Donoghue’s not coming back and Lynskey likely to be a non-runner

Inside Track with John McIntyre

Even a combination of TV super sleuths Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Columbo would struggle to follow a definite line of enquiry into how the latest controversy to engulf Galway hurling will pan out. One thing for certain, Micheál Donoghue will resist pressure to have a change of heart about departing from the Galway hurling manager’s post, while the individual most touted as a possible successor, Jeffrey Lynskey, has privately indicated that he will not be a candidate.

Donoghue’ sudden exit from the Galway sideline has left local GAA officials facing a challenging process to find a replacement who can immediately command the respect of David Burke and company. The situation has become complicated by the senior panel’s overwhelming desire to have the outgoing managerial ticket retained.

That state of affairs means that anyone with ambitions of becoming the next manager could have second thoughts in such an environment. In time, a committee will be put in place to draw up a shortlist of candidates – both inside and outside the county – who would have both the experience and ability to steer the Galway hurlers through the next couple of years. The squad has reached an important crossroads and its fortunes in 2020 could swing one way or the other.

On a personal level, I am sorry to see Donoghue going in the first place. He could be a spiky individual when believing that you weren’t playing the game his way – and that included the local press – but, overall, the Clarinbridge clubman proved a terrific sideline leader of Galway hurling. A long-awaited All-Ireland, a National League and two Leinster titles brook no argument.

For a county which went nearly three decades without ultimate championship glory, Donoghue was the manager who finally cracked the code. He had two loyal and outstanding lieutenants in Francis Forde and Noel Larkin, and between the three of them, they turned Galway into the top team in the land in 2017 when sweeping the boards.

Though hugely flattered to lose by only a point to resurgent Limerick in the final, they made a spirited defence of the All-Ireland title last year. Unfortunately, 2019 didn’t go well, with the form of individual players dipping and the team, in general, struggling for both cohesion and the required intensity. Yet, it was only that freak result in Wexford Park that ended Galway’s interest in the championship last June.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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