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.”

Jack O’Connor has been given the go-ahead to manage the Kerry senior footballers for the next three years, following his ratification by the Kerry County Committee tonight.

This will be O’Connor’s third term in charge of the Kingdom. His second spell, which spanned two years, recently ended with a shock All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Down.

The Dromid Pearses clubman guided his native county to two All-Ireland wins during his first term between 2004 and 2006, and recaptured the Sam Maguire Cup last year courtesy of a final victory over arch rivals Cork.

But Kerry’s 2010 campaign was blighted by injuries, retirements, suspensions and the loss of Tadhg Kennelly and Tommy Walsh to Australian Rules Football. This is the first year since 2003 that Kerry have not featured in the All-Ireland final.

One of the players who retired this year, long-serving goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy, has tonight be appointed as one of O’Connor’s selectors for next season.

Murphy announced his retirement as a player last January, leaving what O’Connor termed ‘a huge void.’

He will make a swift return to the Kerry set-up nonetheless, filling the shoes of his former All-Ireland winning team-mate Eamonn Fitzmaurice who quit as a selector in the aftermath of the Down game.

Speaking at tonight’s meeting, Kerry County Board Chairman Jerome Conway thanked Fitzmaurice for his two years’ work as selector with the senior panel.

Reflecting the high esteem the former defender is held in, Conway added: “I hope we will see him back shortly.”

The remainder of O’Connor’s backroom team is on expected lines, with Ger O’Keeffe continuing as a selector and Alan O’Sullivan remaining on board as physical trainer.

Interestingly, there is a second new addition in the form of Joe O’Connor. He assumes the role of weights and conditioning coach, following a successful 12-month stint with the Kerry senior hurlers.

Jack O’Connor is set to be ratified for a third term at the helm of the Kerry footballers tonight - and former Kingdom keeper Diarmuid Murphy may be joining him as a new selector.

O’Connor’s spell in charge ended after the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Down earlier this month but County Board chiefs have been quick to agree a third term in charge for the Dromid man for the 2011 and subsequent campaigns.

County chairman Jerome Conway was remaining tightlipped last night when quizzed on the matter but is confident that his nomination will be ratified by delegates at tonight’s meeting of the board in Tralee.

It is understood O’Connor has had discussions with a number of potential new selectors, including former Limerick coach Donie Buckley, but it now appears unlikely the Castleisland man will be returning to his native county.

However a surprise candidate for the new management team is Murphy, who stepped down after the county’s All-Ireland success in 2009.

The Dingle man, who is based in Killarney where he works for Axa Insurance, is a shrewd and articulate candidate, and may end up replacing Eamonn Fitzmaurice on the selection committee. Outgoing selector Ger O’Keeffe is expected to remain alongside O’Connor.

Outlining the procedure involved at tonight’s meeting, Conway said: “I will be placing the name of a senior trainer and a management team before the county committee for ratification. There is plenty of speculation about the names of the individuals involved and I am not going to add to that speculation.

“Normally the county committee would be happy with the names proposed by the chairman. I have never yet heard of a county committee in Kerry failing to ratify the chairman’s choices.”

Down 1-16 Kildare 1-14


Down survived in a heart-stopping finish at Croke park to reach their first All-Ireland football final since 1994.

Kildare fought their way back from seven points behind, only to be denied what would have been a sensational win by the crossbar deep into stoppage time.

Eamon Callagan sparked the Lilywhite revival with a goal, and it was substitute Robert Kelly who smashed a late free kick against the woodwork.

Now the Mourne men will take on Cork in next month’s Sam Maguire Cup decider confident in the knowledge that they have never lost an All-Ireland final in five previous attempts.

Both sides had made a character-building run through the Qualifiers, but the loss of midfielder Dermot Earley through injury was just too great of a handicap for Kildare to deal with.

Eamon Callaghan, James Kavanagh and Johnny Doyle were all on target in the opening stages as Kildare got off to an unusually strong start.

But Down got themselves right back into the game with a 12th minute goal. Benny Coulter punched home Marty Clarke’s delivery, but appeared to be in the square before the ball arrived.

After consulting with his umpire, referee Pat McEnaney allowed the goal to stand, and the Mourne men grew in confidence, pushing on with a couple of inspirational scores from centre back Kevin McKernan and a Mark Poland free.

Doyle knocked over two frees, but it was the Ulster side, with Peter Fitzpatrick and Kalum King getting on top at midfield, who grew in confidence.

Danny Hughes, Poland, Paul McComiskey and Clarke were all on target, before Coulter lifted Mourne spirits further with a sublime point, sliced over off the outside of his right boot in stoppage time to send his side in with a 1-9 to 0-7 interval lead.

Hughes and Clarke maintained their industrious input, their energy and mobility providing Down with qualities that their opponents struggled to replicate.

Clarke stretched the advantage to six from a free, and Kildare had gone 16 minutes without a score when centre back Emmet Bolton punished sloppy defending with a point.

They came close to a goal when Eamon Callaghan sent a shot crashing against a post, and Down also had a golden opportunity, but were denied by a double save involving Morgan O’Flaherty and goalkeeper Shane McCormack.

