Confirmed: Jack O'Connor handed new two-year term as Kerry boss 

There is one minor change to the composition of the management team, however, as Pa McCarthy has been promoted to be a fourth selector, joining Cian O’Neill, Aodhan Mac Gearailt and James Costello. 

STAYING PUT: Kerry manager Jack O'Connor during the All-Ireland SFC final between Kerry and Donegal. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Weeks of speculation came to an end at Tuesday evening’s Kerry county committee meeting as senior boss Jack O’Connor and his management team were ratified for another two-year term.

County board chairman Patrick O’Sullivan, having congratulated Jack and the Kerry team on winning the All-Ireland in late July when beating Donegal, then proceeded to propose the outgoing management team for a further two years following the completion of the previous extension granted for O’Connor back in 2023.

There is one minor change to the composition of the management team, however.

Pa McCarthy has been promoted to be a fourth selector, joining Cian O’Neill, Aodhan Mac Gearailt and James Costello. 

This gives Kerry its highest number of selectors for some time in a management team. 

The club delegates unanimously ratified O’Connor and his management team.

This second extension means that O’Connor will also serve his longest term as senior manager in the Kingdom, as his two previous terms were three (2004-06) and four (2009-12) years respectively.

O'Sullivan did not reveal the management teams for the Kerry minor and U-20 footballers, which will likely be announced at the next meeting as discussions are still ongoing. 

It is expected that Tomás Ó Sé (U20) and Wayne Quillinan (Minor), who completed their third years respectively in 2025, will remain for 2026.

Meanwhile, Terence Houlihan, Chairman of the CCCC, announced that the senior club final will be played on Sunday, September 14, and will be televised. 

He also informed delegates that the SFC will be played in the month of October, with the county final fixed for the Bank Holiday weekend, which is a weekend earlier than last year. 

This is to facilitate the Kerry team holiday, which will see the team fly out on October 27 - a trip that will include a visit to the United States and the Caribbean. It is expected to take in Nashville and Puerto Rico. 

They aim to return prior to the All-Star awards ceremony in Dublin on November 7.

Houlihan, asked what would happen in the event of SFC finishing in a draw, noted that a replay, if required, will be played on November 15.

It is expected that the two senior club championship quarter-finals in Austin Stack Park this Saturday evening, Dingle v Na Gaeil and Rathmore v Austin Stacks, will be played under a ‘stop-clock’, making them the first two men's adult fixtures in the county to be played under such conditions. 

It will not be possible at club grounds to use the ‘stop-clock’, so it will be used only at Austin Stack Park and Fitzgerald Stadium.

Elsewhere, John Joe Carroll of Asdee asked if Kerry would be taking part in the McGrath Cup and chairman Patrick O’Sullivan said that he had not spoken to Jack O’Connor about it, so a decision was deferred.

Frank Coffey of Beaufort queried the notion that there appears to be an effort to deny county players from playing with their clubs in district championships. 

A review committee to look into the burnout and the load on county players was set up last year by Patrick O’Sullivan and it includes Jason McGahan, Paul Murphy and Joe Costello. 

They presented initial findings and they sought permission to meet the chairmen of the district boards to decide how best to give intercounty players a four week break before they return to Kerry training. 

A lively debate ensued, and it appears to be a thorny subject that will rear its head again over the next six weeks.