Ballinamere end long search by unveiling new senior hurling manager
Galway man replaces Rigney and Duignan
BALLINAMERE GAA Club have ended their long search for a senior hurling manager by unveiling their new man for 2026.
He is former Galway hurler and a highly rated coach, Sean Treacy and he will be joined as a coach by another Galway man Damien Coleman – Coleman briefly worked in Offaly a couple of years ago as Operations Manager before moving on.
Treacy replaces Laois man Niall Rigney and former Offaly hurler and footballer, Michael Duignan who were joint managers last year.
Rigney was the manager in his own right when Ballinamere went very close to winning their first Offaly Senior Hurling Championship title in 2024, losing out narrowly to Kilcormac-Killoughey in a great final.
Duignan, a member of Durrow GAA Club and then Offaly GAA chairman, came in as coach late in the 2024 campaign and was appointed as joint manager for 2025. Ballinamere were expected to challenge strongly for the title in 2025 but didn't get going. They lost to Coolderry and Birr in the group, scraping into the quarter-finals and were well beaten by Kilcormac-Killoughey in the quarter-final.
Rigney and Duignan told the players they were stepping down in the dressing room after the defeat and an extensive hunt for a new manager has taken place since then. With over a handful of the best hurlers in Offaly in their squad, it was a very important appointment for Ballinamere and they retain the capacity to win a first senior hurling title.
A good outside manager was Ballinamere's target from the start of their search and they will have been delighted to have secured the services of Portumna man Treacy. He played for Galway at all levels and was a sub on the side that lost to Offaly in the 1985 All-Ireland senior hurling final. He won a National Hurling League medal in 1989 and was an All-Star in 1989 and 1991.
Since the end of his playing career, he has made his name as a manager and coach. He was involved in management teams with his own club for years, helping them win an All-Ireland club senior hurling title in 2006. He coached Kiladangan to win the Tipperary senior hurling title in 2020 and was later a coach with Clare senior hurlers under Brian Lohan.