Hi °C | Lo °C Tyrone All Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte has played down the possibility of a GAA County Managers Association being formed, citing the short terms which many managers currently enjoy in their posts as the biggest drawback.
He said: “Obviously such an Association could do good, but would there be managers long enough in their jobs to sustain it? I doubt it. It’s all right for players to have their GPA because most county players are there or thereabouts for maybe 10 years so their Association is more sustainable.”
It has been mooted that the county managers should band together in order to further their own cause and to form closer links with the GAA powers-that-be.
But it would appear that the short-term stays so prevalent nowadays will militate against this.
It is believed that some 19 managers have left their posts for one reason or another this year.
Meanwhile, the chances of the All Ireland Club Hurling title coming to Ulster have evaporated now that Ballyhale Shamrocks have claimed the three-in-row in Kilkenny where the Liam McCarthy Cup is residing for the third year on the trot.
The Shamrocks, powered by a clutch of All Ireland winners, carved out a deserved 2-11 to 0-12 win over James Stephens at Nowlan Park yesterday.
And there was something of a shock for Ulster in another sphere yesterday.
In the quarter-final of the US Open Men’s Handball singles reigning champion and world number one, Cavan footballer Paul Brady was defeated by Arizona young gun Luis Moreno in an 11-10 tie-breaker thriller.
Brady was up 8-2 in the tie-breaker having lost the first 21-10, and taking the second on an identical scoreline.
But his opponent proved to have superb staying power and eventually claimed the verdict in a tense finish.
Brady, who has gained a succession of honours in world handball and is one of the leading county footballers in Ulster, was expected to make the US final once again and his unexpected exit has come as a shock to his county and to the province.
