Former Tánaiste Mary Coughlan set to be new chairperson of Donegal GAA

Former Tánaiste Mary Coughlan is set to become the new chair of Donegal GAA after her rivals for the position dropped out of the running.

Former chairman Sean Dunnion and Coughlan's clubmate Cieran Kelly had also been nominated for the position but have now confirmed they will not seek election at the county convention on 13 December, leaving Coughlan as a sole candidate for ratification.

Coughlan (58) was a Fianna Fáil TD for Donegal South-West for 24 years and served as a minister for various portfolios and then deputy to the Taoiseach between 2008 and 2011 when she lost her seat.

The St Naul's club secretary will be the GAA's fourth female county chairperson, after Cork's Tracey Kennedy (Cork, 2017-20), Roisin Jordan (Tyrone 2014-17) and Eileen Jennings (Europe, 2006-09).

Coughlan will succeed Fergus McGee, who is stepping down as chair after one year, which was a tumultuous one for the county.

Former Footballer of the Year Karl Lacey quit as head of academy development in February citing "a lack of support" and was followed out the door by his academy colleagues while senior football manager Paddy Carr resigned after only 149 days in the role.

Selector Aidan O'Rourke took over for the remainder of the season as Donegal were relegated to Division 2 of the Allianz Football League and were beaten in the Ulster quarter-final by Down before qualifying for the All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals, where they lost to Tyrone.

The fall-out from the academy being wound down prompted a GAA review at central level, which found 14 "high-risk" issues, which signalled "a significant weakness in the current control environment, financial management or governance".

Donegal GAA announced the reappointment of 2012 All-Ireland winning