer for at least another year, after they met this week.

The Kildare native met with a seven-man committee from the Offaly County Board to review the 2010 campaign, and to outline his aims for the next 12 months.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of Offaly’s All-Ireland SFC qualifier defeat to Down back in July, he said: “I have certain ideas on what has to happen with all of these young players we have, and how this is going to be developed.

“I have to make sure that is being backed and it is going my way.

“If I’m going to manage Offaly going forward, I am going to bring them a certain way and we need that 100% backing, and everyone has to buy into it.

“If that is not going to happen Tom Cribbin won’t stay, but the County Board have been good to me in fairness.

“This was a building process - you don’t change things overnight. There were a lot of things wrong and it wasn’t all the County Board’s fault.

“It’s about now, the supporters came out and supported us this year. But they will get encouragement out of the (Down) game too.

“They have to get encouragement when they see the way those young lads played.”

As a result of the meeting, the committee are now set to recommend the Clane man to delegates for reappointment at Tuesday night’s scheduled County Board meeting.

Meanwhile, Offaly senior hurling boss Joe Dooley has yet to sit down with the board, having completed his three-year term in charge.

It will be known on September 9 whether Mick O’Dwyer is staying on as Wicklow senior football manager.

At a meeting of the Wicklow County Board last night, Chairman Andy O’Brien said that O’Dwyer has requested 10 more days to decide whether his immediate future is with the Garden County side.

O’Brien explained that Wicklow board officials had met O’Dwyer on two occasions in recent weeks, and it was agreed to give him until September 9 to make a decision.

The Kerryman, who has managed Wicklow since 2007, has the full backing of the Wicklow County Board and the county’s clubs to seek another term.

However, a number of managerless counties have been linked with him, including Limerick and Mayo most recently, and he may opt for a fresh challenge elsewhere.

Down forward Benny Coulter had no hesitation in admitting he committed an infringement for his 13th-minute goal which provided to be a vital score as the Mourne County side booked their place in next month’s All-Ireland SFC final.

Coulter conceded that he was in the square when he fisted the ball to the net for Down’s goal in their 1-16 to 1-14 semi-final win over Kildare at Croke Park yesterday.

Video replays clearly indicated that the Mayobridge clubman was in the restricted area while Martin Clarke’s scoring pass was in flight.

Kildare goalkeeper Shane McCormack remonstrated with the umpires, but his calls for a free-out fell on deaf ears and after referee Pat McEnaney consulted with the umpires, the green flag was raised.

“To be honest I think I was (in the square),” Coulter said of his controversial goal.

“I watched it on the big screen after and I think I was standing in it.

“These things go with you and sometimes they don’t. Thankfully today they went with us.”

The Down veteran also revealed that his team-mates were fully aware that Kildare had to go for goal in a dramatic finale during which Rob Kelly’s injury-time free came crashing back off the crossbar.

“I was just thinking at the finish that we can’t lose it now,” added Coulter.

“When they had the 14-yard kick, Pat (McEnaney) said there was 10 seconds left. We knew they had to go for goal because their players were over around him.

“I thought they had to score direct but then Pat left it go for a second or two thereafter.

“We worked so hard this year that we weren’t going to throw it away in the last ten seconds. Big Kalum (King) got a touch on it (Kelly’s shot).

“We definitely weren’t letting that ball go into the net and we were going to get anything on it. They definitely weren’t getting through.”

Down manager James McCartan was a relived figure at the full-time whistle. His side held on for the win despite letting a seven-point lead, with 13 minutes remaining, drift to just two points deep into injury-time.

“To be honest my head is still spinning,” he remarked after the final whistle.

“It’s just relief. With seven or eight minutes to go, we were six points up. I certainly knew the game wasn’t won but you hoped to close it out from there.

“But typical of a Kieran McGeeney and Aidan O’Rourke team, they kept coming and coming.

“I think Hugh Lynch stuck over a couple of wonder scores with the outside of the boot. Then the goal came. Look, we were probably hanging on at the end, to see the ball hit the crossbar, it could have gone anywhere. We were just relieved to see it stay out.

“I felt we played poorly for the first quarter. We needed Benny’s goal to kickstart us. We won the second quarter and I felt we won the third quarter.

“We were in the process of starting well in the final quarter, but then in the last eight minutes it was all one-way traffic.

“But I still felt like Down teams I played on, we were still a scoring threat. We maybe did sit back a bit but when the ball went up we did create chances.

“We kept the scoreboard ticking and at the other end, the odd point here and there against the run of play pushed us over the line.”