Laois look to Browne

The Laois County Board has ratified Colm Browne as senior football manager - the latest in a series of managerial appointments around the country in recent weeks.

A former All Star half back with Laois, Browne spent his first managerial period with the Tipperary footballers up to the end of last season, bringing about their most successful record of the last decade. According to the Laois county secretary Liam O'Neill, Browne is not expected to produce instant results but has been asked to nurture the current talent in the county.

"Everybody in the county is very pleased with this appointment and Colm certainly helped put Tipperary football on the map. But this is a long-term appointment rather than one which we expect to provide instant success in Laois," said O'Neill.

Roscommon, meanwhile, are still in the hunt for a replacement for Gay Sheerin. The five-man committee appointed to find a successor have so far found no obvious candidates. Sheerin continues to manage the junior football side.

Dublin football manager Tom Carr is still taking time to ponder his future, and while it is highly likely that he will be offered another year by the county board, it remains to be seen whether he or his fellow selectors will stay on.

Elsewhere, finding a replacement for Wexford hurling manager Joachim Kelly is proving difficult for the county board's committee. "It hasn't been easy to find a new man but there is no great panic about it either," said a spokesperson for the county board. No decision is expected for another couple of weeks.

The Derry minor football team will this evening learn whether or not they will be granted a replay against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. They had objected over the referee's decision at Croke Park last Sunday not to dismiss Cork's Kieran Murphy despite issuing two yellow cards. The GAA's Games Administration Committee is due decide the matter.