While there has been no confirmation from Limerick GAA officials it is understood that O’Grady’s name will be put before the clubs of Limerick in the coming days when a special County Board meeting is scheduled to ratify the new management team.
This Monday evening the three-man Independent Appointments Committee brought their two-month search for the county’s new hurling maestro to an end when Donal O’Grady began to assemble his backroom team. The 56-year-old Cork native met with potential selectors in the Charleville Park Hotel. Former Limerick hurling heroes Ciaran Carey, Pat Heffernan and TJ Ryan are all understood to be in line for positions as selectors. The trio of former players were all in the Limerick team that lost the 1994 All-Ireland final to Offaly. Carey and Ryan were among the initial nine nominations from the clubs for the position of manager. Heffernan has previously served as manager of the Kerry senior hurling team.
The Independent Appointments Committee of Damien Quigley, Paudie Fitzmaurice and Jim Woulfe set about their task after the July monthly meeting of the Limerick County Board. It was always within their remit to source a manager from outside those nominated by the clubs and from the outset Donal O’Grady was rumoured as a potential successor to Justin McCarthy.
Earlier this month Donal O’Grady appeared to distance himself from the Limerick role: “I haven’t spoken to anyone in Limerick. And nobody has spoken to me. I’m aware of those rumours, but that’s all they are”.
Donal O’Grady has recently retired as principal of the North Monastery CBS in Cork city and is a prominent member of the St. Finbarr’s club in Cork with whom he won several county titles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Donal O’Grady was also an outstanding inter-county full-back. O’Grady captained the Rebels to a second consecutive National Hurling League in 1981 before winning his first Munster title in 1982. In 1984 O’Grady starred in a campaign which saw Cork beat Offaly in the All-Ireland final. O’Grady served a selector for one year in 1986 when Cork won another All-Ireland title.
He then managed Cork in 2003 and 2004. During his first year in charge he handed inter-county debuts to John Gardiner, Tom Kenny, Ronan Curran and Setanta Ó hAilpín. Cork duly won the Munster title, but lost the All-Ireland final to Kilkenny by three points. For 2004 O’Grady tempted Brian Corcoran back out of retirement after Setanta Ó hAilpín departed for Australia. That season Cork lost the Munster final to Waterford, but plotted a course to the All-Ireland final through the qualifiers before beating Kilkenny to the McCarthy Cup.
O’Grady resigned in the wake of that victory, but has worked as a pundit on RTÉ’s The Sunday Game while also working as a columnist for the Irish Examiner.
Meanwhile on the club scene this weekend the semi-finals of the county senior football championship dominate. Monaleen play champions Dromcollogher-Broadford and Adare play Ballylanders in a double-header in Kilmallock.
Last weekend Claughaun were relegated from the senior football championship. The 14-time county senior football champions drop back to the intermediate ranks next season after their play-off defeat to Newcastle West.
Claughaun now turn to their attention to another relegation play-off as they fight for their senior hurling survival when they face 2005 county senior champions Garryspillane in the senior hurling relegation final.
Favourites Ballybrown were knocked out of the intermediate hurling championship by Hospital-Herbertstown, 1-12 to 0-13.
Just like the senior hurling championship, the intermediate final will be an all-south affair with Hospital-Herbertstown awaiting the winners of a replay between Dromin-Athlacca and Glenroe who drew 0-11 a-piece.
There was also a draw in the County Cup semi-final between South Liberties and Croom.
With Doon awaiting the winners in the final of the new competition Croom scored an injury-time goal to secure a replay. There was yet another draw in the intermediate football championship quarter-final between Bruff and Mountcollins.
Oola await the winners in the semi-final, with Galbally playing Hospital-Herbertstown in the other semi-final.
In the other news the Limerick ladies footballers are this week preparing for their All-Ireland junior final against Louth in Croke Park on Sunday (throw-in 12 noon).
The game will be shown live on TG4 and the Limerick ladies will be hoping to go one better than 2009 when the Shannonsiders lost the All-Ireland final to Antrim.
Jerome O’Connell
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