McEniff to manage Ireland

It is expected that the management committee of the GAA will tomorrow ratify the appointment of Brian McEniff as the manager of the Irish International Rules team to play Australia next October.

The former Donegal All Star and All-Ireland winning manager was recommended to the committee by the president of the GAA, Sean McCague.

"I am genuinely thrilled about this, it is a great honour and I hope that I can build on the success which Colm O'Rourke made of his term in charge. I feel honoured that I would be put forward as a candidate and would like to publicly thank Sean McCague for his faith in me," said McEniff yesterday. While the Bundoran hotelier said his tenure will begin in earnest at Sunday's league final, he plans to talk with O'Rourke and former series managers and will also take time to consider his selection panel.

"I was aware of the type of effort and preparation that went into the training sessions last year and am obviously keen to learn anything I can from my predecessors," he said. He believes that as well as preparing a team capable of winning next Autumn's home series and the return leg in Australia in 2001, it is important that the long-term future of the sport is consolidated.

"There is real potential to the sport, the previous series illustrated that. The Australians are very competitive and they bring that intensity to the competition which has ensured that every contest thus far has been hard fought. While there was no doubt that the last set of teams were committed to the idea of an on-going competition, it is vital that the panels for the forthcoming games hold the same ideal," he concluded.

McEniff was one of Donegal's most prolific footballing talents at both club and inter-county level. He guided Donegal to two Ulster titles in 1972 and 1974 as player-manager, the conclusion of a playing career which began in 1961.

He returned as senior manager in 1981 and again led Donegal to an Ulster title in 1983. He stepped down from management a year later only to return in 1989 to piece together a team that won Donegal's first All-Ireland championship in 1992. After ending his reign in 1994, McEniff concentrated on his club, Bundoran. A devout supporter of the Railway Cup, he guided Ulster to 10 titles.