Moloney opts out as McNamee prepares to wind curtain down on Offaly career

OFFALY senior footballers will take a giant step into the unknown when they begin their 2023 season with a home game against Wicklow in the O'Byrne Cup on Saturday afternoon.

New manager Liam Kearns will be without some of his most experienced players. Long serving defender Johnny Moloney has opted out for the year – the Tullamore man is now a father and living and working in Galway and news of his decision is not a surprise.

Offaly captain and centre half back last year, Moloney had suggested that his new life circumstances could make it impossible to commit to inter-county football. Kearns stated on Tuesday that Moloney hopes to come back next year but he is now in his 30s and it remains to be seen if that happens.

The Kerry man is also 95% certain that Offaly's best known player Niall McNamee won't be back. The brilliant Rhode attacker got married on New Year's Eve and is now in his late 30s. Offaly's star player for the past two decades, he stated before Rhode's county final win over Tullamore that he would take time over the Winter months to assess his options and see what his hunger is like.

However, Kearns revealed: “Niall McNamee is 95% sure not to be returning. There is still a 5% chance that he will but he is away on honeymoon and will more than likely not be featuring. We have left the door open but it looks like he is gone. He is 37, he has just got married and he has a new business. There is a new management here and it is an obvious time to go.”

When it was suggested that Offaly also have to move on without McNamee at some stage, the manager said: “That is the reality”.

Apart from that, he will be without the spine of his team, some of his most experinced players for the season. Full back, Eoin Rigney won't be back this year. The Rhode man missed last season with a cruciate injury and has recovered from that. However, he is a medical intern, working long hours and can't commit at the moment but time is on his side and he may return in the coming years.

Goalkeeper Paddy Dunican has gone abroad while midfielder Jordan Hayes is on an army tour of duty that will rule him out for the league. The Edenderry man is home at the moment but will be gone back to Syria – he will be back for the championship and has trained with the squad while home. Another long serving defender Niall Darby is out for the year with a cruciate but hopes to return next season.

There are also long term and worrying injuries to some of Offaly's brightest young talent with Keith O'Neill, Morgan Tynan and John Furlong all dealing with problems. Tynan is not far away according to Kearns while U-20 players (Furlong and O'Neill are still U-20), including Cormac Egan, won't be played while that team is still in the championship.

Offaly had initially toyed with the idea of withdrawing for the O'Byrne Cup as they believed they could not play college players playing Sigerson Cup. This was not the case and they had a change of heart but they will be without several college players for the second round against Dublin in Parnell Park on Wednesday, January 11.

As a result Kearns is looking forward to the Wicklow game but he grimaced when Dublin was mentioned. “The first game against Wicklow will be a useful workout but the game against Dublin is not worth a lot. There is a full round of the Sigerson Cup that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and we will be missing at least ten players.

“They should either get rid of the pre-season competitions or move the Sigerson to before Christmas. Do one or the other but you can't do both. It is not fair on players or managements. The pre-season competitions are supposed to be preparation for the national league but if you are not allowed play your full team, youy are not preparing.”

Kearns and his selectors John Rouse (Tullamore) and Martin Murphy (Gracefield) are currently working with a panel of 35. More will be added as injuries clear up and U-20s become available but Kearns spoke about the array of experience he is missing, the central players gone and the challenges this presents.

“That is very worrying,” he admitted. Despite all that, there has been positive vibes about the way the panel have been training and the work they have done. The team won't be finalised until match day on Saturday but Kearns is looking forward to the game and seeing where they are.

It will be Offaly's first game under him as challenge matches were banned in December. While most counties breached this rule, Offaly hurlers were caught out and fined after playing a game against Tipperary with the result that a game became off limits for the footballers.