GAA MIRRORSPORT CHARTS COURSE OF
EARLIER this week, Colm O’rourke became the latest to move from the pundit’s chair to the managerial hotseat.
Whether he has drawn a line under his career as a TV analyst remains to be seen, however, with his comments on the matter somewhat ambiguous.
“It will take a lot of changes in life, change with The Sunday Game, probably change in school,” he said of his role as principal of St Patrick’s Classical School in Navan. “There are big changes in life coming.”
By the standards of today’s ridiculously excessive sheltering of players from the media by ultraparanoid managers, it’s astounding to think that O’rourke started out as a pundit while still playing for Meath in the early ‘90s, albeit that was a cause of some friction in the dressing room at the time.
Indeed, he was on co-commentary duty for the live broadcast of the Down-kerry All-ireland semi-final in
1991, a week before he lined out for Meath in the second semi-final against Roscommon.
Could you imagine, say,
David Clifford running the rule over Derry and Galway on live television before going out to play for Kerry against Dublin in the other semi-final? Times have very much changed.
Some pundits have remained in front of the camera while managing at inter-county level though, by and large, a clean break is made, at least while the county concerned retains an interest in the Championship.
It’s not just managers, however. The importance of the coach that works alongside them has become magnified in recent years, to the extent that they effectively come as a pair.
The impact of Paul Kinnerk and Paddy Tally (above) on the success of the Limerick hurlers and Kerry footballers respectively has been trumpeted almost as much as that of John Kiely and Jack O’connor in recent weeks.
And former players can inadvertently make a pitch for such a role through the quality of their work on TV.
Kieran Donaghy and Tomas O Se are two such examples. Yet, when Donaghy was drafted into the Armagh set-up a couple of years ago he continued as a pundit with Sky Sports, though his former Kerry team-mate O Se relinquished all of his media duties when handed a coaching role with Offaly.
And O Se is set to be the next pundit-cummanager, given that he is seemingly on the brink of being appointed Offaly boss.
Here are 10 of the most high profile that have moved from the studio to the dressing room, and often back again.
HENRY SHEFFLIN
When Shefflin’s retirement from inter-county hurling was confirmed in March 2015, there was something of a bidding war for his services.
He plumped for RTE and was a regular presence for seven seasons before being lured into inter-county management with Galway late last year, leading them to an All-ireland semi-final this year.
He’s been linked with the vacant Kilkenny job of late but, either way, his immediate future appears to be in management rather than punditry.
DONAL O’GRADY
O’grady was a regular presence on The Sunday Game after his retirement as a player with Cork in 1984 and, later on, his fluency in the native tongue meant that he was an obvious choice for TG4’S ever-expanding GAA schedule after the Irish language channel was launched in 1996.
He was appointed as manager of the Cork senior hurlers in late
2002 following the first players’ strike and guided them to the 2003
All-ireland final where they lost to Kilkenny before going one better the following year.
O’grady then stepped down and, as an All-ireland winning manager, was snapped up by RTE while continuing with TG4.
He later had two brief spells in charge of Limerick while keeping his hand in as a pundit.
CYRIL FARRELL
Farrell (below) had already enjoyed two successful spells as Galway manager when he became established as one of RTE’S flagship hurling analysts but he was tempted back for a third stint in 1996.
Things were much more relaxed back then and Farrell could continue with his Sunday Game role outside of Galway
games, though he only lasted two seasons in his third coming as Galway exited at the All-ireland quarter-final stage in 1997 and ‘98.
His punditry career continued for years afterwards.
EDDIE BRENNAN
As one of the first standout players from Brian Cody’s greatest Kilkenny team to
retire in 2011, the articulate Brennan (far left) was always going to be in high demand.
The eight-time All-ireland winner was a regular on RTE and continued with his punditry role despite being appointed Laois manager in 2018.
The fact that Laois weren’t operating in the top tier meant that there was no great crossover with the teams that he was passing comment on though he quit TV work a couple of years ago.
JIMMY BARRY MURPHY
JBM was a regular on the Sunday Game in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s before stepping back.
He later said that he had grown uncomfortable with the role.
He took charge of the Cork hurlers in 1995 and led them to the All-ireland in 1999 before stepping down the following year.
He returned to the Cork job more than a decade later but was never tempted to sit in front of the camera again.
MICHAEL DUIGNAN
The former Offaly hurler’s punditry career was in its infancy when he was appointed manager of the Meath hurlers in late 2001 and he maintained it through his two-year tenure, the high point of which was a shock Championship win over Laois in 2002.
He briefly coached Offaly in 2004 but, again, not at the expense of his analyst’s role, which he now combines with that of being Offaly chairman.
KEVIN MCSTAY
Was regularly linked with inter-county jobs, most notably in his native Mayo and Kildare, before taking the plunge in a joint role with Fergal O’donnell in October 2015.
He stood back as RTE’S No 1 co-commentator through his three years, the latter two of which he was in sole charge for as he oversaw the 2017 Connacht title win.
After standing down in 2018, he has resumed his RTE role seamlessly.
JAMES HORAN
Never the most giving in his media dealings as Mayo manager, Horan (right) was nonetheless sought after when he stood down in 2014 and was part of Sky Sports’ football coverage for four years before taking on the Mayo job again.
Now that he has relinquished the role once more, it remains to be seen whether he reappears on our TV screens.
LIAM SHEEDY
Like Horan, established himself as a manager rather than a pundit first and having resigned as
Tipperary hurling boss in the aftermath of their 2010 All-ireland success, the articulate Portroe man was
always likely to command a strong TV presence thereafter.
Was one of RTE’S main hurling analysts until returning as Tipp manager for another three seasons before stepping down last year though he rekindled the TV role once again this summer.
EAMONN CREGAN
Started co-commentating on All-ireland finals in the ‘80s before being appointed Limerick manager for the first time and featured intermittently as an analyst over the years.
He was even on co-commentary duty for the 1995 Munster final when Clare beat Limerick at a time when he was manager of reigning All-ireland champions Offaly. Nobody batted an eyelid at the time but it’s another of those things that wouldn’t even be countenanced now.
After stepping down as Offaly manager in 1996, he was famously singled out live on television by Clare manager Ger Loughnane on the night of the 1997 All-ireland final following his analysis of the game.
Weeks later he was back in charge of Limerick for what proved to be a fiveyear spell though he never rekindled his gig in punditry.