FERMANAGH senior football manager Kieran Donnelly hopes that continuity can bring success – as was the case with new All-Ireland champions Armagh.
The Erne County won’t be setting their sights that high, but its board has strongly backed the Brookeborough clubman by handing him another three-year term in charge despite relegation from Division Two earlier this year.
Only Orchard County boss Kieran McGeeney and the Tyrone duo of Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan have been in charge longer than Donnelly in Ulster football.
“Continuity is important because you get to build up a relationship with your players,” said Donnelly. “They know what to expect from you and the standards you like to drive on.
“There’s no doubt that sometimes a quick fix isn’t the answer; in the sporting world it doesn’t answer every question.
“Kieran McGeeney has massive respect from his players and that was a big thing for his continuity. I do feel that us as a management team have gained the same from our squad.”
While Vinny Corey has stepped down from the Monaghan job, Donnelly decided he wanted to stay on with his county – and then had to get the backing from the squad and the board:
“The way the game has gone, longevity has decreased in the manager’s role because the workload is massive – but it’s something I enjoy.
“It is nice to get that vote of confidence from the county board and the players, it’s something I don’t take lightly. It’s a great honour to manage your own county and I’m delighted to have three more years to progress this squad further.”
A teacher at Omagh CBS, Donnelly retains the same backroom team, including former Tyrone forward Ronan O’Neill and former Fermanagh goalkeeper Ronan Gallagher.
He’s confident that most of this year’s panel will stay on too as Fermanagh target promotion from Division Three again, a feat they achieved against expectations in 2023:
“We’ve been together as a management team for the past three years and it’s quite a young group we’re working with.
“It’s something I was keen to continue on with. I felt we have made progress: granted we got relegated from Division Two after getting promoted, but we feel we’ve blooded a lot of players.
“We had a massive turnover of senior players over the last two years. Now the bulk of our squad ranges from age 20 to 25, so that’s pretty positive. There may be one or two who will address their future at the end of their club season, but to date we’ve had no retirements.”
Star attacker Ultan Kelm is awaiting the outcome of trials with AFL outfit Fremantle Dockers but even if he does depart Donnelly believes that Fermanagh will have benefitted from their experiences earlier this year, including games against Ulster rivals Armagh, Donegal, and Cavan, plus meetings with Cork, Louth, Meath, and Kildare:
“Division Two was very competitive but we competed well with all the top teams and that exposure will help our players. We feel the longer we stay together as a management team and a group, it can only help us as a county.
“We do hope to keep building, we feel we have a lot of experience to gain due to the age profile of our squad.
“I know a lot of them from Minor level and even schools’ football as well. We have a good relationship, we’re a fairly tight group. We feel as if the boys have grown individually and they’re a good group to work with.”
Donnelly was assistant manager when Tyrone legend Peter Canavan was in charge of Fermanagh. He also took the county Minors and had club spells with Scotstown in Monaghan and Cavan Gaels.
The Brookeborough man could become one of the longest-serving Fermanagh senior football managers is he sees out this second three-year term in charge.
He has been Erne County boss since the autumn of 2021, succeeding former Tyrone star Ryan ‘Ricey’ McMenamin, who had been manager for two seasons.
Before him, Rory Gallagher, who has been strongly linked with a return to the Derry managerial role, was also Fermanagh boss for two years.
Down legend Pete McGrath was over the Fermanagh footballers for four seasons, 2014-17 inclusive, before being ousted by a players’ putsch.
The Fermanagh board confirmed that three other managers will also continue in their roles: Joe Baldwin as senior hurling boss, Maurice McLaughlin in charge of the U20 footballers, and Cyril Dunne over the U17 hurlers. The only vacancy to be filled is that of the U17 football boss, with Niall McElroy having stepped down after two seasons in charge.
