Storey leaves the Garden

OUR NEIGHBOURS in Wicklow are on the hunt for a new Senior hurling manager after Martin Storey stepped down after just one year at the helm.

His backroom team had included his fellow Oulart-The Ballagh clubman Kevin Kennedy, who was previously involved with the successful Wexford Under-21 squads.

It was a frustrating season for Storey and Wicklow, with the only highlights coming when they managed to win two play-off games to avoid relegation in the league and Christy Ring Cup respectively.

Wicklow had a 50 per cent success rate under Storey, winning six of their twelve inter-county matches in the Kehoe Cup, Division 2B of the League and Christy Ring Cup.

However, two of those victories came against Louth and Fingal, who play in lower tiers of hurling, in the Kehoe Cup, while they also beat a poor Donegal side twice.

The fact that Storey didn’t bring selectors on board from any of the strongest clubs in the county - Carnew, Glenealy or Bray - raised eyebrows when he was appointed.

There was a feeling within the county that this reflected a lack of support from those clubs for the manager.

Commenting on his departure, Co. Chairman Martin Coleman said: ‘He got a good group of players coming through and he was trying to build a foundation for the coming years. There are a lot of quality young players being put together’.