Whelahan likely to get the nod for Limerick job
The Offaly native is expected to be officially appointed at next Tuesday's county board meeting. Whelahan, who brought Birr to their fourth All-Ireland club title inside nine years with victory over Dunloy last March, is understood to have accepted the position.
Ironically, last Sunday, his side captured their fifth Offaly SHC on the trot when overcoming Ballyskenach and in doing so, equalled the record of the great St Rynagh's team of the 1970s, of which he was a member.
Whelahan, who in the past had been linked with management roles in Westmeath, boasts a glittering CV.
After managing Offaly for a brief spell in the late 1980s, he guided Birr to four All-Ireland titles and coached Toomevara to provincial successes.
However, he was believed to have been upset when overlooked by the county board after former manager, Fr Tom Fogarty stepped down at the end of last season.
"I've been interviewed and I made them an offer that I'd take the two teams, senior and under 21, like I did before in '89," he said at the time.
Former Clare selector Michael McNamara was subsequently appointed.
Pat Fitzgerald, chairman of the Limerick County Board, said last night that a number of candidates had applied for the position but that their preferred choice would not be revealed until next Tuesday.
Limerick are also to announce three new selectors and it is believed that former Offaly and Limerick player Joe McKenna, winner of an All-Ireland with the Shannonsiders in 1973, is to be one of them.
It has also been suggested that Dave Mahedy, who served in the Tom Ryan era, is to be invited back as team trainer.
Meanwhile, Kerry County Board will not be responding to public criticism of their handling of Paidí Ó Sé's displacement as the senior football manager.
Chairman Sean Walsh declined to comment yesterday on the issues raised at Ó Sé's press conference in Killarney on Monday afternoon, specifically in relation to criticism of the executive and questions he asked about their future involvement in the board.
Mr Walsh said he didn't wish to engage in 'a war of words,' and that his priority was the finalisation of the process of putting a new management in place.
While many observers remain sympathetic towards Ó Sé, given the length of his involvement with the county and his passion for Kerry football, others incline towards the view that he was fighting a losing battle from the outset.
That would have been very clear from the debate at the county board meeting on September 22, which took the decision to allow the next manager to pick his own selectors.
While it was felt in advance that this would encourage Ó Sé to seek re-election, the level of dissatisfaction with the performance against Tyrone and in the defeats by Armagh last year and Meath the year previous, indicated very definitely that a significant majority favoured a change.
It's fair to say this view would also have found favour with the county board executive, which comprises the various officers of whom the chairman, vice-chairman and secretary were given the responsibility of interviewing prospective managers, reporting to the full officer board and bringing a recommendation before the clubs at the end of the month.
This process would have been carried out earlier but for the amount of time taken up in the investigation of the assault on referee Gearóid O'Regan in the county hurling semi-final.
Meanwhile outgoing selector John O'Keeffe, has ruled out any involvement in the next management set-up, explaining that after having previously been involved with Clare and Limerick that it was 'time for a break.'
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