Down never allowed the tempo to wane, defending in numbers and breaking at pace on the counter after surviving a series of Lilywhite raids, and restored their five points cushion with Poland’s third free.

Peter Fitzpatrick, from Clarke’s perfect pass, had just opened up a seven points lead when Eamon Callaghan broke through a gap in the Down defence to smash home a goal.

Midfielder Hugh Lynch thumped over a couple of superb long range points, and with five to play, Kildare were within three points.

Doyle and David Lyons made it a one point game, and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, substitute Robert Kelly saw a thunderbolt free kick deflected on to the crossbar.

Kildare: S McCormack, P Kelly, H McGrillen, A MacLochlainn, M O’Flaherty (0-1), E Bolton (0-1), B Flanagan, D Flynn, H Lynch (0-2), J Kavanagh (0-1), P O’Neill, E O’Flaherty, J Doyle (0-6, 5f), A Smith, E Callaghan (1-1).

Subs: R Sweeney for Flynn, K Ennis (0-1) for M O’Flaherty, D Lyons (0-1) for M O’Flaherty, R Kelly for Smith, T O’Connor for Lynch


Down: B McVeigh, D McCartan, D Gordon, D Rafferty, D Rooney, K McKernan (0-2), C Garvey, P Fitzpatrick (0-1), K King; D Hughes (0-2), M Poland (0-3, 3f), P McComiskey (0-1), B Coulter (1-2), J Clarke, M Clarke (0-3, 2f).

Subs: A Brannigan for Garvey, C Maginn (0-1) for J Clarke, R Murtagh (0-1) for McComiskey, J Colgan for Poland

Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan).

Cork 3-15 Galway 5-8, Croke Park


Brian Hurley held his nerve to convert a last-minute free and send Cork into next month’s All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final.

The Cork youngsters won an enthralling encounter at Croke Park, despite conceding five goals to a Galway side that led by 5-6 to 2-6 with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Peadar O Griofa’s two-goal blast inspired the westerners to a 2-5 to 1-5 half-time lead, before corner forward Hurley levelled the tie with the first goal of an action-packed second half.

Between the 34th and 44th minutes, Galway incredibly added three more goals through Niall Walsh and Conor Rabbitte (2) - and their forward colleague O Griofa was also inches away from completing his hat-trick.

Showing impressive character and will to win, Cork responded with a stunning scoring burst of 1-6 without reply, with Kevin Hallissey’s second goal of the game lighting the touch paper.

Mark Sugrue, Jamie Wall, Hallissey (0-2), Hurley and Damien Cahalane all pointed to get Brian Cuthbert’s charges back level by the 57th minute, at 3-12 to 5-6.

Shane Maughan kicked a free and a point from play to get Galway scoring again, but three late frees from the razor sharp Hurley, including two in injury-time, decided this clash in Cork’s favour.

Indeed, Hurley’s heroics put the seal on Cork’s third successive one-point victory in this year’s Minor Championship, after wins over Kerry and Armagh.

The All-Ireland decider between Tyrone, who beat Mayo last week, and Cork will take place at Croke Park on Sunday, September 19.

Full report to follow…

CORK: D Hanrahan; J Goggin, M O’Shea, D Murphy; D Lester, T Clancy, J Wall; J Burns, D Cahalane; J O’Rourke, D Fitzgerald, A Cronin; K Hallisey, M Sugrue, B Hurley.

Subs used: D McEoin for Fitzgerald (29 mins), K Fulignati for Murphy (37), C O’Sullivan for Goggin (42), S O’Mahony for Sugrue (47), T Hegarty for Lester (49).

GALWAY: J Keane; C MacDonnacha, J Shaughnessy, P Varley; M Loughnane, M Kelly, J Vaughan; E Commins, T Flynn; N Quinn, F O Curraoin, N Walsh; P O Griofa, C Rabbitte, S Maughan.

Subs used: C O’Neill for Vaughan (21 mins), D Burke for Commins (25), F O Bearra for Quinn (44), A Varley for Walsh (53), D Black for MacDonnacha (58).

Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois)

Pat Flanagan was unveiled as the new Westmeath senior football manager at a County Board meeting at Cusack Park in Mullingar tonight.

Flanagan received the overwhelming support from club delegates present, and will take charge of both the senior and Under-21 panels for a two-year term.

Flanagan’s selectors for both teams are yet to be confirmed.

The Offaly native took over as interim Westmeath senior boss in April, following the departure of former Athletics Ireland chief Brendan Hackett.

Flanagan took over in the understanding that his tenure was just for the duration of the Championship, after which the position of Westmeath senior football manager would again be reexamined.

Just six weeks after his appointment, Flanagan guided the Lake County side to a Leinster SFC quarter-final win over Wicklow. However, Westmeath bowed out of the provincial series on the back of a semi-final defeat to Louth at Croke Park, while they failed to bounce back in the All-Ireland qualifiers, losing to Derry.

Flanagan’s full-time appointment is once again a bitter blow for Dessie Dolan Snr who had also been linked with the post.

Dolan is currently managing Roscommon club side Clann na nGael, and like Flanagan had his name in the ring for the position 12 months ago before Hackett was handed the role.