Ryan says nothing sinister behind O’Grady exit from Limerick

WHILE Donal O’Grady had always insisted his commitment to the Limerick senior hurling management position was for one year only, his announcement yesterday that he would not be continuing still took many people by surprise.

Within Limerick itself, however, there was both surprise and disappointment, not least within the county board, as iterated by county secretary Mike O’Riordan: “Definitely, yes. After the job he did this year (winning Division 2, getting Limerick to the All-Ireland quarter-final) everyone in the county was hoping Donal would stay on for another 12 months, or even more, but he stuck to his word.”

The next task now is to find a successor, sooner rather than later. “At the moment there’s nothing concrete I can tell you. It’s a democratic process, there’s nothing can be done ‘til we talk to the Management committee on Monday night, then the county board meeting on Tuesday night, and that’s where everything will be discussed.