Martin Murphy has stepped down as Offaly senior football manager. He assumed the position after the untimely passing of Liam Kearns in March.
The Faithful County went on to chalk up a Leinster SFC victory over Meath but then lost a provincial semi-final to Louth.
Declan Kelly, who managed Offaly to All-Ireland Under-20 glory, is seen as a leading contender to succeed Murphy at the helm.
Murphy stated: “I became a selector and part of Liam Kearns’s management team in October 2022. Following Liam’s sudden passing on March 12th 2023 (RIP), I was asked to step into the manager role.
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“The aftermath of Liam’s sudden death was a challenging and emotional time, and it profoundly affected the players and the management team for some time afterwards. Despite the unexpected and traumatic loss of Liam, the players and management endeavoured to give it our very best for the remainder of the year.
“Several weeks ago, I met with the chairman of the county board, Michael Duignan, to discuss and review the past year. We discussed the targets we had set for ourselves as a team at the beginning of the year.
“As it transpired, 2023 proved to be Offaly’s most successful Leinster championship campaign in 16 years. The team played some outstanding football, beating Longford and Meath and reaching the Leinster semi-final against Louth in Croke Park, only to lose after extra time.
“Disappointingly, our performance in the Tailteann Cup competition differed from what we had hoped for or expected. Despite qualifying for the preliminary quarter-final, we exited the competition losing to Wexford in Tullamore.
“The team played 19 games since January 7th, 16 of which were competitive; all games were condensed into 24 weeks.
“The chairman asked if I was interested in remaining in the position for 2024. I explained to him that I felt extremely privileged and proud to have been allowed to manage my own county. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control, I am not in a position to be able to give the necessary 100 per cent commitment required to manage the team, and I will not be remaining on as the manager for 2024.”
