New managers for Garrycastle senior men and ladies
Garrycastle GAA has appointed new managers of their senior men's and ladies' teams.
Denis Connerton is taking charge of the senior men's team, with John Donnellan coming on board as coach.
Gary Dolan (manager) and John Keane (coach) stepped down in the aftermath of Garrycastle's defeat to St Loman's Mullingar in the 2021 Westmeath SFC final, following a replay.
Dolan and Keane led Garrycastle to Flanagan Cup success in 2019, and the duo came extremely close to repeating the feat last year.
Connerton, whose home club is Rathcline, is a hugely experienced manager and he had two spells in charge of his native Longford.
Former Galway player Donnellan is familiar with the Westmeath club scene as he guided Castledaly to the 2015 SFC final in which they lost out to St Loman's.
In a statement, Garrycastle GAA welcomed Connerton and Donnellan to their new roles, and confirmed that Graeme Corcoran will be remaining in charge of the club's junior team.
"2022 looks to be another busy season with the League expected to begin in late February. We would also like to announce that Graeme Corcoran will be staying on as Junior manager for 2022 and will be also involved in our Senior set-up as a selector. Best of luck to Denis, John and Graeme for the coming season," said the club.
Meanwhile, former Garrycastle and Westmeath player Patrick Mulvihill has been appointed as manager of the club’s senior ladies’ team for the 2022 season. Joining him as coach is his former teammate Rory McGowan.
Mulvihill's daughter Shannon is one of Garrycastle's most promising young players. Shannon was on the Garrycastle team which won the Westmeath LGFA Division 2 minor title last year, and she won her second Leinster Schools 'Senior' A medal with Moate Community School earlier this week, playing a starring role in both successes.
"Patrick brings a wealth of football experience with him as a former player and from his involvement with LGFA over the years with Garrycastle at underage level, while Rory has broad experience across different codes, and both of them were part of the historic Leinster championship team (2011)," said a club statement.
"The backroom team includes Colin Clyne and Orla Breathnach, both whom have been involved with underage teams and the senior team respectively over the past few years, while Marie McGovern and Noelle Murphy will take on the role of female liaisons. The club wishes them and the team every success."
The Garrycastle ladies lost out to St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge by a single point in last year's Westmeath LGFA senior championship semi-final.