Martin Murphy stands down as Offaly manager after one season in charge

Offaly are seeking a new football manager after Martin Murphy confirmed this afternoon he will not be remaining in the role for 2024.

Appointed as a selector at the start of the year, Murphy assumed the senior manager's job after the sudden death of Liam Kearns last March.

Murphy took over for the remainder of the season, guiding the side to a rousing Leinster championship victory over Meath before narrowly losing their Croke Park provincial semi-final to Louth after extra-time.

Their subsequent Tailteann Cup campaign was disappointing, ending after a comprehensive preliminary quarter-final loss to Wexford in O'Connor Park.

In his statement, Murphy confirmed that county chairman Michael Duignan had asked him to continue for 2024 but the manager said he was unable to do so due to "circumstances beyond my control."

"The aftermath of Liam's sudden death was a challenging and emotional time, and it profoundly affected the players and the management team for some time afterwards," Murphy wrote. "Despite the unexpected and traumatic loss of Liam, the players and management endeavoured to give it our very best for the remainder of the year.

"Several weeks ago, I met with the chairman of the County Board, Michael Duignan, to discuss and review the past year.

"We discussed the targets we had set for ourselves as a team at the beginning of the year.

"As it transpired, 2023 proved to be Offaly’s most successful Leinster championship campaign in sixteen years. The team played some outstanding football, beating Longford and Meath and reaching the Leinster semi-final against Louth in Croke Park, only to lose after extra time.

"Disappointingly, our performance in the Tailteann Cup competition differed from what we had hoped for or expected.