Ward elected new Galway camogie manager after a heated debate

Date Published: {J}

Eoghan Cormican

THE process of appointing the new Galway senior camogie manager was the main talking point arising from a heated County Convention at the Loughrea Hotel & Spa on Monday evening last.

At the end of a long and fractious debate, Sarsfields Tony Ward – the man responsible for Galway’s only ever O’Duffy Cup success – was appointed manager with a backroom team consisting of Sharon Glynn (Pearses), James McGrath (Athenry) and Declan Walsh (Carnmore).

Upon ratification, Ward vowed to give Galway camogie “every minute of my time and to bring back the O’Duffy Cup.”

In truth, however, there didn’t seem to be whole pile of interest in who got the position rather the selection committee put in place to appoint a new manager and the allegations that the five person committee was “unbalanced”.

Secretary Sandra O’Donovan outlined how the County Board initially sought to advertise the position, but was told in a directive from Croke Park that they were not allowed to do so as it was not a paid position. It was then decided that the managers nominated for the post be interviewed by a five person committee comprising of Geraldine McGrath, Sandra O’Donovan, Mixie Donoghue, Gerry Dolan and Deirdre Mitchell.

Senior Captain Brenda Hanney was contacted to seek the input of the players and to gauge what they would be looking for from the new management.

Four people were nominated for the senior managerial post – Tony Ward, Johnny Kane, Noel Finn and Damien Coleman – with the outgoing Finn, who resigned on the night of the All Ireland final defeat, and Coleman expressing their non-interest in the vacancy.

It was also revealed that Turloughmore’s Johnny Kane, who guided Galway to three All Ireland camogie titles ( at U-16 and minor level) in the past three years, sent a letter to the County Board asking that their management team be put before the delegates and not the committee.

O’Donovan made it known to Kane that Bye-law 5.6 must be adhered to and Kane refused by telephone to go forward before the committee.

The debate was only heating up at this point and out of the blue came the announcement that McGrath, “under duress”, had removed herself from the committee and would play no active role in the decision process – Roscommon’s Maeve Healy, a member of the Connacht Council, was drafted in as a “last minute” replacement.

Kane told the delegates that one candidate (Kane himself) for the senior position received seven nominations, while another (Tony Ward) got three – two of those nominations coming from clubs who had members on the interview panel.

To this, Ward quipped, “When I heard it would be an interview process, I knew one nomination would be enough and so didn’t waste my time seeking nominations.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.