Jilted Kilcormac-Killoughey manager to take over Tullamore hurlers

JILTED Kilcormac-Killoughey manager, Shane Hand has quickly bounced back by being appointed as the Tullamore senior hurling surpremo.

Kilcormac-Killoughey made the shock decision to jettison Hand before Christmas after he led them to back to back Senior Hurling Championship titles in Offaly and to the Leinster club final in 2024, where Na Fianna of Dublin proved too strong.

It was a ruthless call by a club who have real prospects of dominating Offaly hurling for a few years and of winning provincial and national titles, and unsurprisingly, it has proven to be a big talking point in the area and much further afield in recent weeks.

Hand, however, has quickly got back on the horse by accepting an offer to manage Tullamore, who retained their status in the Senior Hurling Championship in 2024. His appointment was to be rubber stamped at a Tullamore GAA committee meeting on Tuesday evening and his back-room team will be finalised in the coming days.

The Kilcormac native had managed his home club for three years, losing the 2022 final to Shinrone but entering the victors' podium in 2023 and 2024. He previously managed Ballinamere in the late 2010s, leading them to Intermediate and Senior “B” Hurling Championship wins. He was a very good underage hurler in the late 1980s, early 1990s but didn't play much at adult level.

After his controversial dismissal by Kilcormac-Killoughey, Hand would have been an attractive proposition for several clubs and his services would have been in demand.

It is believed that St Rynagh's were among the clubs interested in talking to him but in many ways, Tullamore is a perfect fit for him and he is an ideal solution for Tullamore, who have been hunting for a new manager for several weeks.

Hand's youngest son Daniel cemented his place on the Kilcormac-Killoughey team in 2024 and he could have found himself in an invidious position if he managed one of their main contenders. It would not be easy to manage another club against his own club and son in a county final, and whatever about down the road, it is best avoided in the short term anyway.

A club such as Tullamore could of course sneak into a county final but on recent form that is very unlikely. Their ambitions are more modest: firstly to retain their senior status and then to make progress by reaching the quarter-finals.

At the moment, Kilcormac-Killoughey and Ballinamere are well out of Tullamore's reach and clubs such as Shinrone, St Rynagh's, Coolderry and Belmont have performed much better than them in recent years – shocks against at least some of those four will be possible for Tullamore this year and Hand will be aiming for a quarter-final.

For Tullamore, it is a high profile appointment and they will be delighted to secure his services. For Hand, it helps him get over the hurt of K-K's decision, it is close to his Blueball home and he will relish the challenge of trying to bring Tullamore forward.

It is new territory for him in that it is his first time to manage a club where hurling is second in the list of priorities to football and he will be dealing with a number of dual players, who are key members of both senior teams. Cillian Bourke, Aaron Leavy, Cormac and Diarmuid Egan, Mike and Dan Fox and Niall Furlong are among the players who would make both senior teams and many of them are better footballers and pivotal to their senior football team who will be aiming for three in a row in 2025.

At the same time, those dual players also have an obvious passion for hurling and are very adept at the game. They also have a number of players who play hurling only or whose priority is there while a recent development in the club has been the emergence of young underage players interested in hurling and not playing football.

Meanwhile, there has been no white smoke in Kilcormac-Killoughey yet about their new manager. Several names have been mentioned, including Tipperary man Tony Gleeson, who was a coach to K-K for the last two years as well as Offaly U20 hurlers. Having been brought into K-K by Shane Hand, it remains to be seen if Gleeson will have a role on management in 2025. It would not be unusual at all for coaches to stay on when a manager departs, even in less than perfect circumstances such as this, though some of them will also leave – whether by choice and wishing to stand with the manager or through not being wanted.

With so many outstanding young hurlers, Kilcormac-Killoughey will be very attractive to ambitious managers, they should be able to secure a very strong package and it will be interesting to see what they unveil in the coming weeks.

Tullamore senior footballers are also still in the hunt for a new management. Niall Stack stepped down before Christmas after five very successful years, leading them to three titles – securing their first back to back since 1926 and first Leinster club win since 1977 in 2024. He leaves the club in a very strong position and like K-K, they should be able to attract a very strong management team.

A committee of club chairman Tom Moloney, vice chairman Kieran Egan and players, Declan Hogan and Michael Brazil has been seeking management and they hope to finalise things in the next week or so.

The dilemma for Tullamore is do they go outside the county and headhunt a big name or a management with proven pedigree elsewhere, or do they stay inside the club. Staying inside the club worked with Stack and he put a strong team around him, including former club players, Cathal Daly and James Buckley, and Ballycumber's Colm Quinn.

There are prospective candidates in Tullamore, including members of the outgoing management. Ken Furlong is an obvious one. A former long serving goalkeeper in the 1990s and 2000s, Furlong managed Offaly minor and U20 footballers in recent years. It is complicated by the presence of sons John and Niall on the Tullamore team but Furlong is one of the main candidates if they go within.

Roscommon native Benny O'Brien would be another for consideration but it is unlikely to happen. A native of the St Brigid's club in Kiltoom, O'Brien played for Tullamore in the 1990s and previously managed them some years ago, though that ended in mid-season. He has won widespread plaudits for his work as Ballinagar manager in 2024, leading them to the Offaly Intermediate Football Chjampionship and Leinster Junior Football Championship. He is likely to stay with Ballinagar, however, as they move up to senior “B” football in 2025 – Ballinagar's extended season has seen him step away as a coach with Offaly U20 footballers.

Offaly U20 football manager Mark Plunkett could have came into the frame if he wasn't in that role. He was beaten by Niall Stack in a vote for the position five years ago and clearly wanted to manage them. However, the time is not right for him at the moment. While there is a split club and county season and plenty of people double up with county and club jobs, including county senior managers, his commitments with Offaly are a complication. He also has two sons on the team – Harry was their main scoring forward in 2024 while older brother Luke was away in Australia for the year but is returning home and is expected to be available for the 2025 season.

There has been talk of Tullamore producing a manager from the left field and long serving stalwart Paul McConway has been mentioned in the town. McConway was corner back in 2024 but the end of his long senior career is clearly approaching, if not already there. It would, however, be a big call to give the job to a novice candidates, even if he has obvious potential to manage teams in the future, while the fact that he has played with the players is another obstacle.

It will all be unveiled in the coming weeks and the announcement of the Tullamore senior football and Kilcormac-Killoughey senior hurling managers are the two big ones left in the county.