The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
GER KEANE (Kilkee) and Michael Neylon (St Joseph’s, Miltown Malbay) will join manager Mick O’Dwyer and out-going strength and conditioning coach Micheál Cahill on the Clare senior football management team, if they are ratified at this Friday’s county board meeting in the West County Hotel at 7pm.
Before then, the management team will meet and defined roles are expected to be given to each mentor.
It is also envisaged that Keane will link up with the new U-21 football management team, which has yet to be finalised.
However, former county U-21 manager Joe Garry has been linked with the position following the decision of outgoing manager Colm Collins to step down. Garry is believed to be considering whether or not to accept the role.
Ger Keane won three senior championship medals with Kilkee and has extensive coaching and management experience with his native club, Lissycasey and various Clare underage teams, including the 2009 minors. The St Caimin’s, Shannon secondary school teacher played on the Clare team beaten in the 1997 Munster football final by Kerry.
Michael Neylon has played senior football for Miltown for many years and managed them to Cusack Cup success in 2010. He was also part of the management team that guided Clare to their first and only Munster ladies senior football title in 2001.
In 2002, along with Martin Flynn, Neylon guided the Miltown-Liscannor amalgamation to the U-21A title, while Miltown won the U-21B championship in the same year. Neylon was also involved with a number of St Joseph’s Spanish Point All-Ireland winning teams in the 1990s.
Raheen man Micheál Cahill was brought into the Clare set up in Micheál McDermott’s third year in charge and the Kerry-based Tralee IT graduate made a hugely positive impression in what was his first senior inter-county involvement in that capacity.
Current county board chairman Michael O’Neill, who is nearing the end of his five-year term, is likely to work as the Clare footballers’ liaison officer along with Tom Downes, who has served in that role for approximately 40 years.
