Brigid's boss rules himself out

ST Brigid's manager Eoin O'Donnellan watched his side exit the Roscommon SFC last weekend and then proceeded to totally dismiss speculation linking him with the vacant post of Galway manager. The Galway native saw his side suffer a quarter-final defeat to St Aidan's last Saturday (0-10 to 1-10) and although his name has been mentioned in connection with managing his home county, O'Donnellan said he has no plans to take on that particular challenge. He also stressed that it's too early to discuss his future as St Brigid's manager. Following Saturday's game (see page 35 for report), the St Brigid's manager said: "I have absolutely no interest in the Galway job and I don't mind you printing that. It's not something I am considering. No approaches were made to me in relation to the job and it's just paper-talk as far as I'm concerned. You never know what's going to happen in the future but managing Galway is not something I'd consider at this moment in time." Early this week, former Armagh manager Joe Kernan declared his interest in the Galway managerial vacancy. Nominations for the post are due to close this Friday and, now that Kernan has publicly signalled his interest, the 2002 All-Ireland winning manager could be installed as Liam Sammon's successor as early as next week. Meanwhile, in relation to his future as St Brigid's boss, O'Donnellan said: "It's too early to speak about that at present. We'll let the dust settle before deciding how to take it forward." St Brigid's, who won a memorable three-in-a-row of county titles between 2005 and 2007, and also a Connacht club championship in 2006, were without the services of several key players last weekend, including Frankie Dolan and Karol Mannion, but O'Donnellan refused to dwell too much on the significance of their absence. "Obviously any team would miss key players like Frankie Dolan, Karol Mannion and John Tiernan. It's bound to hamper your prospects. But we have no complaints about losing and it's only right we acknowledge that St Aidan's deserved their victory. They were the better side on the day and we're disappointed about that. We came back well near the end of the game but let it slip earlier on," said O'Donnellan. Following their victory over Brigid's, St Aidan's are the only South Roscommon side left in the championship and the Ballyforan side will meet defending champions Castlerea St Kevin's in the semi-finals. Castlerea beat Padraig Pearses in last Sunday's quarter-final at Kiltoom (see page 33 for report) and Pearses manager Jack Murray was left regretting several missed chances by his side. "We should have wrapped it up before half-time," Murray said. "There was a pretty strong wind so a three point lead at half-time was simply not enough. We left it behind us in that respect," he added. Pearses had a very vocal appeal for a late penalty when Paul Moran went down in a crowd scene. Murray said: "From where I was standing it looked like a penalty but I knew there was no point arguing the decision once the referee didn't blow his whistle. That's the way it goes I suppose but it's disappointing." The Pearses manager also praised his players, saying they are a "terrific" group who will bounce back from last weekend's disappointment. Elsewhere, Clann na nGael were also knocked out at the quarter-final stage last Saturday, losing by two points to Western Gaels (see page 29 for report), while St Faithleach's drew with Kilbride. Roscommon SFC Semi-Finals St Aidan's v Castlerea St Kevin's Western Gaels v St Faithleach's/Kilbride