MANAGERS ON THE MOVE: SLIGO HAVE turned to former Galway midfielder Kevin Walsh in an effort to improve on their football fortunes after enduring a disappointing 2008. Walsh was the only candidate to go before last night's county board meeting and will take over from Tommy Jordan, who stepped down in the aftermath of their championship exit due to family reasons.
Walsh was the engine room of Galway's All-Ireland success of 1998 and again in 2001, with his performances at midfield also earning him three All Stars, and while this is his first major move into senior county management, he will have the backing of three former Sligo players in Paul Taylor, Dessie Sloyane and Paul Durcan, who will act as his selectors.
Sligo enjoyed a memorable year in 2007 when winning the Connacht championship under manager Tommy Breheny, but he then decided against going on for another year, with Jordan, the former manager of Mayo side Crossmolina taking over. However, they were relegated to Division Four of the league before going down to Mayo by 13 points in the championship, which ended their interest for the year.
Walsh has also enjoyed notable success with his club Killanin, and the 38-year-old former Garda is thus the second successive Sligo manager from outside the county.
Elsewhere, Luke Dempsey has spoken of his ambitions with Carlow football having being ratified over the weekend for the position he previously held back in 2004. Having withdrawn his candidature from the Meath senior football position over the apparent lack of support which he said made his position untenable, Dempsey only last week emerged as a candidate for the Carlow job, to succeed Paul Bealin.
"What happened in Meath was disappointing but it's an episode I'd like to forget about," he said. "I have this chance to stay in management. When I left Longford I wanted to stay involved in intercounty management and I'm delighted I have got the chance to do that.
"It's a tough task but everyone is aware of that. I love getting involved in tough tasks, and I've been presented with them in the past. My aim is to improve matters and increase the status of Carlow football. The first aim is to try and gain promotion from Division Four."
Having first made his name as Westmeath manager, Dempsey moved on to Carlow in 2004, before spending the last three years with Longford.
Carlow, however, are searching for a new hurling manager after Jim Greene tendered his resignation over the weekend. Greene guided Carlow to the Christy Ring Cup this year but failed to reach an agreement with the county board over pre-season training.
Back in Meath, meanwhile, the process of finding a replacement for Colm Coyle drags on, with Liam Hayes announcing his withdrawal from the list of candidates. Having also spent a period as manager in Carlow, Hayes said the Meath job was something that appealed to him but due to work commitments just not on at this time.
Finally, the GAA have announced details of their sixth annual Games Development Conference for 2008, the theme this year being "A Games-Based Approach to Training and Development". The conference takes place in Croke Park on Friday, November 28th and Saturday, November 29th, with an extensive list of speakers.
These include Martin Fogarty, coach Kilkenny senior hurling; Paudie Butler, national hurling development coordinator; Jason Ryan, manager Wexford senior football team 2008; Mickey Whelan, manager St Vincent's, All-Ireland club football champions 2008; Michael McGeehin, director of Coaching Ireland; Richard Shuttleworth, skills acquisition specialist, Australian Institute of Sport; and Eamon Ryan, camogie coaching tutor.
