Cody's successor? Derek Lyng’s decision to step down after 2019 campaign now looks canny

Breaking down the names in the race to success Brian Cody as Kilkenny manager

SUCCESSOR?: Kilkenny U20 manager Derek Lyng with match-winning point scorer Joe Fitzpatrick of Kilkenny after the Leinster Under 20 semi-final match between Kilkenny and Galway. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Brian Cody’s retirement raises the eternal question: who will replace him?

Recent events in Tipperary, where Colm Bonnar effectively got sacked by the County Board, underlined how difficult the process can become. The former Kilkenny manager’s interactions with Henry Shefflin during 2022 further indicated the sensitivities involved. Neither Cody nor any members of the Kilkenny County Board had an inkling about Shefflin’s move to Galway. Intercounty managerial appointments, within a GAA context, end up a complex interaction of experience, expertise, loyalty and opportunity.

Kilkenny’s likely choices run, alphabetically, along these lines:

Eddie Brennan: The Graigue-Ballycallan clubman had a brilliant playing career. He has assembled a commendable portfolio of experience, starting with a stint aiding Lisdowney on the local club scene. His two years as Kilkenny’s U21 manager (2016-17) proved a mixed bag, defeat to Westmeath followed by All-Ireland Final appearance against Limerick.

He recovered ground when guiding Laois for 2019 and 2020. Could now be courted by Dublin and Waterford. Feeling on the ground holds that Brennan is not one of the County Board’s favoured candidates.

DJ Carey: The Young Irelands clubman remains one of hurling’s star figures, a facet never irrelevant in this context. Excellent Fitzgibbon Cup work with IT Carlow was augmented by two years over Kilkenny’s U21/U20 panel (2018-19) and by acting as a Senior selector for 2020. His abrupt departure from that post and the presence of son Mikey Carey on the current panel are two reasons why Carey’s appointment is not anticipated in his native county.

Brian Dowling: The current camogie manager with Kilkenny is a thoughtful and clued-in observer of hurling. Another former Kilkenny player, the O’Loughlin Gaels clubman rewired this team’s approach, moving away from the overly defensive style seen under Ann Downey and towards All-Ireland success in 2020. This achievement, no small one, won Dowling many admirers. But this juncture probably comes too early, even with Kilkenny back in an All-Ireland Final, for his name to emerge.

Michael Fennelly: A former Hurler of the Year (2011), which bestows natural authority. The Ballyhale Shamrocks clubman apparently has committed to a fourth year in charge of Offaly, where important experience has been banked. Will be strongly in the reckoning any time the Senior job in Kilkenny arises over the next 15 years. But 2022 may well strike the County Board as premature.

David Herity: Kilkenny’s goalkeeper for the All-Ireland triumphs of 2011 and 2012. Currently the manager who led Kildare to Joe McDonagh Cup success in 2021. Has put together a serious CV via prior stints in the Dublin camp and at the helm of Dublin’s camogie panel.

Never a player close to Brian Cody and could seem somewhat brash in the past, which would not have endeared him to the Kilkenny County Board. But the Dunnamaggin clubman has tempered his media pronouncements and spoke incisively about Kilkenny’s tactical patterns in their recent All-Ireland loss to Limerick. Possesses a sharp hurling brain and a driven personality. Perhaps not favoured this time around his name but Herity’s possible contribution to his native Senior panel should not be discounted.

Derek Lyng: The Emeralds clubman made the most of his ability, enjoying a long career at midfield with Kilkenny, without having been an intercountry Minor or U21. Notably bright and articulate, Lyng absorbed plenty of relevant experience when serving as a Senior selector with Brian Cody between 2014 and 2019. Then became U20 manager, where he oversaw this season’s All-Ireland triumph, after two underwhelming campaigns in 2020 and 2021. The decision to stay at it took grit, which will appeal to the County Board.

Henry Shefflin: The Ballyhale Shamrocks clubman is the game’s most decorated player, which grants him immense natural authority. He enjoyed two tremendously productive years managing his native club, taking successive Club All-Ireland titles. Subsequently took over Thomastown United, a neighbouring club in the Intermediate grade, because he did not wish to manage against his own on the local scene.

Shefflin was very much the County Board’s preferred successor to Cody. His move last year to manage Galway convulsed the county and drew wildly different reactions. Although the man still enjoys much popular support, there is also a feeling abroad that he may miss out this time around.

There remain intriguing sidenotes. James McGarry would have been viewed at one time as Senior manager in waiting. He enjoyed significant success when acting as Joint Manager, alongside Michael Fennelly Sr, with Ballyhale Shamrocks. Back in 2009, this duo oversaw four Senior titles in a row. A Club All-Ireland got added the following March.

Martin Fogarty resigned as an intercounty selector following’s 2013 campaign. Brian Cody, to widespread approval, brought in James McGarry and Derek Lyng as selectors. Although highly respected within the county, and a sharp thoughtful individual, McGarry is probably too associated with the outgoing regime for consideration as an incoming solution. Lyng’s decision to step down after the 2019 campaign now looks a canny one.

Fogarty possesses excellent analytical skills. He proved consistently effective with Kilkenny between 2005 and 2013, contributing significantly to the six All Irelands harvested. His video analysis provided an important resource during that period.

Yet hard recognitions glint. There is scant sense locally that looking back to Fogarty’s input, for all its merits, would represent forward thinking’s tilt. There is also a hard reality, heavily there in mainstream opinion, around this man’s lack of an intercountry playing career. Certain perspectives are no less undeniable for being so obviously skewed.

Michael Walsh did have that playing career, keeping goal for the All-Ireland successes of 1992 and 1993. The Dicksboro clubman led Kilkenny’s U21s to All-Ireland glory in 2008. This achievement might be the major tick in his sideline CV but is far from the only one. Now Dicksboro’s newly installed Senior manager, Walsh remains a well respected and capable figure. But his name seems unlikely to float towards the top of post Cody speculation.

My gut hunch? Derek Lyng (in tandem with Peter Barry). Conor Phelan could be relocated to the U20 berth.

Funny enough, I wrote a column last autumn stating Lyng should have been given the job for 2018.