Stalemate again as new Ryan proposal shot down

A proposal to replace Tom Ryan as Limerick’s intermediate hurling manager — but for him to work instead as a selector — has been rejected by the sub-committee that proposed him for the top job.

County board officials had wondered whether Don Flynn could be considered for the position as manager, with Ryan dropping down to occupy a selector’s role.

But this suggestion was dismissed, leading to fresh stalemate on the matter.

Sources have revealed that a meeting between board officials and the sub-committee headed by county board vice-chairman Pat Heffernan took place on Tuesday evening.

And while it had been expected that a full county board meeting would go ahead this evening , this will not now happen.

Instead, Limerick executive members will meet tonight to discuss their next move as the controversy rumbles on.

Club delegates tried to force through a vote on the issue last week with the full county board meeting abandoned after an hour of heated debate at the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel. One Limerick insider has accused the county board of “kicking for touch” as Ryan, ratified as an U21 selector, waits to see if he will have any role with the intermediates. Ryan, who was in charge of the Limerick seniors for the 1994 and 1996 All-Ireland finals, had lined up Flynn, Pat Howard, Jimmy Carroll and Tony Roche as selectors.

On Tuesday, the sub-committee, headed up by Heffernan, suggested that the county board allow Ryan’s team be installed for the 2014 campaign, with a review to follow.

This was not agreed to before Heffernan and his colleagues then rejected a counter-proposal from the board that Ryan work as a selector under Flynn.