Championship progress earns Dempsey new Longford deal
“Luke’s term ended the evening we were beaten by Kerry in Killarney, and we asked the clubs to submit nominations,” said county chairman Martin Skelly.
“The unanimous response was Luke should stay on, along with Declan Rowley and Eugene McCormack who were with him this year.
“Luke is very keen too, and it will be ratified at a meeting of the county board on Tuesday week.”
Dempsey came close to landing a Leinster U-21 title with Longford this season, and also masterminded the shock qualifier win over Derry.
Meanwhile, Brian Mullins says he has no interest in taking over the role as Laois football manager, despite reports yesterday that he was a contender to succeed Mick O’Dwyer.
“They must be mixing me up with another Brian Mullins,” said the former Dublin star who is currently in charge of UCD’s High Performance programme in Belfield.
His brother Sean lives in Portlaoise, with whom he won a number of county football titles in the 1970s.
Sean’s youngest son Diarmuid was also a member of the Laois All-Ireland winning minor team of 1997.
The Laois football board met last week to initiate the search for the new manager despite some continued uncertainty about whether or not Mick O’Dwyer would be interested in taking over for a fifth year.
A shortlist of seven candidates was drawn up, with John O’Mahony and Dempsey quickly declared non-runners due to their involvement with politics and Longford respectively.
Portlaoise native and former Wexford manager Pat Roe has already thrown his hat into the ring.
Former manager Michael Dempsey, now a selector with Kilkenny hurlers, has also been mentioned, as has his brother Sean who enjoyed success with the county minors and U-21s.
Former Limerick manager Liam Kearns has also been mentioned.
Clubs will be allowed forward nominations to the next meeting of the football board next Wednesday.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
