Mayo county committee on Monday night ratified Stephen Rochford as the county's new football manager and handed him a three-year term subject to annual review. He succeeds joint managers Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes, who stepped down in September after a vote of no confidence by the playing panel.
Rochford, from Ballinrobe, won an All-Ireland club medal with Crossmolina in 2001 and managed Galway club Corofin to the same title last March.
His management team includes outgoing coach and selector Donie Buckley and All-Ireland winning Armagh footballer and Crossmaglen manager Tony McEntee, who will also be a coach and selector. Barry Carey completes the selectors.
https://soundcloud.com/secondcaptains-it-com/classy-connacht-rogs-next-move-furys-world-view-cold-crossmaglen
Barry Solan will continue to be the head of strength and conditioning and Dr Seán Moffatt stays on as head of medical. Former Limerick manager Maurice Horan, also from Ballinrobe, will be the team statistician and dietician Caroline Brosnihan and Eoin Rochford in charge of logistics have also been appointed.
Galway vacancy
Also on Monday night the Galway county committee received nominations for the vacant hurling manager’s position. These have not been released, as the decision was made to check with the individuals to see if they were willing to let their names go forward.
The front runners are Micheál Donoghue, who managed Clarinbridge to the All-Ireland club title in 2011, and Mattie Kenny, the former Galway selector who guided Cuala to the Dublin title and last weekend's Leinster final. It is understood that John Hardiman, manager of the county's back-to-back minor All-Irelands in 1999 and 2000 and who trained this year's county champions Sarsfields, has also been nominated.
Meanwhile, the GAA has taken disciplinary action in respect of the brawl during the promotional hurling Super 11s match in Boston the weekend before last. Both Dublin and Galway county boards have had fines of €5,000 proposed by the Central Competitions Control Committee and it is believed that players from sides have had suspensions recommended.
Elsewhere, in his annual report, Kerry secretary Peter Twiss has said that the scheduled opening date for the refurbished Austin Stack Park in Tralee, which will have a new pitch and upgraded floodlights, is 6th March when Kerry are due to stage a national league double bill with the footballers playing Donegal in Division One and the hurlers taking on Wexford in Division One B.
Leinster manager Seán Kelly (Meath) and his selectors John Doyle (Kildare) and Vinny Claffey (Offaly) has had to select for Saturday's inter-provincial semi-final against Munster without any Dublin players, as the All-Ireland champions are away on their team holiday this week.
LEINSTER PANEL (SFC v Munster): Pádraig Rath (Louth), Eoghan O'Flaherty (Kildare), Pádraig O'Neill (Kildare), Cathal McNally (Kildare), Tommy Moolick (Kildare), Ollie Lyons (Kildare), Ray Connellan (Westmeath), Kieran Martin (Westmeath), Paul Sharry (Westmeath), John Heslin (Westmeath), Donie Kingston (Laois), Evan O'Carroll (Laois), John Maloney (Offaly), Graham Guilfoyle (Offaly), Alan Mulhall (Offaly), Niall McNamee (Offaly), Dean Healy (Wicklow), Brian Malone (Wexford), Stephen Bray (Meath), Donal Keoghan (Meath), Graham Reilly (Meath), Daniel St Ledger (Carlow), Barry Gilleran (Longford), Paddy Collum (Longford).
LEINSTER PANEL (SFC v Munster): Pádraig Rath (Louth), Eoghan O'Flaherty (Kildare), Pádraig O'Neill (Kildare), Cathal McNally (Kildare), Tommy Moolick (Kildare), Ollie Lyons (Kildare), Ray Connellan (Westmeath), Kieran Martin (Westmeath), Paul Sharry (Westmeath), John Heslin (Westmeath), Donie Kingston (Laois), Evan O'Carroll (Laois), John Maloney (Offaly), Graham Guilfoyle (Offaly), Alan Mulhall (Offaly), Niall McNamee (Offaly), Dean Healy (Wicklow), Brian Malone (Wexford), Stephen Bray (Meath), Donal Keoghan (Meath), Graham Reilly (Meath), Daniel St Ledger (Carlow), Barry Gilleran (Longford), Paddy Collum (Longford).
