Kevin Walsh steps down as Galway manager

After much speculation over the weekend, Galway GAA have confirmed this morning to Galway Bay FM that Kevin Walsh has stepped down as senior manager after 5 years in charge. Kevin announced his decision in the past few minutes to Football Committee Chairman Kevin Clancy.

Kevin took over from Alan Mulholland in September 2014 and set about trying to end Mayo's provincial dominance and returning Galway to Division 1 of the National League. This he achieved in spectacular fashion in 2016 when stopping Mayo from winning an unprecedented 6 in a row, and in 2017 when Galway beat Kildare in the Division 2 National League Final for a first Croke Park win in 16 years.

The two-time All-Ireland winning midfielder led the Tribesmen to two Connacht titles during his five-year reign, but their 2019 campaign ended in disappointing fashion with a Connacht final defeat to Roscommon quickly followed by a round 4 qualifier defeat to Mayo in Limerick. 

Following their run to the last four of the All-Ireland series last summer where they defeated Kerry in Croke Park, 2019 hasn’t gone as well and Walsh wasn’t helped by an extensive injury list that robbed them of several key players, most notably Damien Comer for virtually the entire season.

STATEMENT FROM KEVIN WALSH:

On behalf of the Galway Senior Management Team, I have informed the Galway County Board that after 5 years in charge of the Galway Senior Football Team we will not be seeking ratification for a 6th year. It was both an honour and a privilege to manage our county to 2 Connacht titles, promotion to Division 1 and maintaining that status. 

When we took over in 2015, we sought to introduce structures to achieve the 2 core objectives of making Galway football more competitive and leaving Galway football in a better position. Over 25 players have made their senior championship debuts for Galway since then and the commitment of the players over the years has been one of the key factors in achieving those objectives. We would like to thank them for their dedication and friendship. 

We wish to acknowledge the substantial contribution of the backroom team in putting in place the systems and processes that have been the foundation of what was built over the past few years. 

In many ways, the forgotten heroes of the modern game are our families. Without their understanding, support and commitment none of this would be possible. 

We would like to thank our sponsors and, in particular, Pat and Una McDonagh of Supermac’s, whose contribution to Galway GAA in general is the envy of counties throughout the country. The media is playing an increasing role in the game and we would like to thank the local media in Galway who were supportive of our efforts with a special word of thanks to Galway Bay FM’s, Kevin O Dwyer. 

We would like to thank the Galway County Board for giving us the opportunity to manage our county. 

Finally, we would like to thank the genuine Galway football supporters. Your passion for the maroon and white never went unnoticed. 

I emphatically believe that there are great things to come for Galway football. Having had the opportunity to work with professionals at the top of their field over the last number of years, I would like to see the recommendations in our reports to the County Board which included facilities and equipment, operations, alignment and development of underage teams through to senior level, finance, competition structures, player development and welfare, medical screening and deep level coaching continue to be implemented in the interests of Galway football going forward. 

I am honoured to have been given my chance to leave Galway football in a better place and I wish the players and new management team every success in the future.