Former Tipperary coach Darragh Egan is to take charge of the Wexford senior hurlers.
Egan has earned the recommendation of the Wexford executive to succeed Davy Fitzgerald and his name will be put before county board delegates for ratification later this month for what is believed will be a two-year term.
The Kiladangan man has just completed three years as part of Liam Sheedy’s management team in Tipperary, with the high point being the All-Ireland success two years ago.
Egan was a player during Sheedy’s first spell in the job and was part of the panel that won the All-Ireland in 2010. A forward at that time, he later served as sub goalkeeper to Darren Gleeson.
He will be the first Tipperary native to manage Wexford since Colm Bonnar, whose three-year term came to a close in 2011, and will be tasked with building on Wexford’s Leinster Championship success in 2019, when they were subsequently edged out in the All-Ireland semi-final by an Egan-coached Tipp.
Welcoming the school principal at Puckane NS on board, Wexford chairman Micheal Martin said: “Our strategic plan, ‘Ar Aghaidh Linn le Chéile’, is the most ambitious plan ever launched in the history of Wexford GAA with clear and specific goals for on and off the pitch. We are conscious that the performance of our senior hurling team is a key element in the social wellbeing of our county.
“Darragh Egan is a sharp, enthusiastic and energetic leader who understands performance at an elite level. He is process-driven and has a hunger for success. He has experience of leading in a high-performance environment and I have no doubt that he will bring a wealth of knowledge to Wexford hurling as we aim to take the next step on the journey to success.”
Egan’s move to Wexford narrows the field for the vacant Tipperary senior manager’s position even more following Liam Cahill’s decision to stick with Waterford.
Given that Tipp are highly unlikely to go outside the county for a successor to Sheedy, Tommy Dunne, who was also part of the previous regime as well as being involved during Declan Ryan’s two-year tenure, could emerge as a leading contender.
Former goalkeeper Brendan Cummins has also been touted as a possible Tipp manager some day but, while he has been part of backroom teams in Laois and Kerry, he has yet to cut his teeth with any Tipperary teams in a coaching capacity.
Nicky English, the county’s All-Ireland winning manager in 2001, has been regularly linked with a return over the years but, with the passing of time, it seems increasingly less likely to happen.
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