Runners and riders

Shaun Casey takes a look at some of the potential contenders for the Monaghan job.

David McCague

McCague guided his native Scotstown to the promised land last year, winning the Ulster Club Championship, having been at the helm with the Monaghan club kingpins for the last number of seasons. Not only that, but McCague has plenty of intercounty experience as well. He was previously part of Seamus McEnaney’s Monaghan backroom team, when they reached the Ulster final in 2021 and lost to eventual All-Ireland champions Tyrone by the minimum of margins. McCague knows the county scene and his knowledge of Monaghan club football would be unmatched.

Paul O’Connor

Currently in charge of his club team Castleblayney, O’Connor has been a regular on the sideline at underage level for Monaghan over the last decade or more. He was a member of Dermot Malone’s minor management team that reached the Ulster final and the All-Ireland final in 2023, where they came up short on both occasions against Derry. O’Connor was the manager of the Monaghan U20s this season and brought them back to another provincial decider, losing out to Tyrone on that occasion. He also served as Games Development Manager in the Farney County for 18 years.

Seamus McEnaney

‘Banty’ has held the position of Monaghan manager twice already and has had plenty of success while in charge. He brought them a Division Two title way back in 2005 and Monaghan made two Ulster final appearances (2007 and 2010) in his first stint but failed to get over the line against Tyrone. He returned to the hotseat and brought them back to another Ulster decider in 2021, but again the Red Hands proved his undoing. McEnaney won an Ulster Minor title in 2018 with Monaghan and an Intermediate Championship crown with his home club Corduff in 2022, when they reached the provincial showpiece.

John McEntee

The 2002 All-Ireland winner has yet to dip his toes into intercounty waters, but in terms of Monaghan club football, McEntee has been around the block. He won a Senior Championship title with Clontibret back in 2019 and has brought Inniskeen to two county finals in recent years (2023 and 2025), although they haven’t yet been able to crack the Scotstown code. McEntee still remains the Inniskeen manager and he had a remarkable playing career not only with the Orchard County, but at club level with Crossmaglen as well.

Oisin McConville

Perhaps McConville is ready for a new challenge after spending four years with Wicklow, although they will compete for the Sam Maguire in 2027 after their heroic Tailteann Cup success this season. McConville managed Inniskeen in Monaghan before taking over at the Garden County and a county setup closer to home may appeal to the Crossmaglen man. The club and county legend had an unbelievable playing career for Armagh and Crossmaglen, winning all there is to win, and has proved himself at the top level as well.

Dermot Malone

Malone wasn’t long out of the Monaghan changing room as a player when he returned as a coach. He was the Monaghan minor manager in 2023 when the county reached both the Ulster and All-Ireland finals but failed to get over the line against Derry on both occasions. The two-time Ulster Championship winner (2013 and 2015) was also a member of the Gabriel Bannigan’s management team for the past two seasons so has not only a strong knowledge of the underage talent emerging in the county but has worked at the highest level before as well.

Mark Counihan

The former Monaghan Minor manager guided the youngsters to an Ulster title in 2019 and helped them reach another provincial final the following season. His name had previously been mentioned in the vacancy of the Monaghan senior manager role, but the Truagh Gaels clubman has been working on the club scene over the last few years. He spent a few seasons in charge of Donaghmore in Tyrone before returning to the Farney County, and his home club Truagh, this season and they are currently battling it out in the group stages of the SFC.

Tony McEntee

McEntee has built a pretty serious CV over the last number of years at intercounty level. He guided his club Crossmaglen to back-to-back All-Ireland titles, along with Gareth O’Neill, before joining Stephen Rochford’s management team in Mayo. McEntee helped the Westerners to back-to-back All-Ireland final appearances in 2016 and 2017, but they couldn’t get past Jim Gavin’s all-conquering Dublin team. The Crossmaglen native took over as Sligo manager in 2022 and stayed until 2025 and then in 2026, he joined Conor Laverty’s backroom team in Down.

Andy Callan

Callan has also built up an impressive CV, including with his home club Carrickmacross, where he won the IFC last season before losing to All-Ireland finalists Glenullin in Ulster by one point after extra time. Callan had previously won the intermediate league and championship double with Carrick back in 2017 and reached back-to-back senior league finals in ’18 and ’19. He coached Crossmaglen to their most recent county title in 2023 and had brought Killanny from Junior to Senior football in consecutive seasons in 2015 and 2016. He has inter-county experience as well having managed Monaghan to the U20 Ulster final in 2021, where they lost out to Down.