Roscommon hurling manager steps down

Johnny Keane has stepped down from the position of Roscommon senior hurling manager.

Roscommon GAA has revealed that Keane contacted hurling committee chairman Christy McDermott over the weekend to inform him of his decision.

A Portumna native, Keane became involved with Roscommon four years ago as a coach under former manager Ciaran Comerford. He also managed Borris Kilcotton of Laois.

Keane took over as Roscommon senior manager when the position became vacant 12 months ago. He managed Roscommon in the Christy Ring Cup in 2020 and 2021 and also in the 2021 Allianz Hurling League.

In a statement, Roscommon GAA has thanked Keane for all his efforts with the team.

"The past two years seasons were extremely difficult due to Covid-19 and only having a few weeks to prepare for competitions. A lot of work that was carried out had to be executed via zoom calls. In 2021, Roscommon were relegated in both the league and championship but in several games the margin of defeat was only by a point or two. Sadly, narrow defeats do not earn you any points," said the statement.

"The Roscommon hurling committee and Roscommon GAA would like to thank Johnny, his backroom team and players for all their effort and time.

"Once again thanks to Johnny, his wife and very young family for the sacrifices made over the past four years for the cause of Roscommon hurling and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours," the statement added.