GAELIC GAMES:BRENDAN HACKETT was last night ratified as the surprise replacement for Tomás Ó Flatharta as Westmeath senior football manager.
Hackett is better known in athletics circles as both a coach and sports psychologist and until early last year was chief executive of Athletics Ireland – although in entering the managerial race he was in some ways returning to his roots.
For the past few weeks a six-man committee headed by Westmeath chairman Tom Farrell and football board chairman Des Maguire have been interviewing candidates to replace Ó Flatharta, who stepped down in July after six years with Westmeath, first under Páidí Ó Sé, and then as manager himself for the last four years.
In the end they settled on Hackett, and his nomination went before last night’s football executive meeting and then to the full county board meeting for ratification.
It’s a bit of a gamble for Westmeath and certainly a challenge for Hackett. The county football’s fortunes appeared to have dipped considerably this year, starting with relegation from Division One of the league, and then the disappointing championship. Although they edged past Wicklow after extra-time, they were then hammered by Dublin 4-26 to 0-11, before exiting in the qualifiers after a 10-point defeat to Meath.
Hackett, however, does bring an impressive array of credentials to the job. He started out in football management aged just 20 when taking charge of Thomond College in Limerick from 1981-83, and then managed club side Leixlip from 1983-1985 – at a time when Kerry’s Jack O’Shea was playing with them.
At age 26 he was then handed his first county job in Longford, in 1987, and held that until 1990. During that time they reached a Leinster semi-final in 1988 and two National League quarter-finals. After that Hackett took charge of Offaly from 1990-1992, and was also appointed trainer of the Irish Team for the International Rules series with Australia in 1990.
Having been awarded a postgraduate scholarship by the GAA in 1992, Hackett then went down the academic road with a MA in Sports Psychology from the University of Limerick.
He then coached a number of international athletes including James Nolan, Noel Cullen and Maria Lynch – and acted as sports psychologist to members of the last four Irish Olympic teams.
In more recent years he took that psychological expertise to Roscommon in 2001, Sligo in 2002, Fermanagh in 2003, Limerick in 2004, Monaghan in 2006 and Wexford in 2007. He was then appointed chief executive of Athletics Ireland, a position he held for two and a half years.
The full details of Hackett’s appointment will be revealed over the coming days.
Ó Flatharta, meanwhile, had put his name forward for the vacant Galway football manager position, and a decision on that is due at this evening’s county board meeting. However, former Armagh manager Joe Kernan remains the frontrunner after three other candidates – Sligo manager Kevin Walsh, former Clare boss Frank Doherty and ex-selector Pete Warren – all withdrew their names last Friday.
Eamonn O’Brien will stay on as Meath senior football manager for another year, while Eamonn McEneaney has stepped down as Louth manager after four years in the role.
O’Brien was given a one-year extension after guiding Meath to last month’s All-Ireland semi-final in his first year in charge – and has also been given the option of a third year. Colm O’Rourke will also stay on as the Meath under-21 manager with Trevor Giles as one of his selectors, and TJ Reilly will continue as senior hurling manager after guiding Meath to Nicky Rackard Cup success this year.
McEneaney’s decision to step down from the Louth position was hardly surprising, even if he had to see out one more of his five-year contract. It proved another disappointing season for Louth as they fell to Laois in Leinster and then exited to Tipperary in the first round of the qualifiers.
Finally the Fermanagh county board also confirmed the reappointment of their football manager Malachy O’Rourke for another year.
