Horan closes in on football appointment

MAURICE Horan will be ratified as Limerick’s new senior football manager at next Wednesday’s October monthly meeting of the Limerick Football Board in the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare.
The former Nemo Rangers boss Ephie Fitzgerald will join Horan’s backroom team as team trainer - Fitzgerald was manager of the Cork giants when they won four county titles in-a-row (2005 to 2008).
Maurice Horan has played inter-county football with both his native Mayo and Limerick.
This season the Ballinrobe native was Limerick under-21 manager and a selector on Mickey Ned O’Sullivan’s senior management team.
Under John Maughan’s stewardship Horan made his Mayo senior debut in 2003 as a 27-year-old, but that winter work commitments saw him move to Limerick and he transferred to Monaleen and joined up with Liam Kearns’ inter-county panel, but Horan was plagued by injury and had to take a break from the game.
For the last two seasons he has been involved with the Na Piarsaigh intermediate footballers.

Unconditional support
Limerick GAA chairman Liam Lenihan has called for “unconditional support” for Limerick’s new senior hurling manager Dónal O’Grady.
“What we need now is unconditional support for Dónal and his management team. We have to work together, it’s the only chance we have as a county. I would appeal to everyone in the room to preach a positive message about Limerick hurling,” pleaded Liam Lenihan after the former Cork All-Ireland winning manager was ratified at last Wednesday’s special County Board meeting.
“You are the people who will go back to their clubs, to their work places and to their families and we want you to go back with a positive message. There’s only one way to go from here and that’s forward,” he said.
“We’re all looking forward now to 2011. I think we’ve got a very good man in Dónal O’Grady. I don’t think anyone could question his pedigree, his coaching skills or his managerial skills. So, it’s upwards and onwards from here on.”
The meeting, as expected, went smoothly with no delegate raising an objection against the Cork man or his management team, namely selectors Ciarán Carey (Patrickswell), TJ Ryan (Garryspillane) and Pat Heffernan (Blackrock) who were all recommended by the Independent Appointments Committee of Jim Woulfe, Damien Quigley and Paudie Fitzmaurice in recent weeks.
“The whole idea was that they would get the right person. I didn’t want them to rush it. I didn’t know who they interviewed, I didn’t know who they spoke to and I was delighted when they came up with the name of Dónal O’Grady. Yes, it did take time, but one thing we need in Limerick is patience. We had patience with them and we heard their report there tonight. It was comprehensive. I think they met 36 times so that’s a fair amount of work for three busy men.”
“My message to supporters is to be positive and go out and support Limerick. As I said there give unconditional support to the team management and to whatever Limerick team is on the field. That’s the only way we can go forward, if we’re all working together and pulling together. I’d appeal to the supporters to give them their full support,” said Lenihan.

Ardscoil Ris
Ardscoil Ris make two trips to Tipp in the next week as they continue to fly the flag for Limerick in the top grade of colleges hurling.
Next Wednesday they begin the defence of their Harty Cup title when they face the Waterford Colleges amalgamation in Bansha at 2.30pm.
The North Circular Road secondary school have been drawn in one of the groups of three teams for this season’s Munster senior A colleges hurling championship.
Ardscoil will also face opposition from St. Colman’s College, Fermoy and two of the three teams will progress to the Harty Cup quarter-finals.
The Ardscoil Ris senior team will be managed by Niall Moran, Derek Larkin, Liam Cronin, Jimmy Browne and Natal O’Grady this season. Among their starting line-up will be Declan Hannon, Shane Dowling, Mark Carmody, Mark Ryan and Clare All-Ireland minor finalists Jamie Shanahan and Martin Moroney.
Elsewhere in the Harty Cup group A comprises of four schools: Thurles CBS, DLS Waterford, Blackwater College and St. Flannan’s. Charleville CBS are in group B along with Coláiste Chríost Rí, St. Caimin’s of Shannon and Our Lady’s, Templemore. Nenagh CBS, Midleton CBS and Kerry Colleges make up group C.
Meanwhile the Dean Ryan Cup gets underway this Thursday, September 30 in Bansha at 2.30pm when Ardscoil Ris play Blackwater of Lismore in Waterford. The Limerick secondary school are managed by Niall Crowe, Fergal Lyons and Liam Kennedy. If Ardscoil progress they will play Dungarvan in the quarter-final.

John Galvin
Limerick footballer John Galvin has been nominated for an All Star for the third time. Although Cork lead the nominations with 11 in all the Croom man is in the running for a spot at midfield following several sensational performances for the Shannonsiders this year. Galvin was also nominated last season and back in 2004, but is yet to make it into the final selection.
Galvin faces opposition for the two midfield spots from Aidan Walsh (Cork), Paddy Keenan (Louth), Michael Dara MaCauley (Dublin), Kalum King (Down) and Nicholas Murphy (Cork).
John Galvin was also in line for an International Rules spot until injury ruled him out of playing for Ireland against Australia.
The 2010 All Star nominees have been drawn from 12 counties representing all four provinces.
Defeated All-Ireland finalists Down have the second highest number with seven nominees, with semi-finalists Kildare third highest with five nominees and Dublin and Tyrone joint-next with four.
Only ten of the 45 players nominated have previously won All Stars with Kerry duo Colm Cooper and Tomás Ó Sé the most decorated nominees with five All Stars each.
The 2010 All-Star banquet takes place on October 15.

Jerome O’Connell