Dublin hurling at a crossroads in crucial manager hunt

As the process to appoint a new Dublin senior hurling manager unfolds, the importance of finding the right person cannot be overstated.

The quality of managers taking charge of the Dubs over the past decade has been striking - Ger Cunningham, Mattie Kenny, Pat Gilroy and Micheál Donoghue were all appointments that showed the county's ambition.

But the next supremo could be even more important.

Dublin GAA is obviously very well resourced. In the past 17 years, it has received in the region of 30% of Croke Park's development budget, around €23m of €75m spent since the funding template was unveiled in 2007.

Despite criticism of the amount going to the capital, the argument is there that the number of GAA clubs, players and level of activity justifies that figure.

But while there has been a massive return from the county’s senior football team, the hurlers have not yet realised their potential.

With high-calibre managers like those named earlier coming on board, and with significant county board backing for hurling teams, questions remain over why the senior hurlers have contested just two Leinster finals in the past 10 years.

Dublin last won the league in 2011 and haven’t managed a Leinster SHC since Anthony Daly led them to their first in 52 years in 2013. In the past six years they have won a Leinster U20 title (2020) and one provincial minor crown (2018).

Going back further there has been no senior All-Ireland title since 1938, no minor All-Ireland since ’65 and no U-20/U-21 title (they lost a fifth final in 2020).

In an interview with RTÉ Sport late last year, former manager Humphrey Kelleher paid tribute to the passionate coaches working diligently within the capital, but suggested a change in approach was needed, to especially