Fergie O’Loughlin and Eoin Cadogan take over Cashel King Cormacs

NEW ROLE: Tipperary premier intermediate champions Cashel King Cormacs will be led by manager Fergie O’Loughlin and coach Eoin Cadogan this coming season. Pic: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile

Tipperary premier intermediate champions Cashel King Cormacs will be led by manager Fergie O’Loughlin and coach Eoin Cadogan this coming season.

The pair are set to take over after TJ Connolly and his management team stepped down following last month’s Munster final defeat to would-be All-Ireland champions Watergrasshill.

Clarecastle man O’Loughlin has managed Limerick clubs Ballybrown and Doon in recent years and was part of the Waterford senior set-up in 2023. He has a lengthy coaching career that has included his own club, Kerry, Kilmoyley, Ballyea, Bruff and Clooney-Quin.

Former inter-county dual star Cadogan, who played his last game with Cork in 2021, has trained and managed Dungarvan over the past two seasons. He was trainer and strength and conditioning coach with Cork’s U21 hurlers in 2017 and assisted Killeagh as S&C coach in ’22. It’s an impressive ticket for Cashel who earned promotion to the senior ranks for the first time since 2014.

Meanwhile, Tipperary were facile winners over Laois in a pre-season challenge game in Templemore on Tuesday night. Liam Cahill’s side posted 4-39 to the neighbours’ 0-18 in a one-sided run-out.

Last year’s U20 star Darragh McCarthy, Joe Fogarty and Andrew Ormonde found the net for Tipperary in the first half and the home side led 3-18 to 0-7 at the turnaround.

Ballingarry’s Dylan Walsh added a fourth goal in the second half and another 2024 U20 performer, Cashel’s Oisín O’Donoghue, produced six points. The placement of Conor Bowe at full-forward and Craig Morgan in midfield were two of the more interesting aspects of Tipperary’s line-up.

Jason Forde and Conor Stakelum came off the bench in the second half on a difficult evening for Laois’ new manager Tommy Fitzgerald.

Elsewhere, Mayo forward Tommy Conroy could be sidelined for longer than has been reported. McStay said he hoped to see the vice-captain before the end of the Allianz League but there are concerns he won’t see action until the Connacht championship.

Mayo travel to face Dublin in their Division 1 opener in Croke Park on Saturday week with speculation mounting there will be further inter-county retirements among Dessie Farrell’s squad after James McCarthy and Brian Fenton’s decisions to end their glittering careers in recent months.

The chief doubts surround the futures of Stephen Cluxton, Jack McCaffrey, John Small and Paul Mannion. It has been speculated locally that Cluxton may be part of the Dublin management set-up this season.