âweâll come up with the novel experiment of giving them no ballâ
David burke at least stopped the runners
It was a late cheap shot. You need to get over this.
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His ire is justified to be at Donoghue anyway
I probably do yea, cos MD didnât just fuck off to Dublin like you imply in this context.
Tbh I think MD has belittled himself somewhat by coming back. He was blackguarded to begin with.
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Weâre making omellettes here. Laois doesnât even have eggs.
Heâs not obliged to get out of the way.
Erra stop, ye wouldnt break eggs.
When ye have ploughed as much as we harrowed come back to me.
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Weâ'll be ploughing here in a few weeks. Iâll talk to you then.
Calm down, I was stirring 
Well he knew what the consequences could be then. Like someone else said every manager is there to bat for his own team.
If Burke is still crying over that heâd want to man up a bit
Donât tell me to calm down! 
The Dublin lad that went down like your man in platoon is the culprit here.
Galway collapsed after the sending offâŚbigger problems there than a mild issue between Donoghue and Burke.
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Christy OâConnor in the Times.
Three weeks ago, MicheĂĄl Donoghue took a call from a Galway hurler asking if he, Franny Forde and Noel Larkin would meet a group of players for a chat. Donoghue knew what it was about but he wasnât sure where the matter might go, or end up. Forde and Larkin were of the same opinion, but Forde felt he already had his mind made up. Whatever the players had to say, Forde didnât see himself returning as part of a Galway management team under Donoghue.
Donoghue was unlikely to take the job without Forde, but they all went along anyway. Eighteen days ago, Donoghue, Forde and Larkin met six players in the gym in Clarinbridge. When the talking was done, Donoghue, Forde and Larkin went for a cup of tea in Donoghueâs house just up the road.
The three men have always been close, especially since first coming together as a management package with Galway in 2016, but Donoghue has always been the face of the operation. His decision would ultimately dictate their future path. Forde asked him if he wanted to do the job again. âAfter listening to what they had to say,â Donoghue said, âI do.â
It still wasnât that cut and dried. Donoghue and Forde have been close since playing with the Galway minors 32 years ago. OâDonoghueâs identity as a manager has always been heavily bound up in his relationship with Forde, and their trust in each other. Forde was so busy with his teaching work and schools coaching in St Raphaelâs that he didnât think he could commit again. Donoghue had more or less accepted Fordeâs decision. And then he didnât. Donoghue wasnât pressurising Forde but he couldnât see himself going back without him.
Forde started to think again. He knew that if he, Donoghue and Larkin were to return to Galway, the time had to be now. Waiting until possibly 2028 would have been too long. In any case, the words of the players in the gym in Clarinbridge, especially two young players, ultimately decided it for Forde. The conviction in their voices, and their desperation for Galway to do better, almost felt like a call of duty for Forde, Donoghue and Larkin to honour.
Immediately, they wanted to add Eamon OâShea to the management. He had been part of Henry Shefflinâs backroom in 2024 but OâShea and Shefflinâs hurling philosophies clearly didnât align. OâShea was bound to have been shaken by the experience of such a disastrous season. Did he want to go again?
Donoghue and OâShea are close, regularly meeting for coffee. Forde played under OâShea with NUIG and Turloughmore and he was one of Fordeâs biggest coaching influences. OâShea didnât want 2024 to be his last possible contribution on this stage, but he only made his decision prior to last weekend. The management only met the county board for the first time nine days ago. The move was finalised. Donoghue and his crew were back.
The natural assumption was that all this had been hammered out over a month ago, that Donoghue had left Dublin to take over Galway, but that hadnât been the case. After Shefflin stepped away in early July, Donoghue, Forde and Larkin were adamant that they wouldnât even talk to anyone in Galway until they had made a decision on Dublin.
Donoghue had another year on his term but when he initially discussed going to Dublin, he asked for a two-year term with an option of a third. The Dublin county board wanted to nail him down for three seasons but it was always Donoghueâs intention to review the situation after two.
