GAELIC GAMES: John O'Mahony has turned down the prospect of returning to inter-county management. The All-Ireland winning manager of Galway in 1998 and 2001 was considered a hot favourite to take up the reins in Mayo with last week's announcement that John Maughan was stepping down after three years in charge.

Other high-profile counties with management vacancies, Kildare, Limerick and Donegal, are also believed to have approached O'Mahony, but he has decided against resuming that involvement.

"I'm not going to go back into management," he said last night. "I feel I'm not ready to go back at this stage and would like to take more time out although I have had opportunities to get back involved."

In the year since his last appointment ended in Galway O'Mahony has been very involved in media work, presenting a programme on local radio, appearing as a panellist on RTÉ's Sunday Game as well as contributing to this and other newspapers.

"I'm not missing it as much," he said. "If I was I'd the opportunity to get back. But I feel close to the games through my media work and I don't really have the hunger to return to management." The news may come as a shock to those in the county who had hoped that with the road clear O'Mahony would agree to return as manager for what would be his second term in charge.

His previous four-year term, 1987-91, featured a breakthrough appearance in the 1989 All-Ireland final when Mayo lost narrowly to Cork. Since then, O'Mahony enjoyed successes that have been landmarks for Connacht football.

Mayo's 1989 All-Ireland final appearance was the county's first in 38 years; Leitrim's Connacht title in 1994 the first for 67 years; Galway's 1998 All-Ireland the first to cross the Shannon in 32 years.

Complicating matters in Mayo in the past has been the controversy that marked O'Mahony's departure from management in 1991. Having substantially rebuilt the team that reached the All-Ireland two years previously he lost the Connacht final replay to champions Roscommon.

An attempt was made to strip O'Mahony of the power to appoint his own selectors, which he wouldn't accept and instead resigned.

It's been no secret in recent years that there may be issues triggered by that episode that would need to be resolved before O'Mahony would agree to return. It's not clear whether such considerations influenced his decision not to return to management in his own county.

In the past the Ballaghaderreen man has always taken a year out from management after stepping down. It's now 12 months since he left Galway after seven years' involvement. But he says that he's warier of the commitment than in the past.

"This is the only time you can take into account your own considerations because once you take a job your focus has to be totally on what on you're doing and the county you're working with."

Throughout his career which includes an All-Ireland under-21 win with Mayo in 1983, O'Mahony has spent 21 years in inter-county management. Asked about the future he is uncertain if the desire to return to management will ever be rekindled.

"That might be the case. It's certainly a consideration. Maybe when you've won an All-Ireland it's harder to get the hunger back. In fact it mightn't come back."

Ironically it was O'Mahony's radio programme that placed the Mayo job centre stage when during an interview he asked former Kerry and Westmeath manager Páidí Ó Sé if he would be interested in taking over in the county.

Ó Sé said that he would but an official said that the county board would prefer to appoint within the county. In a newspaper interview last week outgoing Mayo manager John Maughan said that he believed O'Mahony would be the one for the job.

Although he hadn't intended making an announcement on the matter for another few weeks, he says that recent events had created a momentum that he prompted him to clear up the situation and allow all counties concerned to fire ahead with their own plans for next season.

"This is a critical period for counties making decisions about management as you'd need to be putting new appointments in place fairly soon. In order to end any speculation, I brought forward my decision.

"Initially I'd intended making up my mind by the end of the summer but county boards have enough on their plates without delaying things any further."

So for the first time in nearly 20 years O'Mahony will be spending at least two years out of the inter-county scene, which he said is barely recognisable from when he first walked into the Mayo senior dressingroom.

"It's changed totally in many respects. The size of the backroom teams, the need for more specialist input. It's very different."

Limerick, attempting to reach the All-Ireland minor hurling final for the first time since 1984, will be without the influential Brian Quinn (wrist injury) for Saturday's semi final meeting against Dublin, at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny (12.30).