New role for Donaghy with native Clonmore

BRENDAN Donaghy, having recently retired from inter-county duty after 17-years playing for Armagh, will be player-manager of his home club Clonmore next season along with James Grimley who will hold the same role.

The pair helped Clonmore win the Junior Championship title on two occasions, in 2005 and 2011, and both started in their first-round defeat to St Paul’s this season in the IFC.

Clonmore were promoted to intermediate football after winning Division Three in 2019, but suffered relegation to junior this year following a Division 2B campaign that yielded just three wins.

At senior level, former Tyrone star Pascal Canavan, who played for the Red Hand County in the 1995 All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin, has taken over the reigning Division 1A league champions Armagh Harps.

The Harps, Senior Championship winners in 2017, won the league for the first time since 1991 last season under Benny O’Kane, but have disappointed on the championship stage in recent years.

They’ve fallen at the first hurdle in the two most recent campaigns, losing to Maghery on both occasions, with the knockout structure of the Armagh Championship doing them no favours.

Canavan, who’ll be joined by Christopher Quinn, guided Truagh to the 2021 Monaghan SFC final but lost to Scotstown while this season they suffered defeat to eventual champions Ballybay at the quarter-final stage.

Canavan also took his native Errigal Ciaran to two championship finals in 2017 and 2019, losing both, and has experienced Armagh club football before having managed Ballymacnab in 2015.

Highly-regarded football coach Colm Nally, who helped Meath reach back-to-back Leinster finals only to lose to Dublin in 2019 and 2020, has taken over at Silverbridge.

The Louth native joined Cooley Kickhams midway through this season and guided them to their first Intermediate Championship title in 32 years.

Silverbridge pushed Crossmaglen to the wire in the opening round of the 2022 Senior Championship but lost out by four in the end.

The ‘Bridge are one of the up-and-coming teams in the county, having recently won the Division Two u-19 championship.

Maghery and Dromintee remain the only two senior clubs without a management team in place for next season.

2022 Junior Championship winners Derrynoose will also have a new man in charge with Paul Hagan taking over from Paul Doyle, who led Derrynoose to the promised land in his first year in the hot-seat.

Hagan managed St Michael’s, Newtown to a Division 3B league title in 2021 before tasting a one-point first round Junior Championship defeat to Derrynoose.

Keady, who just avoided relegation to Junior football, have also changed managers with Simon McGeary replacing Eugene McDonnell at the helm