MIKE QUIRKE has announced he will not be returning as a selector for Kerry in 2025.
The former Laois manager has been part of Jack O’Connor’s backroom team for three years.
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In that time he helped The Kingdom end a relative drought by their standards with their All-Ireland success of 2022.
That was their first time lifting Sam Maguire since 2014 before their age-old rivals Dublin embarked on an unprecedented six-in-a-row.
A four-time All-Ireland winner as a midfielder for Kerry, the 44-year-old is very much a dual sport man as he has an extensive basketball background too.
He’s spoken on his podcast about how he marries some coaching concepts from basketball with his work on the Gaelic football pitch.
The Kerins O’Rahilly’s club man issued a tweet on Wednesday morning announcing he’s opted to call a halt to his time on O’Connor’s staff.
He stated: “I’ve decided to step away from my role with the Kerry senior set-up after 3 largely enjoyable years.
“Very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a storied and passionate football community.
“While I’ll no longer be on the sidelines, I remain an ardent supporter of Kerry football, and look forward to cheering on the team in the seasons ahead.”
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2024 ultimately proved a real letdown for the aristocrats of Gaelic football.
When Dublin were stunned by an injury-ravaged Galway in an All-Ireland quarter-final most punters speculated the stage was now set for Sam Maguire to end up decked out in green and gold bunting.
But they themselves wound up suffering a similarly sized shock at the hands of Armagh in the final four.
The result was made all the more fascinating by another GAA/basketball giant from The Kingdom being on the opposite sideline.
Kieran Donaghy admitted in the days afterwards that he’d felt very conflicted after helping Kieran McGeeney and The Orchard to dump his county out.
The Austin Stacks man told Off The Ball: “The build-up was OK.
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“I stayed to myself and stayed out of the way. I knew the job that I had to help the lads with and I was fully invested in that.
“The emotions were tricky afterwards, I won’t lie. I just happened to scan and see Dylan Casey, who I work with in PST Sport.
“I was looking at him, kind of going, ‘I’ve been there, I’ve lost All-Ireland finals, I know how crushing it is’.
“He was my captain when we won our last county championship.
“I can’t explain it really because it’s a very difficult one. I’m just happy for that bunch of players who have given everything.
“A lot of them — Aidan Forker, Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin — are there ten years, slogging through Division 3 and putting their shoulder to the wheel for this county.
“People had pops at us here and there, and of course they’re entitled to that.
“But that bunch of players, in terms of what they’ve given, is incredible. I’m overjoyed for them.”
