Dublin look set to abandon Carr

Tom Carr's reign as Dublin senior football manager appears to be coming to an end after yesterday's confirmation that the county board management committee had voted against giving him another year's term.

Seven members of the eight-man committee met on Wednesday night and voted 4-3 not to recommend Carr to next Monday's full meeting of county board delegates. If the delegates accept that vote then Carr's term will end, and the process of finding a replacement will begin.

Absent from the meeting was county secretary John Costello, who was unable to attend due to the bereavement of a close colleague. It is understood that Costello had intended to support Carr but that still wouldn't have effected the outcome of the vote because it has been revealed that county chairman John Bailey was among the four who voted against Carr's nomination.

As chairman, Bailey has the casting vote and his decision ensured that the outcome would still have come down against Carr.

Yet, Bailey's decision to vote against the manager represents a surprising turnaround and contradicts most of his comments in recent weeks when he gave the impression of being fully behind Carr's position for another year at least. Bailey had also indicated his full support for the players.

There may yet be a vote of support from the floor next Monday night that could keep Carr in the picture.

But it appears more likely that, with the backing of the county delegates, the management committee will set about finding a list of possible replacements, one of whom is certain to be former Dublin midfielder Brian Mullins.

The eight-man committee consists of Bailey, Costello, SeβO'Mahony (vice-chairman), Noel Murphy (assistant secretary), Gerry Brady (Central Council delegate), Jim Roche (Leinster Council delegate), Con Ryan (hurling representative), Gerry Harrington (football representative). It is believed O'Mahony, Roche and Ryan voted for Carr.

Bailey came out in total support of Carr on a number of occasions in recent weeks, including in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of Carr's six-month suspension as a result of his pitch incursions during the drawn All-Ireland quarter-final with Kerry. The suspension ends before the start of next year's league and was unlikely to have been a factor in the vote.

Though Bailey was unavailable for comment yesterday, earlier on Wednesday he had again expressed his support, stating that Carr "was still Dublin manager as far as he was concerned" and "that he had done a wonderful job for Dublin football".

But it was also learnt yesterday that the Dublin players were set to meet last night and discuss the matter, and it is rumoured that a number of them are considering retiring if Carr is not given another term.

One of those players, Paul Curran, reaffirmed his position yesterday that he would not be part of the Dublin panel in the immediate future if Carr is removed. Carr was also believed to have sat down with his co-selectors last night to consider the situation.

Mullins, meanwhile, came into the picture earlier in the week when it was revealed that his name had become associated with the position.

Mullins emphatically confirmed his interest in the position on Wednesday, while also confirming that the county board did approach him on the matter. But he also made it clear that the matter was now in the hands of the county board.

Carr, meanwhile, appears to have been left largely in the dark on the matter, not to mention suffering a reversal of what was perceived to be strong county board support. Along with his co-selectors Richie Crean, John O'Leary and Dom Twomey, he appeared set for a fifth year's term earlier in the week.

At the end of last summer, they were granted a two-year extension although it was always intended to be up for review after one year.

The Gaelic Players' Association awards for August were announced yesterday with Kerry's John Crowley picking up the award for football and Galway's Kevin Broderick taking the hurling player of the month.

The GAA have announced that juveniles will be admitted free of charge to tomorrow's All-Ireland minor football final replay between Dublin and Tyrone, set for Breffni Park in Cavan (3.30).