Liam Cahill is believed to be the preferred choice to become the next Waterford senior hurling manager.
Cahill has built an impressive managerial CV at underage level in his native Tipperary in recent years, winning an All-Ireland minor title in 2016, an under-21 title last year followed by Munster and All-Ireland crowns in the newly-created under-20 grade this year.
An All Star in 1996, he was in the running to succeed Michael Ryan as Tipperary senior manager 12 months ago only to miss out after Liam Sheedy entered the race.
It had been claimed that former Waterford midfielder Peter Queally was head of the queue to succeed Paraic Fanning but the Waterford News & Star has reported that Queally has been informed that he is not the choice of the selection committee which includes his ex-county teammates Stephen Frampton and Tom Feeney, Irial Mac Murchu of Nemeton TV, county secretary Pat Flynn and vice-chairman Sean Michael O’Regan.
It appears certain that Waterford will be going outside the county for a manager for the first time since Clare’s Davy Fitzgerald stepped down in 2011 with Ryan and Kilkenny legend Henry Shefflin, who managed his club Ballyhale Shamrocks to All-Ireland glory earlier this year, also mentioned locally though whether either party is interested in the role or is participating in the appointment process is open to question.
It appears most likely, however, that Ballingarry native Cahill will be the man that the appointment committee recommend to try and turn the county’s fortunes around in 2020 after two deeply disappointing seasons since the 2017 All-Ireland final loss to Galway.
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