Mayo board ratify new management team

A turbulent meeting of the Mayo County Board tonight ended with the official ratification of Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly as the new senior football management team for the next three years.

That at least wasn’t contentious – although in the end county chairman Paddy McNicholas was also spared a vote of no confidence, despite speculation beforehand that recent events had made his position untenable.

However McNicholas was subjected to some repeated questioning as to exactly how and why Holmes and Connelly had been recommended for the position, to succeed James Horan, despite the fact that the official interview process had not yet been completed, and particularly in the case of alternative candidate Kevin McStay.

Indeed McNicholas did announce at the outset that he intended to “clear up some issues” of recent days, all stemming from the official press statement – issued last Saturday evening – that Holmes and Connelly had been recommended by the interview committee on Friday.

Ruled out

That statement effectively ruled out the candidacy of McStay, the

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pundit, and his intended co-manager Liam McHale, who were informed earlier on Saturday that they were no longer being considered.

McStay has since expressed his “massive disappointment” at not getting the position, while McHale has claimed he will never again go forward for any coaching position in Mayo.

McNicholas, however, while admitting that certain actions of recent days “were clumsy”, repeated highlighted that certain elements of McStay’s package were “unacceptable”, without clarifying what exactly what was unacceptable.

Last year, McStay and McHale oversaw the success of Roscommon club St Brigid’s, who won the All-Ireland club football title in 2013.

Earlier, Pádraig Prendergast of Ballina asked that an apology be issued to both McStay and McHale. Soon, however, most club delegates in attendance were calling for the matter to be put to bed, expressing their desire to move on with Holmes and Connelly at the helm, and indeed McNicholas, too.