Progress had been substantial. Donoghue had effectively built a new squad. They qualified for the Leinster final and ran Cork to five points in the All-Ireland quarter-final, but the travel had taken its toll, particularly on Donoghue and Larkin. Donoghue clocks 50,000km a year with his job, while Dublin added the best part of another 50,000 to his yearly haul. He felt it was time to move on.
Even before Donoghue had stepped away though, Galway had loomed into view. A call had been made to Donoghue after Shefflin departed, but Donoghue immediately deflected it away. He was still the Dublin manager. Official contact with a query of interest only came after Donoghue had left Dublin. And then the players mobilised into action.
After such a poor year, it is the appointment everybody in the county wanted. Shefflin hadnât worked, but the players werenât blameless either. There was a clear lack of leadership on the field. Some of the performances were shambolic but was the environment conducive enough for players to thrive and be the best version of themselves? Under Donoghue, the environment certainly will be.
It was in Dublin, but one of Donoghueâs greatest successes there was in talent identification and player development. Fringe or relative unknown players â Conor Donohoe, SeĂĄn Currie, Paddy Doyle, Brian Hayes, Mark Grogan and Darragh Power â became key pillars of that Dublin side. Those strengths of Donoghue and his management are just as important again now in the context of Galway needing major reconstruction.
There is a huge volume of players in Galway with a high skill set and the potential to be inter-county players. The test now is to identify and develop them. Character is as important as talent and hard decisions will have to be made. Donoghue wonât just slash and burn for the sake of it but he is also realistic enough to know that the fresher the team looks, the more support Galway will get.
There are many different strands of development. One of the accusations thrown at Donoghue in 2019 was that he didnât develop enough players. Yet he took a team that couldnât win and developed them into All-Ireland winners. When he first took over, GearĂłid McInerney was struggling to make the team as a half-forward but he developed into an All-Star centre back. Daithi Burke was an All-Star half back but he went on to win four more All Stars in the full back line. Joseph Cooney was another transformed player under Donoghue.
Numerous players lost their way in recent years, but the biggest criticism of Galway during Shefflinâs three years was their lack of identity as a team, and their inability to connect with their supporters. The Galway hurling public are notoriously fickle, but they largely turned their backs on Galway in the past year. A paltry crowd of only 8,000 turned up to Pearse Stadium for Galwayâs biggest game of the season last May, when Dublin beat them.
Donoghue, Forde and Larkinâs presence on the line with Dublin that afternoon inflamed the frustration around the county even more, which also left lingering issues for Donoghue to clear up. After Davy Burkeâs sending off, Shefflin spoke about âthe opposing manager in the linesmanâs ear telling him that it should be a red cardâ.
There was tension but Donoghue moved afterwards to diffuse it by speaking to Burke. The incident was never going to contaminate the unique relationship the two men always had. The players knew as much too. When they met in Clarinbridge 18 days ago, one of the players made a comment about the incident to lighten the mood.
Now that the talking is done, Donoghue will be officially ratified for a four-year term at tomorrow nightâs county board meeting. When Donoghue left Galway in 2019 because of his unhappiness with the board administration, there was a sense of him having finished up too early, of Donoghue having work still to complete.
Five years on, this isnât about unfinished business, but more about new business, of moving forward with a new project and a fresh challenge. That road is still paved with huge obstacles, but Galway have the management team they want, the one best equipped to move Galway forward to where they want, and need, to go.
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Thatâs a classic COâC article.
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He did alright with out setting the world on fire. It seems Dublin are going for a native manager this time and not before time. Outside managers only care about the short term.
MOD was poor on players being allowed play with their clubs or colleges which didnât endear him to many up here. Players not in matchday 26 on nhl weekends were not sllowed play with their clubs. 2 lesser lights went against this in March and were dropped.
Players on the team seemed to like him and Franny and Larkin well enough. Our performances under him were mixed so its quite hard to call. From what i can see i donât think he has evolved tactically too much since 2017 and this could be an issue gor him because the game has changed.
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What is Donoghueâs day job?