Former All-Ireland senior club-winning captain with Ballyhale Shamrocks, Tom Coogan has been confirmed as the new Young Irelands Intermediate hurling manager for the upcoming season.
The Ballyhale native guided his native Club to consecutive U21 County final victories in 2017 & 2018 and he will be hoping to build on the solid progress made by the Intermediates over the past few years.
Two @BallyhaleGAA men Tom Coogan and Tommy Phelan share a joke with @kclr96fm ‘s Brendan Hennessy in Carroll’s Hotel, Knocktopher with @AIB_GAA pic.twitter.com/DMcWtDWVQk
— Shamrocks (@BallyhaleGAA) March 15, 2019
In 2019, Young Irelands lost out narrowly to eventual All-Ireland Champions Tullaroan in the County Semi-Final, while last year, they lost out by the eventual county champions Lisdowney, 1-15 to 0-15 in the championship quarter-final, so on that evidence, they should be among the leading contenders for Intermediate Championship honours this year, providing matches go ahead as planned.
The Backroom set-up
The new senior manager will be joined in his backroom by former Thomastown hurler & selector Shane Lanigan and former county senior medal winners with Young Irelands, Ollie Carter and Joe Langton.
Carter will be a busy man as he is also involved as manager of the junior team with his brother Martin Carter and Joe Langton as selectors. Meanwhile, Pat O’Neill & Charlie Carter have taken over the minor squad, in which there will be high hopes for a first Minor Roinn A Championship title since 1989.
Juvenile
Huge progress has been made at the juvenile level in recent years with the minors winning the Roinn B Championship in 2019, while last year in their first year on returning to Roinn A, the minors went all the way to the county final before losing out to a very strong Dicksboro outfit who defended their crown.
The majority of last year’s Young Irelands Minors are eligible again for the U17 grade this year, & with this year’s minor group having reached the U15 county final in 2019, they should be among the leading contenders for silverware.
The U15’s first team will be managed by Michael Pitt and he will be joined by Sean Kehoe, JP Carroll and John Morris as selectors, while Roger Midleton and Tommy Kenny will take charge of the U15’s second team.
The U13’s had a successful year last year winning the A1 & last year’s management team of Gary Farrell, Jason Brennan & Seamus Farrell have returned again in 2021. They are joined by the addition of Ciaran Carroll, while the U13’s second team will be managed by Martin Farrell & Emmet McAvinney.
Young Irelands club to be well represented at inter-county level
Pat O’Neill will once again be part of the Kilkenny Senior Camogie management team under the stewardship of Brian Dowling, as they go in search of winning consecutive All-Irelands for the first time since their memorable seven-in-a-row triumph back in 1991, while Young Irelands camogie player Nessa Farrell will be part of the new-look Kilkenny Intermediate Camogie management outfit for the coming season.
Martin Carey will also be on the minor management team again this year under Richie Mulrooney, with last years competition incomplete prior to the latest Covid-19 restrictions after Kilkenny had qualified for a Leinster Final showdown with Offaly, while Alan Roche will coach the Carlow U20 hurlers for this year’s championship.
Roche is a former Waterford IT Fitzgibbon Cup-winning coach, and has been involved with the Kilkenny Senior Camogie team and more recently as selector with the Thomastown Intermediate Hurling Team who reached the county final the last two years.
