Ray Dempsey is one of the leading candidates for the vacant position

Race for Mayo GAA manager's job is simply too close to call

by Aiden Henry

WHILE the process of selecting a new Mayo senior football manager has been going on for some time, The Connaught Telegraph can confirm it is now within days of completion.

The four candidates in for the job – Declan Shaw, Ray Dempsey, Kevin McStay and Michael Solan – will all have met with the interview board by next Saturday evening.

Following this, the person chosen by the interview panel will be put to a full meeting of Mayo GAA County Board for ratification.

This meeting could take place as early as next Monday or Tuesday night.

No doubt all Mayo GAA supporters will be delighted with this news as most feel the process to getting a new manager has taken far too long.

For example, Kilkenny had selected a new manager within 13 days of the stepping-down of one of their greatest managers ever, Brian Cody, who left the job after well over 20 years at the helm.

It makes the Mayo appointment seem somewhat farcical. By the time Mayo have a new manager, it will be almost three months since James Horan stepped away from the job.

Thankfully, we are now at a stage where the white smoke is not far away. But the burning question still remains: Will it be McStay, Solan, Dempsey or Shaw who gets the nod.

It's still difficult to rule out any of the four candidates.

Shaw is the outsider of the four, but the other three candidates, Dempsey, Solan and McStay, will be pretty confident of getting the job as the interview process begins.

Yet, at the end of the day, it may come down to who the county board chairman, Seamus Tuohy, wants.

Along with Tuohy, the other five members of the interview panel are Ronan Kirrane (county board assistant secretary), Valerie Murphy (county board treasurer), Mike King (south Mayo board chairman), Pat O’Donnell (Cairde Mhaigheo committee member) and Sean Silke (Galway HR company).

Mr. Tuohy is well aware that it is crucial to get the right man in the position as Mayo senior inter-county football is at crossroads at present.

After having one of the top teams in the country for the past 10 years or so, most of the players who served the county well during this period have ended their inter-county career or are coming near to doing so.

Building a whole new team will be the new manager's first big test.

From the day that James Horan stepped down from the Mayo job, the early favourite to replace him was Mike Solan.

It is no secret that Mr. Tuohy has good time for the Ballaghaderreen clubman.

He worked with him when Solan was Mayo Under 21 manager and developed a good relationship.

The chairman knows Solan would be easy to work with. He would regard Solan as a safe pair of hands.

Long before Horan decided to step away from Mayo, the one man always eyeing the job was Kevin McStay.

As a result, it came as no surprise to see the former Roscommon manager enter the race.

McStay will have his backers. However, having both Stephen Rochford and Donie Buckley on his team might not be to his advantage.

They have been there before, and some will feel they have little more to give.

The surprise application for the Mayo job was Declan Shaw.

Shaw who had a successful number of years with the Castlebar Mitchels senior team, feels he has what it takes to manage at senior inter-county level.

In former Dublin player Paddy Christie, Richie Feeney, Dessie Sloyan and Cormac Rowland, he has assembled a very strong backroom team.

Although he is the outsider of the four candidates, he will give the selection committee plenty of food for thought.

That brings us to the fourth and last candidate, Ray Dempsey.

There is little doubt the Knockmore man has been gaining momentum over the past number of weeks and in many circles is seen as the odds-on favourite for the job.

It is hard to find fault with Dempsey’s credentials for the Mayo job. The no-nonsense former Mayo player has already had a successful managerial career at underage inter-county level as well as at senior club level.

One other thing in Dempsey’s favour is that he is Gaelic football to the back bone and an out-and-out winner.

Few, if any, would argue against him getting a shot at the Mayo job.

Overall, it is a very interesting weekend ahead for Mayo GAA.