Managerial merry-go-round time and Dublin hurler Conor Burke has heard just about all the rumours going.
Davy Fitzgerald to Dublin? That one did the rounds for a while, as did the Davy Fitz to Galway ‘news’, apparently to take over from Henry Shefflin.
The Clare man brought a little clarity to the situation this week when he declared his allegiance to Antrim for the next two years.
Dublin and Galway, meanwhile, remain without a manager though if Donoghue fancies a second stint in charge of his native county, after departing Dublin, that vacancy could soon be filled.
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As for the Dublin job, midfielder Burke is waiting patiently to learn who he’ll be answering to in 2025. He isn’t particularly interested in having any say, as a player, in who that is.
“Obviously players are there to play so you don’t want to overstep your mark or anything,” said Burke. “We have trust in the county board that they’ll make the right appointment.”
Speaking at Parnell Park at a promotion for the Go-Ahead Dublin club championships, which he will compete in for St Vincent’s, Burke was asked if clubmate Pat Gilroy could fit the bill for Dublin.
The man who kick-started Dublin football’s glory era in 2011 later managed the senior hurlers for a single season, in 2018, before work commitments intervened.
Gilroy was more recently a significant behind-the-scenes presence in the footballers’ 2023 All-Ireland win, as part of Dessie Farrell’s back room team.
He left that role though and is currently in charge of St Vincent’s seniors hurlers. He would be many people’s preference in the capital to succeed Donoghue.
“It’s really hard to know,” shrugged Burke. “Pat has so many things going on in his own life, work related, and that was the reason he stepped away in 2018 so I’m not 100 per cent sure of where he’s at and what his commitments look like outside of sport. The club scene is probably not as time consuming as the intercounty scene. We’ll see, I suppose time will tell.”
Without Gilroy this year, the Dublin footballers fell to Galway at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage. So Dessie Farrell could potentially be inquiring about his services for the new season too. There aren’t too many of those sorts of figures in the game, who could slip seamlessly into key positions in high-functioning management teams in both codes.
“I think he was probably known after his All-Ireland win in 2011 for being football primarily but Pat follows hurling very closely and has a great knowledge himself,” said Burke. “Some elements of his managerial style are transferable between both codes but he also has that knowledge of both as well.”
Whoever takes the Dublin hurling reins will inherit a squad not quite in flux but certainly in transition.
Burke felt they were just getting to grips with Donoghue, and he with his players, when the Clarinbridge man pulled the pin after two seasons.
“From Mattie Kenny’s era to Micheal’s, there was a huge turnover in players, it was really building from scratch,” said Burke, who started all 14 championship games Dublin played under Donoghue.
“In year two, he really had an opportunity to embed a style of play and a way that we wanted to approach games.”
It was successful, to a degree. After a so-so league campaign, which ended with Dublin being effectively relegated to Division 1B for 2025, they drew with Wexford and beat Carlow, Antrim and, most notably Galway, to reach the Leinster final. At which point the wheels fell off with a heavy provincial final loss to Kilkenny and a fairly predictable All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Cork in which the underdogs only raised a gallop in the closing stages.
Burke didn’t lose any face in defeat that day, scoring four points from play, and it’s been said to him a few times since that he had his strongest season yet after moving out of defence to midfield.
“I don’t necessarily think so,” said the 26-year-old who scored in all seven of Dublin’s championship games this year, tallying 1-18.
“I probably scored more this year so maybe got more attention that way but I feel personally that I was contributing to games as much as I was when I was centre back.”
Burke will be back for another season. Thirtysomethings Danny Sutcliffe and Chris Crummey may consider their positions but, on the whole, it’s a relatively young group.
“It’s important that we have everyone back and then hopefully some more lads to keep everyone honest and pushing on as well,” said Burke.
