THE NEW GALWAY senior football manager will be proposed for ratification at a county committee meeting on Monday September 29th and Kevin Walsh is firmly on course to be the next boss of the Tribesmen.
It was announced today that Pete Warren – one of the two candidates nominated by Galway clubs for the position – had withdrawn from the selection process and that leaves Walsh as the sole remaining club nominee.
The development paves the way for Walsh to take over as manager of the county that he served with huge distinction in his playing career. The Killanin native was a towering midfielder on the Galway teams that won All-Ireland senior medals in 1998 and 2001. He also won five Connacht medals in a decorated career and he claimed Allstar awards in 1998, 2001 and 2003.
Walsh stepped down as Sligo senior manager last year after having been in charge since November 2008. He steered Sligo from Division 4 to Division 2 of the Allianz football league in his first two years. In 2010 he was at the helm when Sligo won the All-Ireland junior football title and in the same year they lost out to Roscommon in the Connacht senior decider.
Galway have been without a manager since the vacancy arose following Alan Mulholland’s departure last month. 2011 All-Ireland U21 winning manager Mulholland had been in charge for three seasons and stepped down in the wake of their exit to Kerry at this year’s All-Ireland quarter-final stage.
The manager of the Galway senior hurling team will also be proposed for ratification at the same meeting on September 29th. The race has been whittled down to a battle between Anthony Cunningham, who has been in charge for the last three campaigns, and Mattie Kenny, who previously served as coach under Cunningham.