Mick O'Dwyer has confirmed to the Kildare County Board that he will not be continuing as manager of the county footballers. This brings to an end a 12-year association with Kildare that included two five-year spells in charge of the team.
According to the county board O'Dwyer informed chairman Andrew O'Sullivan that he would not be returning for an additional year - as had been hoped by the county - now that the term of his latest appointment had concluded.
O'Dwyer had announced earlier this year that this would be his last campaign with Kildare and once more he had a reasonably successful season, taking Kildare to another Leinster final, the fifth under his management, but was unable to add a third provincial title to those won in 1998 and 2000.
After the defeat by Dublin in the Leinster final, it had been hoped by some in Kildare that football's most enduring character could be persuaded to stay on for another year. But in the light of yesterday's news the board stated that it would now begin the search for a new manager.
Meanwhile Donegal's football panel has come out strongly in support of last week's comments by county chairman Danny Harkin backing the campaign by the Gaelic Players Association to secure monetary compensation for the time dedicated to preparation by inter-county players.
This is the latest exchange in what has developed into quite a public argument. Harkin's stance was initially supported by the GPA and then rejected by his own county board in a statement released on Wednesday.
Yesterday the Donegal footballers responded by issuing a press release in support of the chairman. The statement in full reads: "The comments last week of Mr Danny Harkin, chairman of the Donegal County Board, were an enlightened contribution to the ongoing debate about the treatment of senior inter-county players in Gaelic football and hurling.
"Mr Harkin's comments were the first public recognition by one of the game's administrators that players must be compensated for their efforts.
"The move by officers of the Donegal County Board to distance themselves from his comments is regrettable. We, the members of the Donegal senior inter-county panel, wish to protest in the strongest possible terms regarding the stance the executive officers have taken.
"Instead of reasoned debate on the issues raised by Danny Harkin, county board officers have obviously decided to keep their heads buried in the sand and hope that the controversy will go away. We wish to make it clear that we will continue to campaign for the right of all inter-county players to be compensated for the financial loss they now suffer through their involvement in the game at the highest level.
"Donegal's run in this year's All-Ireland football championship involved huge sacrifices made by players. Unless there is some recognition of this by officialdom, many players will continue to opt out of inter-county competition and choose to fulfil their family and work commitments instead, or indeed choose alternate sporting careers."
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