Capital shock as Gilroy set to be ratified as new Dublin boss

PAT GILROY is set to be ratified as the new Dublin senior football manager at tonight’s county board meeting in Parnell Park.

The St Vincent’s man only emerged as a contender for the post on Tuesday night and with the county board meeting postponed from Tuesday night until tonight, speculation has grown a dramatic appointment is imminent. With Brian Mullins having ruled himself out earlier this week, Gilroy has become the surprise choice to fill the role that arose when Paul Caffrey brought his four-year tenure to an end after Dublin’s All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Tyrone in August.

It is also being touted Gilroy will bring former Dublin manager Mickey Whelan on board as coach on the new managerial team. Whelan was manager last March as St Vincent’s lifted the All-Ireland Club SFC title, with Gilroy filling the role of player/coach in that team. While Gilroy does have a lack of top-level managerial experience, it is believed his input into St Vincent’s success, and the presence of Whelan on the managerial ticket, made him the choice of the county board selection panel of chairman Gerry Harrington and secretary John Costello.

Apart from playing at full-forward in St Vincent’s All-Ireland club victory over Nemo Rangers last March, Gilroy hit the GAA headlines last year when he was on the shortlist to become Director General of the GAA, but was beaten to the post by Padraic Duffy. Gilroy has extensive inter-county experience and came on as a sub when Dublin last tasted All-Ireland success in 1995. Two of his Dublin teammates from that period, Paul Bealin and Mick Deegan, had expressed interest in the post.

Meanwhile All-Ireland finalists Tyrone and Kerry head the shortlist for the Opel Gaelic Team of the Year, announced yesterday by the GPA.

All-Ireland champions Tyrone top the list with nine nominations, with beaten finalist Kerry having received eight nominations. A total of 45 players have been named on the shortlist, three players for each position, with 15 counties represented. All-Ireland semi-finalists Wexford have received four nominations, with three nominations each for Dublin, Westmeath, Galway, Cork, Fermanagh and Armagh.

Thirty-eight of the players selected were also nominated for GAA Allstar awards two weeks ago, with Tyrone’s Joe McMahon a notable inclusion in the GPA nominations, after his manager Mickey Harte questioned his omission from the Allstar nominations.

Tyrone teammate Sean Cavanagh is nominated in the full-forward line for the GPA team despite being shortlisted in the half-forward line for the Allstars. Cavanagh is also nominated for the Opel Gaelic Player of the Year award, along with teammate Brian Dooher, and Kerry duo Tomás Ó Sé and Declan O’Sullivan. The winners will be revealed on November 15 at a ceremony in Dublin’s CityWest Hotel.

Meanwhile the nominations for the 2008 Ladies Football Allstars were also announced yesterday with All-Ireland finalists Cork and Monaghan leading the way with 10 nominations each. After completing the four-in-a-row, the Rebelettes have a number of familiar faces in the list, but championship top scorer Valerie Mulcahy is omitted, having been denied an opportunity for consideration under Rule 266 after receiving a straight red during Cork’s semi-final win over Tyrone. Seventeen counties are represented on the list. The winners will also to be revealed on November 15 at CityWest Hotel.