New Mayo ladies football manager interviewed

Ladies prayers are finally answered


Mike Finnerty

“I CAN’T promise success but I will try and make them better footballers.” These were the words of Fr Michael Murphy last week, speaking shortly after he had been appointed as the new manager of the Mayo ladies senior football team.
The 48 years-old Parish Priest of Roundfort took on the unenviable task last Tuesday after his name was put forward as an ‘acceptable’ managerial candidate by all parties involved in the bitter Mayo Ladies GAA dispute.
Fr Murphy is well-known in ladies football circles in the county from his impressive work on the colleges front with both St Joseph’s, Castlebar and Mount St Michael, Claremorris.
He led both schools to All-Ireland senior ‘B’ championship glory and, ironically, Cora Staunton, one of the Mayo players in the middle of the recent stand-off with the County Board, was a member of Fr Murphy’s backroom team with St Joseph’s.
Speaking to The Mayo News last night, Fr Michael admitted that he was surprised to be offered the job and also outlined the reasons behind his decision to take it on.
“I got a phone-call from Croke Park [Ladies GAA Central Council] and thought about it for a few days before I accepted,” he explained. “To be honest, my main consideration was my full-time job. Would I have the time? I have a lot of other commitments.
“The main thing that persuaded me to take it was getting the team back on the field, playing matches again. If I could do anything to help make that happen, that was the main thing.
“For me, the most important thing is getting relationships right. If you get that right, other things will happen and flow from that. It’s all about building up a good team spirit and bringing some fun back into it.”
The Mayo Ladies GAA Board will be appointing selectors, and a team trainer, to work alongside Fr Murphy in the coming weeks.
The squad trained together last Friday evening without the likes of Kathryn Sullivan, Fiona McHale, Caroline McGing and Nicola Hurst who have all departed for the United States for the summer.
The new manager is hoping that the rest of the panel will make themselves available for selection ahead of Mayo’s meeting with Kerry in the All-Ireland Qualifier on August 2.
“I know there are seven or eight in New York, and I’m not expecting them to come back, but I would be hoping most of the others would,” said Fr Murphy.
“I know Mayo have been out of competition for the last twelve weeks or so and a lot of the girls have gone off doing different things and made other plans. I would be hoping though they would join up with up us again and that we’d all do the best we can.
“There’s no point in going into the past,” he added. “We have to go forward, get stuck in, and do our best. That’s all you can ask of anybody. You have to remember the bigger picture.
“Sport, like life, is all about balance. Part of my philosophy for football would be based around helping young players to read a game, to change things on the field.”