Brennan gets Sligo gig
Tourlestrane’s Anthony Brennan is the new manager of the Sligo Ladies Footballers
TOURLESTRANE’S Anthony Brennan, one of the county’s most experienced GAA inter-club managers, has been appointed manager of the Sligo Ladies Gaelic Footballers for 2021.
Sligo LGFA chose Brennan as the replacement for Fenagh’s Micheál Bohan, who stepped down after one year in charge.
Bohan, an LGFA All-Ireland Junior Championship winner with Longford in 2016, endured a tough campaign with Sligo, who lost all eight of their competitive games.
Indeed, Sligo avoided the possibility of relegation to Division Four of the LGFA National Football League only because the LGFA cancelled the remainder of the 2020 season due to Covid-19. There was also no relegation from last year’s LGFA All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, a competition that saw three hefty defeats for Sligo, although Bohan was forced to rebuild his panel because a number of players opted out of intercounty duty.
On the positive side for Sligo Ladies Football, three Sligo clubs have qualified for Connacht finals. New Sligo LGFA manager Brennan, whose daughter Nicola was Sligo Ladies Football team captain in 2020, has a rich pedigree in Gaelic football management, having won county titles with his native Tourlestrane as well as Curry and Fr Manning Gaels in Longford.
He has also managed Coolaney-Mullinabreena, Tubbercurry and St John’s, IT Sligo and has worked with winning teams at St Attracta’s Community School.
At inter-county level he brought Sligo to a Connacht GAA Minor Football Championship final in 1998 and was also in charge of the Sligo U-21 side who were Connacht GAA U-21 Football Champion
WINNING FEELING: Anthony Brennan celebrates at the end of the 2012 county final after guiding Curry to the Sligo Senior Football Championship title with victory over St Mary’s at Markievicz Park. Brennan is now manager of the Sligo Ladies Footballers. ship runners-up in 2012.
He also won a Manning Cup in 1996 when in charge of the Sligo U-16 team. When with IT Sligo he guided the students to the 2007 Connacht GAA Senior Football League title.
In Ladies Football he was at the helm of a winning
Tourlestrane team at U-16 level.
Brennan, who starred as a player for Tourlestrane and Sligo, winning Sligo SFC medals in 1982 and 1994, has been given a three-year management term by Sligo LGFA (with his position to be reviewed at the end of 2021).
He is looking forward to the challenge of reviving Sligo LGFA’s fortunes in the intercounty arena.
Because of the involvement of his daughters, Nicola and Sarah, in Ladies Football, both with Tourlestrane and Sligo, he has followed the sport locally.
“It [2021] is a totally different year, it is a clean slate. Last year was a very poor year for Sligo, it didn’t go well and the championship performances were disappointing,” he told Ocean FM.
“Sligo, as a whole, has to look at where they’re at, where they can move forward and get the team back to being competitive.” He continued: “This is a different challenge but I’ve been managing teams for the last 25-30 years. I’ve managed at a pretty high level and had a fair degree of success.”
“You are always learning in management, you are always hoping for results and you are trying to work as well as you can with players.”
“I would hope that I have that experience to help Sligo function better than they did last year.”
The last Tourlestrane man in charge of the Sligo Ladies Footballers was Paddy Henry.
Meanwhile, Gerry O’Connell continues as manager of the Sligo Girls U-18 team for 2021, with Keith McLoughlin in charge of the Sligo Girls U-14 side. The role of U-16 team manager has yet to be filled.