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Michael Duignan has been elected as the new Offaly county board chairman at Tuesday night's county convention.
The two-time All-Ireland hurling winner, and more recently RTÉ pundit, replaces the incumbent Tommy Byrne who is in his second term in the role.
Duignan’s decision to run for the position initially came as a surprise but he gathered considerable momentum on the canvass trail in the build up to Tuesday’s vote. A vote he went on to win with 76 votes to Byrne’s 62.
Duignan has already said he will continue working for RTÉ if elected chairman. The former All Star won the Liam MacCarthy Cup with the county in 1994 and 1998.
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He is part of a four-man ticket including former hurling final referee Brian Gavin who is bidding to become the county’s Leinster Council delegate, Colm Cummins (vice-chairperson), and Dervil Dolan (treasurer).
The Offaly senior hurlers have suffered successive relegations and will play in the third-tier Christy Ring Cup in 2020.
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