Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TAKING MORE DOWN TIME..
PAT NOLAN JAMES MCCARTAN’S return as Down boss 12 years after he was first appointed makes him one of five current inter-county football managers that have resumed a job they held previously.
BY
Declan Bonner, Seamus Mcenaney and James Horan are all in their second stints in charge of Donegal, Monaghan and Mayo respectively, while Jack O’connor is setting out on his third voyage as Kerry manager.
Down find themselves in a similar position to that which Mccartan inherited in late 2009.
Then, like now, they were in Division Two having not achieved anything of note for more than a decade but had just won an Ulster title at under-20/21 level.
Down were looking for a spark and Mccartan provided it instantly with 2010 being the most successful season of his five as he led them to Division One and an All-ireland final, which they lost narrowly to Cork.
It’s a big ask for him to replicate that in 2022, with the heavy defeat to Donegal in this year’s Ulster Championship having dampened spirits in the county considerably.
Running the eye over a number of managers who have gone back, the results are mixed.
BILLY MORGAN (CORK)
MASTERMINDED Cork football’s most successful era as they won two All-irelands, seven Munster titles and a National League from 1987-95.
He didn’t scale the same heights second time around but a Munster title (2006) and All-ireland final appearance (2007) laid the foundations for the 2010 All-ireland under Conor Counihan.
JOHN O’MAHONY (MAYO)
GUIDED Mayo to a first All-ireland final appearance in 38 years in 1989 but resigned two years later due to a fallout about appointing his own selectors. Enjoyed great success subsequently with Leitrim and Galway but his second coming with his native county never really took off, despite a Connacht title in 2009. MICK O’DWYER (KILDARE)
LED Kildare to rare Leinster and National League final appearances before ending a four-year term in 1994 but he was back two years later and went one better as Kildare bridged the gap to 1956 by winning provincial titles in 1998 and 2000.
BRIAN MCENIFF (DONEGAL)
REMARKABLY, Mceniff had five stints in Donegal, starting out as playermanager, and inspired each of their first five Ulster titles and a historic All-ireland between 1972 and ‘92. His last stab at the job wasn’t quite as successful but still included an Allireland semi-final appearance in 2003.
ART MCRORY (TYRONE)
ENJOYED three separate terms, the latter two as joint-manager with Eugene Mckenna. Each of his reigns delivered Ulster titles and indeed a first ever League crown in 2002 but it was Mickey Harte who took them to the
summit the following year.
EAMONN COLEMAN (DERRY)
CONTROVERSIALLY removed as Derry manager in 1994 having overseen the county’s only All-ireland success the year before. He returned five years later and brought Derry to the brink of another final in 2001 though they were edged out by eventual champions Galway in the semi-final.
KEVIN HEFFERNAN (DUBLIN)
HIS decision to step down in the aftermath of the 1976 All-ireland success came as a shock but he was back after they retained the title the following year, succeeding playermanager Tony Hanahoe.
Kerry ruled for much of his second reign but Heffernan still nabbed another All-ireland in 1983.
JOHN MAUGHAN (MAYO)
LIKE James Horan now, the much-travelled Maughan’s second stint with Mayo largely mirrored his first as they rediscovered their knack for reaching All-ireland finals without finding a way to win them.
They lost finals to Meath (1996) and Kerry (1997) in his first spell and Kerry again (2004) in his second.