FEATURE: A look at the managers who are staying the course

Niall Gartland charts the longest serving managers on the intercounty football scene

Kieran McGeeney (10 years)

WHAT a way to crown his decade at the helm. Kieran McGeeney was appointed as manager of his native Armagh in August 2014, having served as assistant to Paul Grimley during that year’s campaign. It certainly hasn’t been all plain-sailing, and for a number of years they couldn’t buy a win in Ulster, but the wheel started to turn in their favour. They lost two Ulster finals on penalties (and there were other penalty heartaches) but this Armagh team are a resilient bunch and they won this year’s All-Ireland SFC title for only the second time in their history. Vindication and then some for a man who has had his detractors down the years.

Padraic Joyce (five years)

GALWAY great Padraic Joyce has been at the helm of their senior intercounty footballers for five years at this stage, a period characterised by their return to the top table on a national level. The Tribesmen are three in-a-row Connacht champions (the first time they’ve achieved such a feat in 40 years) and they’ve also played in two of the last three All-Ireland finals. The Sam Maguire has eluded them but they’re certainly kicking on the door. Time will tell whether they manage to get over the line during Joyce’s tenure and they produced a flat enough display against Armagh on that famous All-Ireland final day last month.

Dessie Farrell (five years)

IT was never going to be easy to step into the boots vacated by Jim Gavin, who spearheaded a historic and unprecedented drive for five with the Dublin footballers between 2015 and 2019. But Dessie had done a pretty good job all things considered, leading the team to further All-Ireland glory in 2020 and 2023. For a period Dublin had become too conservative under his watch, but they played some superb football en route to winning last year’s All-Ireland with Jack McCaffrey, Stephen Cluxton and Paul Mannion back in the fold. It was widely characterised as the team’s ‘last dance’ but they’re still one of the best teams in the country.

Michael Maher (five years)

LONDON boss Michael Maher has been in charge of the exiles for the last half-decade. The early days of his tenure were by no means straightforward, Covid-19 and financial constraints meaning that the team had to withdraw from 2020 and 2021 competitions. They’ve had their fair share of hard luck stories over the years but they claimed an eye-catching victory over Offaly in this year’s Tailteann Cup competition.

Tony McEntee (four years)

FORMER Armagh footballer Tony McEntee has donned the bainisteoir bib at Sligo for the last four years. Previously coach of the Mayo team that came agonisingly close to ending their famine at All-Ireland level, McEntee stepped into the breach at Sligo and they’ve been notably competitive, almost pulling off an unexpected upset against Galway in the Connacht championship this year to cite one example. They lost out to Down in this year’s Tailteann Cup semi-final after extra-time and winning the competition has to be a big target for 2025.

Jack O’Connor (three years)

ACROSS three stints, Jack O’Connor has led the Kerry senior footballers for a combined ten years. Success has duly followed the Listowel man with Sam Maguire brought back to the Kingdom in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2022. O’Connor returned for latest stint after Kerry were stunned by Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2021, and they’ve been a fearsome enough outfit under his tutelage with Paddy Tally playing a big role behind the scenes. That said, they’ve had some disappointing days out as well, losing last year’s final to Dublin and falling to defeat after extra-time to Armagh in this year’s last four.

John Cleary (Cork)

HAVING taken charge on an interim basis in 2022, Cleary stepped into the Cork hotseat on a permanent basis and will lead the team for a fourth year in 2025. They reached the last eight of the championship in both 2022 and 2023, and it looked like they were on course once again when they won their opening two group stage games against Cork and Donegal this year. However, they suffered a disappointing defeat to Tyrone before losing to Louth in the All-Ireland quarter-final preliminary round at Grattan Park.

Kieran Donnelly (Fermanagh)

FORMER Fermanagh footballer Kieran Donnelly was recently handed a three-year contract extension as manager of the senior intercounty football team, and in a subsequent interview, explained that he felt it was a long-term project where patience would be required. They’ve had some good days and bad days under his watch – they were promoted to Division Two football in 2023 but their stay proved to be a short-lived one. A number of established performers have retired in recent years so he’s been tasked with bringing through a new generation of Fermanagh footballer.