Surprise at Micheál Donoghue’s appointment as Dublin hurling manager gave way to a cheerful optimism, given the high-profile quality of the appointment.
He becomes the first All-Ireland hurling-winning manager to take the post – allowing that Pat Gilroy four years ago had achieved the feat in football.
Donoghue brings with him the management team that delivered Galway an All-Ireland after 29 years of frustration in 2017, Francis Forde and Noel Larkin as well as local coach Shane O’Brien, from Cuala, who will take charge of the under-20s. All appointments are for three years.
The new manager also has a club All-Ireland on the his CV, won with his local club Clarinbridge in 2011 when they defeated O’Loughlin Gaels from Kilkenny in the final. Larkin also won the Tommy Moore Cup as manager of Portumna in 2014.
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Part of the surprise at the appointment was the fact that he hadn’t featured whatsoever in the speculation leading up to the appointment but also that it represents a major vote of confidence in a team that has underperformed in recent seasons.
There has been overlap between the counties as well as coincidence in the past few years.
Donoghue’s term with Galway ended in defeat by Dublin in the final Leinster round-robin match in 2019 whereas the victorious manager that day Mattie Kenny, also from Galway, saw his four years in charge conclude last May when they lost in Salthill and failed to progress.
Kenny was slightly unfortunate in having his four years overlap with the Covid championships. The round-robin format, which had to be suspended, suits Dublin better in that it provides a run of matches and includes home fixtures.
In 2021, having beaten Galway in the knockout Leinster semi-final, Dublin lost four players to positive coronavirus tests, including key starters Cian O’Callaghan and Ronan Hayes.
This year was a flat affair with heavy defeats by Kilkenny in Parnell Park in both league and championship. The one bright spot, an away Leinster win over Wexford lost its significance when the latter travelled to Nowlan Park and beat Kilkenny.
The appointment of O’Brien is seen as some sort of attempt at succession planning. A well-regarded coach, he worked with his new colleague Larkin in Westmeath up until last year and also with Kenny in Dublin.
The former manager asked O’Brien to organise training sessions for a development panel, which would operate with promising up-and-coming players – a task at which he was regarded as a success.
This experience also gives him a good knowledge of the next best players outside of the senior panel, which will be useful when it comes to strengthening Dublin’s resources next season.
The main hopes, however, for the appointment are that it will restore energy and enthusiasm to the team. From Donoghue’s perspective the job is attractive because there is plenty of upside. Playing resources aren’t particularly abundant but the strong feeling amongst the county’s hurling constituency is that the team should be performing better.
Capable of good performances but lacking consistency, Dublin have also been competitive at underage in recent years and refreshing the first-team panel will be a priority.
Donoghue’s targets are not extravagant. Success in Leinster or at least qualifying each year for the All;-Ireland series would be a start. Galway are rebuilding under Henry Shefflin whereas Kilkenny are in transition in what is now the post-Cody era.
Cian O’Sullivan’s injury was a blow last year and his return will be welcome, as would that of team captain Eoghan O’Donnell, who joined the football panel during the summer after the hurling championship ended. Despite anxieties that he might remain with Dessie Farrell’s squad, he is expected to revert to hurling.
