Offaly pay tribute to boss Baker as he decides to step down

Ollie Baker’s resignation as Offaly senior hurling manager was announced to the county board last night, after the former All-Ireland winning midfielder with Clare and St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield decided not to seek a third term.

Baker is on holiday with his family but he communicated his decision to chairman Pádraig Boland, who paid tribute to the former Clare great: “Ollie Baker is a man of the highest integrity and while he was always an extremely formidable negotiator on behalf of his players, everything he did was in an environment of openness and honesty.

“He displayed tremendous respect for the needs of clubs and was a keen proponent of county players being made available to their clubs throughout the year.”

Under Baker, Offaly had two moderately successful seasons in Division 1B, despite key players from Leinster champions Coolderry (2012) and Kilcormac-Killoughey (2013) being unavailable for those campaigns.

A first championship victory over Wexford for 12 years, posted at O’Connor Park in 2012, was the highlight of Offaly’s two championship campaigns, while the performances against both Kilkenny and Waterford in 2013 were viewed by many Offaly followers as missed opportunities.

The chairman was keen to acknowledge the contribution of the outgoing management team and the players.

“At a time when many potential Offaly players were unavailable and the engagement of personnel to support the efforts of players wasn’t always easy, I sincerely thank all those who gave such commitment to Offaly.”

Offaly county bye-laws dictate that a four-man committee will be put in place to find Baker’s replacement, with Coolderry manager Ken Hogan and Kilcormac-Killoughey manager Danny Owens expected to be among the front-runners after their success at club level.