Davy Fitzgerald set to be appointed as Antrim hurling manager

Clare native expected to go before club delegates for ratification on Monday night

Davy Fitzgerald is set to be appointed Antrim senior hurling manager on Monday night. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

Davy Fitzgerald is set to be appointed Antrim senior hurling manager on Monday night.

Fitzgerald’s name is expected to go before club delegates for ratification at Monday’s county board meeting, with the Clare native poised to take charge of the Saffrons just over a month after stepping as Waterford manager.

Darren Gleeson’s decision to step away after five years in charge of Antrim had created the vacancy and this will be the fifth different county Fitzgerald has been involved with at senior intercounty level after managing the Waterford hurlers, his native Clare, Wexford and also having operated as a coach with the Cork camogie team.

Fitzgerald, who has a two-year-old son, Dáithí Óg, pointed to the travelling distance between Clare and Waterford as a factor in his decision to step down.

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“Waterford isn’t right beside you, it’s a nice journey, you are leaving early in the day. I have Dáithí Óg in my life now which is a lot different,” he said last month.

However, he is now set for an even longer commute to take charge of Antrim.

Fitzgerald has been involved with intercounty teams every season since taking charge of the Waterford hurlers for the first time midway through the 2008 campaign – a position he accepted just three months after retiring as an intercounty player.

Gordon Manning

Gordon Manning

Gordon Manning is a sports journalist, specialising in Gaelic games, with The Irish Times