Galway’s Cunningham and Kenny shortlisted for big Dublin postition

Inside Track with John McIntyre

COULD there be two Galway men in the running to takeover as the new Dublin senior hurling manager following the shock weekend departure of Pat Gilroy from the role due to work commitments?

Ironically, Mattie Kenny and Anthony Cunningham were central figures on the Galway sideline when guiding the county to the 2012 All-Ireland final and replay, but there had been a parting of the ways by the time the Tribesmen reached the championship decider of 2015.

Nobody envisaged after that disappointing loss to Kilkenny that Cunningham would no longer be the Galway team manager the following Christmas. The players revolted and though the St Thomas’ clubman fought a desperate rearguard action to stay in the post, he eventually bowed to the inevitable.

In 2012, Kenny and Tom Helebert were his mentors, but three years later it was Damien Curley, Pat Malone and Eugene Cloonan who were Cunningham’s sideline lieutenants. After his controversial departure, there was a vacancy to be filled and Kenny was naturally one of the candidates to throw his hat into the ring.

Ultimately, Micheál Donoghue won the seal of approval in the Galway corridors of power and that decision was vindicated when the Clarinbridge man, who had previously led his club to All-Ireland glory, steered the county to only their fifth championship triumph when overcoming Waterford in the 2017 showdown.

In the meantime, Kenny attached himself to the Cuala club in Dublin and has enjoyed ground-breaking success by guiding them to two All-Irelands, the second coming last March in a successful title defence against Na Piarsaigh of Limerick. It was no secret either that when another Cunningham, Ger, resigned as Dublin boss in the winner of 2017 that Kenny had strong support from some players to fill the role.

Again, however, he wasn’t the chosen one as Dublin opted for former All-Ireland winning football manger Gilroy and the plot thickened when he recruited Anthony Cunningham as team coach. Few could argue that 2018 wasn’t a year of progress for Dublin – they were desperately unlucky to lose to Kilkenny in the championship and also gave a good account of themselves against Galway – but now Gilroy has walked away.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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