Galway County Board look to future after prolonged Anthony Cunningham exit
One county board official believes a statement on behalf of the players is imminent to outline to the executive the specific reasons why they would no longer hurl under Cunningham - Galway chiefs are still in the dark as to the players’ grievances.
A players charter will be discussed when the two parties convene so the crisis which has engulfed the county over the past seven weeks never again materialises. The players, claimed the official, will have no input in the appointment of the new manager.
The board’s hope is that they will have a name to put before the clubs for ratification at next month’s county board meeting, which is likely to take place on Monday, December 7, given the Galway GAA convention is scheduled for the following weekend.
Mattie Kenny, who worked alongside Cunningham in 2012 and 2013, has emerged as the clear favourite, though Clarenbridge’s Michael O’Donoghue is also being linked with the post. Other names floated include past and present All-Ireland winning managers, Mattie Murphy and Jeffrey Lynskey, as well as this year’s U21 boss Johnny Kelly.
A statement released yesterday by Galway County Board secretary John Hynes thanked Cunningham for his service, but no mention was there of the circumstances in which he departed.
“The officers of County Galway GAA have received and accepted Anthony Cunningham’s resignation as our county senior hurling team manager and that of his management colleagues.
“On behalf of all of our clubs, delegates, members and supporters, we wish to express our deepest and profound gratitude to Anthony for the great work he has done for Galway hurling over the past number of years. Under his stewardship, we have won an All-Ireland U21 hurling final, Leinster senior and intermediate hurling finals and an All-Ireland intermediate final. We also played in four Leinster SHC finals and two All-Ireland SHC finals, along with a replay.
“While Anthony and his management teams were in charge, every player in our county got both consideration and opportunity, culminating in nine young players making this year’s All-Ireland senior hurling final team.”
Several of Cunningham’s former Galway team-mates refused to speak on the record when contacted yesterday, but privately expressed their disgust at the manner in which he was treated by his players.
One former All-Ireland winning hurler in the county said remedial action should have been taken when the players first raised their concerns after the league quarter-final defeat to Waterford back in April.
Meanwhile, 2010 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy expects hurling’s chasing pack to make a concerted bid for glory next year given several counties failed to reach their potential this summer.
“The chasing pack should be catching Kilkenny at this stage. The reality is they lost five massive figures out of the dressing-room last year. They lost Jackie Tyrrell as well. They had a corner-back making his All- Ireland final debut at 29-years of age. And they still went more or less untouched right throughout the season.
“The 2015 season to me didn’t reach the heights of the previous two-years. The 2014 match between Limerick and Kilkenny was one of the standout games in hurling that I have seen in a number of years. The 2013 final had the silky skills, but in that semi-final you had a battle. To me, it had everything. I expected to see real intense challenging for the Liam MacCarthy this year and it didn’t materialise. An awful lot of teams didn’t reach their potential.”
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