The Connacht Football Association is delighted to confirm the appointment of Joe Kelly as the manager of the Connacht Men’s Amateur Interprovincial Team. The team will participate in the FAI Amateur Interprovincial Competition hosted by Connacht and to be held in Sligo from 22nd to 24th March 2024.
Joe will lead the team into the FAI Amateur Interprovincial Tournament with a very experienced coaching team comprising of Ger McGrath (Galway), Neil McKenna (Sligo), Eamonn Daly (Mayo), Aine Guildea (Physio) and Michael McTiernan (Kit Man). The winners of the tournament will represent Ireland in the UEFA Regions Cup 2024/2025.
Joe has enjoyed huge success at club level with Westport United both as a player and coach. Winning all honours across the junior game as a player his impressive coaching CV started in Westport winning various Connaught Regional titles with many underage teams within the club as well as reaching two national semi-finals and a Post Primary Schools All Ireland Final. He also managed Mayo Schoolboys to its first All-Ireland at Intercounty level in 2017.
In recent years Joe has coached Westport United B to a treble cup success that included the Connaught Shield in his first year in the role. He is currently the manager of the Mayo League Oscar Traynor Team who have been crowned Connacht Provincial Champions and now go on to the National Quarter Finals of the competition.
The selection of players and preparation of trials for the tournament will begin in the coming days, where Joe and his coaching staff will be reaching out to both leagues and clubs.
Joe has expressed his delight with his appointment as manager:
“It’s a great honour for me to be appointed by the Connacht FA to this very prestigious role leading and coaching the outstanding talent we have in the region for the tournament. To be chosen to represent the association is the pinnacle of recognition. I am lucky to have with me some of the best coaches from the various leagues within the province and as a coaching team, our aim is to select the best twenty players available to us in the region, which will be no easy task given the quality displayed by our Oscar Traynor Teams and to make it an enjoyable experience for all players between now and March. This is a great opportunity for Amateur players in Connacht to represent their Province, with the winners representing Ireland in the UEFA Regions Cup in 2024/25 I would also like to thank my own association the Mayo Football League for their great support."
