Shamrocks GAA draw line under messy week with final statement thanking outgoing management

SHAMROCKS GAA Club have drawn a line under a messy week by releasing a third statement on Saturday morning, this time thanking the outgoing team managers Brian Kinnarney and John Monaghan and their fellow management team members for their work.

Tension between team management and the club committee floated in the background as Shamrocks appealed last Sunday's Senior Football Championship quarter-final loss to Ferbane – the whole appeal and merit of it was a big talking point locally and the role of team management in this also proved divisive.

The Offaly club had appealed on the basis that a fifth minute two point score awarded to Ferbane's Adam Egan was inside the mark and should have counted as only one point. They lost by a point 3-15 to 2-17 after a terrific game and objected to the Offaly Competitions Control Committee, who dismissed it on Thursday evening – enforcing the rule that a score awarded or not given can't be challenged afterwards.

Shamrocks GAA met with players on Friday evening, deciding unanimously not to appeal the Offaly decision to Leinster Council. They released two statements after this with a joint one from the club executive and Players' Group stating that they were disappointed at losing their objection but felt they had received a “fair hearing” as well as outlining their respect for and recognising the integrity of match officials.

A second one from the committee on its own praised the panel for their performance against Ferbane and thanked the players for their attitude and professionalism all year and during the appeal process.

The omission thanks for the team management from that statement quickly became a bone of contention with some locally and has been addressed with the release of an additional statement on Saturday morning.

John Monaghan had stated on Tuesday that he and the team management had resigned in protest at not being consulted during the appeal process. Players had been consulted on Monday evening and the club submitted the appeal after they said they wished to pursue it. Monaghan accused the club of a lack of “respect” by not consulting team management.

There has been some local speculation that the team management was going to step down anyway but irrespective of that, there had been tension between management and the club executive over different issues during the season.

All of that formed part of the whole back story to a long week for Shamrocks and the executive have now released a statement lauding the team management for their work – Monaghan and Kinnarney have been joint managers for the past few seasons after initially serving as selectors under the Laois based Mick Lillis and Brian Kelly.

Saturday's statement said:

“Following on from our recent note of thanks to the players, the Executive Committee would also like to place on record our sincere appreciation to the management team for their commitment, guidance and leadership throughout the season.

“The preparation, belief and support they provided were instrumental in helping the team deliver one of their strongest performances in recent years.

“Their dedication to the panel and to the club has not gone unnoticed, and we are deeply grateful for the time and effort they have given.

“We wish the management team the very best of luck for the future and thank them for their important contribution to Shamrocks.”

It all means that Shamrocks will be seeking new management for 2026 and are likely to begin that process immediately. With the team making definite progress and capable of making a semi-final if not a final, there is a strong case to be made in investing in a top class outside management and trying to drive things on further.

It is also right that they have acknowledged the role played by Monaghan and Kinnarney. They took over when there wasn't a queue of people lining up and Shamrocks were struggling. They have definitely improved things as they reached a semi-final last year and almost took out a top team last Sunday. Two local men, they have a huge passion for Shamrocks and have done a very good job there.

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