Gaelic Games

Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Carr to be nominated for Donegal job

Having initially being nominated separately, the duo have now joined each other on the same ticket

Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Carr will be up for ratification as the new Donegal senior football team management. Photograph: Cathal Noonan/Inpho
Chris McNulty
Sun Oct 23 2022 - 19:38

Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Carr will be up for ratification as the new Donegal senior football team management on Monday night.

O’Rourke and Carr are expected to be nominated at a specially convened meeting of the Donegal county committee at the Donegal GAA Training Centre in Convoy.

It is understood that O’Rourke and Carr, both former Louth senior managers, were initially nominated and interviewed separately for the role which became officially vacant on July 20th when Declan Bonner confirmed his resignation.

St Eunan’s manager and 2012 All-Ireland winner Rory Kavanagh had been at the top of bookmakers’ betting until last week when it emerged that the Letterkenny man had removed himself from the running.

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O’Rourke and Carr, having had subsequent discussions, pooled their resources and are now on the same ticket. The 40 clubs of the county will be asked to accept the nomination of O’Rourke and Carr.

It is believed that O’Rourke and Carr will not reveal their backroom team until a later date.

Paddy Carr (pictured) and Aidan O’Rourke have pooled their resources and are now on the same ticket. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

Carr is the son of Barney and Dot Carr from Shanagh in Fanad. He has been based away from Donegal from a young age, but played for the county in the 1980 Ulster SFC, featuring in a defeat by Tyrone in Irvinestown.

Carr played his club football with Kilmacud Crokes in Dublin and Walterstown in Meath. He was interviewed for the Donegal job twice previously, when Rory Gallagher was appointed in 2014 and when Declan Bonner was selected in 2017. He managed Kilmacud Crokes to the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.

He has managed the Louth seniors and the Meath minor footballers.

O’Rourke hails from Dromintee in Armagh and was an All-Ireland winner as a player in 2002 with the Orchard.

In 2010 and 2011, O’Rourke was on Kieran McGeeney’s backroom team with Kildare and he later teamed up with McGeeney in their native Armagh.

Last year, O’Rourke, who managed Louth in 2013 and 2014, was assistant manager to Down boss James McCartan.

In 2018, O’Rourke enlisted the help of four-time All-Star Karl Lacey, now Donegal GAA’s head of academy, in his attempt to become Roscommon manager, before he withdrew from the process.