Healy rules himself out of Offaly job

As Offaly conduct a rapid search for a new hurling manager, Diarmuid Healy - one of the names associated with the position - has ruled himself out and suggested that outgoing selector Paudge Mulhaire be appointed.

Healy, the Kilkenny man who coached Offaly to their first hurling All-Ireland in 1981 and added a second four years later, was mentioned as a possible successor to Babs Keating who resigned in controversy last Tuesday after a public exchange of views with centrefielder Johnny Pilkington.

"I didn't even consider it," he said when asked had the prospect of a return to Offaly crossed his mind. "When you know what's involved with inter-county hurling, you know it's a huge undertaking. The urge comes back at times but I always come to the same conclusion. I'm also very busy at the job."

Healy also served for a spell in his own county, leading Kilkenny to the 1990 NHL title. His most recent involvement at intercounty level was two years ago when, at the invitation of then manager Eamonn Cregan, he returned to Offaly to assist with training sessions.

"The way I see it," said Healy, "is that Paudge Mulhaire should take over. For any outsider to take over at this stage would be a bit difficult. If I was the county board, I'd just appoint Paudge and wouldn't even bother with a selector to replace Babs Keating. Just leave himself and Pat McLoughney."

Effectively that is the case already as the two selectors took the training session on Wednesday night which was by all accounts enthusiastic and harmonious. It is believed that Mulhaire and McLoughney lost no time in stamping their own approach on the evening by concentrating on ball work and even bringing a player back onto the panel.

"There was a good session last night," according to Offaly county board PRO Pat Teehan. "Twenty seven out of 28 were present and it was taken by Paudge Mulhaire and Pat McLoughney. County officers briefly addressed the players and they met themselves afterwards."

At the meeting, it is reported that players expressed total support for Pilkington's response to Keating's statements after the Leinster final defeat by Kilkenny. Keating's resignation leaves Offaly with a race against time to find a successor just over a fortnight before the All-Ireland quarter-final against either Antrim or the winners of Sunday's Connacht hurling final.

"A new manager will be appointed in a couple of days," according to Teehan. "Everything is proceeding as planned. Christy Todd (county secretary), Brendan Ward (county chairman) and Tony Murphy (secretary of the hurling board) have been delegated to make the decision and they were given five or six days on Tuesday night.

"There are two ways of looking at it. We can either appoint someone on a temporary basis or with a view to it being a permanent appointment."

Given the timescale involved, it's hard to imagine another of the outside appointments which the county has tended to favour in the past. Besides Mulhaire, who has managed the county's hurlers previously as well as having been involved - with McLoughney - on Eamonn Cregan's selection panel which brought an All-Ireland to the county in 1994.

Pad Joe Whelahan is another who has had experience of managing Offaly although the experience was memorable for the wrong reasons as the team - an uneasy amalgam of veterans from the early 1980s and youngsters off the recently successful minor teams - went down to Antrim in the 1989 All-Ireland semi-final.

Whelahan has been a very successful club coach and only four months ago, took Birr to the AllIreland title with a victory over Sarsfields of Galway. That three of his sons are on the county panel is seen as a complicating factor by some although it didn't prove an inhibition to Birr's progress. Relations between him and the county board are strained which is a more likely barrier to his appointment.

Another Offalyman with a successful track record is Padraig Horan who led the county to a National League in 1991 and Birr to their first club All-Ireland three years ago. But Horan is currently in charge of Laois's hurlers and has just completed a satisfactory year, retaining Division One status and narrowly losing to Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final.

Neither Whelahan nor Horan were available for comment last night.

Further problems for Offaly were confirmed yesterday with the news that Mark Hand, who played centre forward for the county in the opening championship matches against Meath and Wexford, has received a three-month suspension after an incident in a Leinster under-21 championship match.

Hand was reported for striking Kilkenny's PJ Ryan and will now miss the rest of the All-Ireland series unless Offaly reach the final and draw.

Finally, Diarmuid Healy, although he expressed himself disappointed with the standard of the Leinster final, hasn't given up hope of the province making an impact despite the form of All-Ireland champions Clare.

"If Clare put in another performance against Waterford like they gave against Cork, I think they'll lose their next match," he said. If they put the same effort into the Munster final, they won't be able to sustain it.

"Clare people should walk out of Thurles worried about the next match. In the past I've seen Cork teams that people said couldn't be beaten come out only for a mediocre Kilkenny team to scrape past them in the All-Ireland."