Cunningham likely to be handed the Ôpoisoned chaliceÕ

It is a measure of how much of a poisoned chalice the job of Galway senior hurling team manager has become that only three men have been nominated for the position, compared to the eight who were in the reckoning before John McIntyre took over three years ago.

That group of eight was whittled down to three (McIntyre, former Offaly supremo Michael Bond, and former boss Noel Lane) following a series of interviews, before the announcement was made that a five man selection committee had opted for McIntyre after a second round of lengthy interviews.

Notably, all three in the final reckoning had intercounty management experience. McIntyre and Bond both had spells in charge of Offaly, while many felt Lane was desperately unlucky to be removed from the Galway job in 2002.

By way of contrast, none of the three candidates in 2011 has been involved at senior intercounty level. Anthony Cunningham and Micheal Donoghue won All-Ireland U-21 and club titles respectively this year, while Johnny Kelly has tasted club success at Croke Park with Portumna.

Cunningham was the only one of the three who also sought the position three years ago and impressed the selection committee so much back then that they offered him the U-21 job, which finally resulted in glory against Dublin at Semple Stadium last month.There was an element of ‘blooding’ the St Thomas’ club man, well respected for his role with club football teams in Westmeath and Roscommon, for the senior job at that stage.

The clubs, who get to nominate the candidates, clearly want the 2012 Galway manager to come from within the county even if some players, including the hugely experienced Alan Kerins, have said there would be nothing wrong with getting in a suitably qualified ‘outsider’.

This has been a key week in terms of hurling management positions, with both Clare and Limerick going for experience on Tuesday night by opting for Davey Fitzgerald – linked by some with the Galway job – and John Allen, who led Cork to the 2005 final victory over the Tribesmen.

But, in Galway, the decision has clearly been made to ‘shop local’ and at this stage it looks as though Cunningham is the clear front-runner for the job.

His spell in charge of the U-21s has not run completely smoothly – all of the furore over the fixing of last year’s final in Tipperary led to an unmerciful hiding for Galway in the final – but there was an admirable intensity about this year’s group who overcame Limerick and Dublin on their way to winning the title.

Cunningham has done his case no harm by bringing both Mattie Kenny (Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry) and Tom Helebert (Gort) on board as part of a three man package, as he had already drafted in Kenny and Helebert to add steel, determination, and heart to the U-21s this year.Both Kenny and Cunningham come from clubs who have made huge progress at underage levels, which is now just beginning to reap rewards at senior level, while Helebert also enjoyed a wonderful success with Donoghue and Clarinbridge at Croke Park in March of this year.

Arguably, McIntyre would not have got the job in 2008 if he had not announced that John Hardiman, Joe Connolly, and John Moylan – along with young physical trainer John Kearney – would be part of his backroom team.

Intriguingly, Helebert could yet end up as a Galway selector either way – as many would expect him to be part of Donoghue’s plans, if the Clarinbridge man proves successful. There is no doubt that Donoghue is a young manager with wonderful potential and he could yet be offered the U21 job, just as Cunningham was after impressing the selection committee so much in 2008.

In the wake of both Portumna and Killimor’s championship exits last weekend, Kelly would now be seen as the outsider of the three. While he has enjoyed wonderful success with Portumna, rightly or wrongly there is a perception that he ‘inherited’ the best club team in the country and could do little wrong until the inevitable start of a decline over the last two years.

For more, see this week's Connacht Tribune.