Liam Cahill was in frame for Liam Sheedy’s job

Liam Cahill has revealed he spoke to the Tipperary County Board about the vacant senior post following last year’s All-Ireland U21 win but withdrew from the race once Liam Sheedy entered the equation.

The Tipperary County Board executive had not found a successor for Michael Ryan when Cahill, last August, guided the Premier to a first All-Ireland U21 crown in eight years, and Cahill subsequently met with officials to “lay out a couple of ideas” regarding the senior job.

Cahill said he disengaged from the process when learning of Liam Sheedy’s interest in returning for a second stint.

“At the time, obviously, Michael Ryan had just stepped aside and there were a few names being bandied about and I was one of them. Tipp were out there fishing to see who was available. I did engage, not as much maybe as other candidates did, but I did engage for a little while,” Cahill revealed.

What I told the board after the U21 was that yes, I would talk to them. Now I only spoke to them the once, just to lay out a couple of little ideas, but once Liam Sheedy was in the background, I didn’t engage any further after that.

“Liam was the right man at the right time, really. The results have shown it and fair play to him and his management team. But for me, I have no regrets that way. It was all about getting the right appointment and the right experienced guy when it came about. Liam was the standout candidate and rightly so. It’s since been proven correct, Liam MacCarthy is back in Tipperary and it’s down to all the work he has done over the last 12 months.”

Would Cahill like to someday manage the county seniors? He is certainly building a resume which will make it difficult for future boards to overlook him — back-to-back All-Ireland minor final appearances in 2015 and 2016, victory achieved in the latter, and now back-to-back All- Ireland U21/20 final appearances.

“In time, maybe. But for now, I’m really, really happy where I am. I’m working with great young ambitious men, getting great support, and have a great team around me. Saturday is our fourth All-Ireland in five years, as a management team, so we’re really, really looking forward to it.”