Tommy Lyons was last night appointed the new Dublin football manager. He will be joined in management by his team of selectors, Dave Billings, Paul Caffrey and Paddy Canning. The decision was recommended to the county committee meeting and passed unanimously.
"I'm delighted this has happened," said the new manager after receiving the news. "My dream is to win something with Dublin, not just be the manager, but I would also like to pay tribute to the man before me. Tom Carr was a great servant of Dublin football, did his level best and brought tremendous energy to the job. I'll bring the same commitment and, hopefully, I'll get the bounce of the ball."
The former Offaly and Kilmacud Crokes manager has been six years waiting for the appointment that many felt should have been his in 1995. He says that, initially, he wasn't pushed about the prospect of going forward this time around. "I was anaemic enough until the clubs started calling me. Then after talking to my family about it, I decided to put my name forward and see what happens."
His appointment will be for three years without review, a crucial qualification and one that Lyons insisted on rather than the customary two-year probation period. The other important provision for which he asked was the right to oversee the county under-21s. This was also granted.
Further good news came with the indications yesterday that Paul Curran who had announced his retirement from inter-county football after the dismissal of Carr last month, might be persuaded to reconsider. Curran played for Lyons's club Kilmacud for a season recently.
Referring to the pressures that come with the Dublin job, Lyons said: "We have a professional media covering an amateur sport and people have said that I'm mad to take on all that, but, while I'll be doing all I can to win with Dublin, I'll also be enjoying myself, as this is my hobby."
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