Mayo manager race will go right to the wire

Manager race will go right to the wire


Mike Finnerty

DESPITE being already declared a foregone conclusion by a number of national newspapers and some bookmakers, the identity of the next Mayo senior manager will not be known until later this week.
Interviews with the three remaining candidates for the post — James Horan, Anthony McGarry and Tommy Lyons — were due to take place last night (Monday) and tonight (Tuesday).
The selection committee (which includes three members of the Mayo GAA Board Executive – Chairman James Waldron, Treasurer JP Lambe and Youth Officer PΡdraic Walsh, as well as Denis O’Boyle, Chairperson of the Connacht Coach Education Committee, and Garrymore GAA Club delegate John Farragher will then recommend a candidate for ratification.
This recommendation will be made, firstly, to the Mayo GAA executive and then to the County Board delegates of all the GAA clubs in the county. These meetings are expected to take place later this week, probably on Thursday night.
The Mayo GAA executive do not have the power to ratify or veto the selection committee’s recommendation. However, the County Board delegates will have the final say in terms of the new Mayo manager when they vote on the name of the candidate put before them.
The withdrawal of John Maughan from the running last Thursday night led to intense media speculation that Dublin manager Tommy Lyons was a ‘shoo-in” for the vacant post.
Maughan informed Mayo GAA Chairman, James Waldron, of his decision to withdraw from the interview process in a telephone call.
“I was very interested in the job but following a discussion with the chairman of the county board last night I decided not to pursue my interest in the position any further,” commented Maughan.
A local bookmaker also reacted to this news by slashing the odds on Lyons succeeding John O’Mahony to 1/8 on Friday morning.
However, there has been extremely mixed reaction among Mayo supporters to last week’s developments and the mood in the county seems very different to that suggested by some national media outlets.
“I think James Horan’s candidacy will be very strong,” said Mayo News columnist Kevin McStay. “He will interview well. And Anthony McGarry seems to be getting very organised too. Even though a lot of money seems to be going on Tommy Lyons, I think people are underestimating the local challenge.”