Moran to take Mayo reins for two years

The last of the high-profile managerial positions was filled last night when Mayo appointed Mickey Moran to take charge of their senior footballers for the next two years.

Formerly in charge of Derry, Donegal and Sligo, Moran had become the strong favourite to succeed John Maughan, who stepped down at the end of the summer despite having another two years on his most recent term.

Moran becomes the first appointment from outside the county since Kerry's Jack O'Shea held the position in 1994. Mayo had taken their time in ensuring they got the right man, several interviews taking place in recent weeks before the final nomination came before last night's meeting of the county board.

Moran will bring his assistant John Morrison into the job. They've worked together in both Derry and Donegal and had explained their willingness to commit to Mayo despite the travel entailed.

Moran, a Derry native, recently retired from his schoolteaching position. Morrison, a sports officer at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, lives in Armagh city.

"I have the time to get stuck into different tasks, which is what I'm doing," said Moran before last night's appointment. "Mayo is one of the few counties with a great structure, and the players are there. It would be an ideal chance."

Mayo had established a five-man sub-committee to find the successor to Maughan, headed by county chairman Paddy Naughton.

There were several strong contenders for the position. Former Limerick manager Liam Kearns and former Donegal manager Brian McEniff eventually ruled themselves out, but Tommy Jordan of Crossmolina and Kieran Gallagher of Sligo IT are known to have performed well at interviews.

Others interviewed were former Mayo footballer Denis Kearney, former Mayo trainer Seán Finnegan, and Kerry-based PE teacher Martin Trench.

The management team is likely to be completed by a local selector.

Moran brings years of experience to the job, having first come to prominence in helping Eamonn Coleman steer Derry to their first All-Ireland football title in 1993. Although he didn't revisit those heights during terms with Donegal and Sligo and his last two years with Derry, he remains one of the more respected managers in the game.

Joe Kernan, meanwhile, will be ratified for his fifth year as Armagh football manager at tomorrow night's county board meeting.

Agreement having already been reached to give Kernan another year if he so desired, such ratification remains a formality after he indicated last week his intention to spend another year in charge.

It is still unclear if Kernan will be joined again by trainer John McCloskey, who has been offered an interview with a football club in England. The third member of the management team, selector Paul Grimley, has also agreed to stay on.

Paddy Carr has emerged as a front-runner for the vacancy as Wexford football manager, the job turned down by Val Andrews who resigned his Louth post after their elimination from the championship.

Carr, himself a former Louth manager, is said to have impressed at an interview with the Wexford selection committee.

Elsewhere, Liam Mulvihill, the director general of the GAA, has extended sympathies to the family of Jack Mahon on behalf of himself and the association. He also paid tribute to Cormac McGill, who also died over the weekend.

The FBD League in Connacht has been given a boost by Galway's decision to play again next year after an absence of several years. Peter Ford's side will bring the number of teams participating to eight, the three colleges - GMIT, NUIG and Sligo IT - expected to have first call on county players.

One group comprises GMIT, Galway, Sligo and Leitrim. The other has Mayo, Roscommon, NUIG and Sligo IT.