Football/Kerry manager:Kerry County Board chairman Mr Seán Walsh has revealed for the first time that Pat O'Shea of Dr Crokes will be the man to replace Jack O'Connor as manager of the top football team in the country.
Walsh explained that the final hurdle had been crossed late on Thursday night when the Munster Council executive decided at a meeting in Limerick to allow their games manager O'Shea to enjoy a dual mandate role for at least one year, during which time they will look into whether it will be extended.
Walsh denied newspaper reports that the three-man sub-committee of the Kerry County Board (Walsh, Eamon O'Sullivan and John Joe Carroll) had, or intended to, turn to outgoing selector Ger O'Keeffe to "patch a management team together for 2007" and said O'Shea was the only candidate that had been approached.
"The sub-committee are happy to recommend Pat O'Shea of Dr Crokes as the new manager of the Kerry senior football team to the executive of the county board and for ratification by a full county board delegate meeting that will be called for Tuesday or Wednesday night next," explained Walsh.
"I am pleased to be in position of having honoured the commitment I made at the last meeting of the board, to have a new management team in place by the end of November. The rest of the management team will be revealed on the night of the delegate meeting."
In light of the decision of the Munster executive, it looks as if O'Shea's term of office will have to be of one-year duration, but this does not mean that O'Shea would not get an extension.
So the uncertainty is now over and, barring the unlikely happening that the delegates would reject the recommendation of the executive (it has never happened before), O'Shea, at 40 years of ago, will become one of the youngest ever Kerry senior managers.
Meanwhile, Derry captain Johnny McBride and his Loup club-mate Paul McFlynn have retired from inter-county football.
McBride (29), made his Derry senior debut in 1995 and captained the county to the 1997 under-21 All-Ireland defeating Meath in the final. He won an Ulster title in 1998 and NFL medals in 1996 and 2000.
The versatile McFlynn made his championship debut in 1998, but has been dogged by injuries in recent years.
2007 Munster Championship Fixtures
Senior Football Championship
First Round - May 20th: Clare v Waterford (Dungarvan), Cork v Limerick (Cork).
Semi-finals - June 3rd: Kerry v Clare/Waterford (Killarney/Dungarvan), Tipperary v Cork/Limerick (Thurles/TBC).
Final - July 1st.
Senior Hurling Championship
First Round - May 27th: Clare v Cork (TBC).
Semi-finals - June 10th: Limerick v Tipperary (Limerick), June 17th: Clare/
Cork v Waterford (TBC).
Final - July 8th.
