Independent group to identify county ground
THE search for a new Louth manager officially started last week as the County Board approved plans for the Management Committee to put together a selection committee.
However, the Management Committee will not be involved in the process to earmark a new county grounds, after they passed a proposal to appoint an independent committee to assess the various options for a new stadium and report back.
It’s thought a number of club grounds remain in the running for a possible redevelopment project, while a couple of greenfield sites - next to DkIT Sport (formerly JJB) and on the Ardee Link Road - have also been looked at.
However, the task of recommending the best site will now be passed on to a new ‘Professional Working Group’ which will consist of people with expertise in the areas of engineering, planning and finance.
The group has not been appointed as yet, but County Chairman Des Halpenny confirmed that Louth officials have met with the new Ard Sturathoir at Croke Park, Tom Ryan, while Louth County Council have also pledged their full support.
The search for a county manager will also now begin in earnest and it is hoped the position will be filled by the knockout stages of the club championship, which are pencilled in for mid-August.
The tenure of departed manager Pete McGrath sparked some debate at the last Monday’s monthly board meeting. The discussion was kicked off by O’Mahony’s delegate Pat O’Brien, who felt McGrath’s post-match interview after the Carlow Leinster Championship defeat was a major factor in his eventual departure.
Jim Mc Quillan of St Nicholas’ accused the Down native of ‘throwing the players under the bus’ after that Carlow defeat, and that the season ranked as the worst that he can remember.
David Rogers of St Kevins claimed that everyone in the room needed to hold their hands-up and admit that Louth are not developing their players properly, and results at all levels this season proved that.
However, Chairman Des Halpenny insisted that the senior team can bounce back and also defended the work of Coaching and Games.
He said he couldn’t fault the effort of the players, and that the lads who stayed on the panel, deserved huge credit for sticking at it.
The Chairman also accepted criticism of the preparation of the County Junior team for their Leinster semi final against Kildare. The management team were only appointed at short notice, and it emerged that players were being contacted on the afternoon of the day of the game, looking to know if they were available.