DIVISION 1
Armagh
Manager: Kieran McGeeney
Year: Nine
Notes: Kieran McGeeney is preparing for his ninth year in charge of the Orchard County, and his 10th year involved in all having acted as head coach under Paul Grimley in 2014.
Ahead of the 2022 season, there were some grumblings from fans with Armagh really not making a mark on the championship.
Last season provided a great fillip though, with an excellent league season followed by a thrilling run to the All-Ireland quarter-final. Donegal and Tyrone were dumped out, and only a penalty shoot-out loss to Galway stopped them heading to a first All-Ireland semi-final since 2005.
Coaches Kieran Donaghy and Ciaran McKeever are back on board too, with the Kerry man forcefully rejecting rumours that he was about to jump ship to take up the vacant job in Roscommon.
Donegal
Manager: Paddy Carr
Year: One
Notes: The penultimate football appointment was a bit of a surprise as Paddy Carr [manager] and Aidan O'Rourke [head coach] were paired together after both registering their interest in replacing Declan Bonner.
Rory Kavanagh appeared to be a shoo-in for the role, but that fell apart in the aftermath of the county final where his St Eunan's side lost a controversial county final to Naomh Conaill.
O'Rourke has managed Louth in the past and has also been number two in Kildare, Down and Armagh while Carr has enjoyed All-Ireland Club success with Kilmacud Crokes in the past.
"I will give my body, soul, heart and mind to the cause of Donegal football," Carr said on his appointment.
NEIL MCGEE: THE BODY HAS NOTHING ELSE TO GIVE
The new duo will have to make do without veteran Neil McGee who announced his retirement recently.
Galway
Manager: Pádraic Joyce
Year: Four
Notes: The most unsurprising news arrived in early October as Joyce, whose original term was up, was recommended for a new three-year term by the Galway management committee.
The three-time Tribe All-Star's stock is very high at the minute after leading Galway on a wonderful journey to the 2022 All-Ireland final, where they really gave Kerry a scare before coming undone down the stretch.
The progress had been evident prior to that, with Galway showing a real defensive solidity during their Division 2 campaign, and they look set to be a real force again in 2023.
Joyce will have to start the season without Liam Silke who is on work placement in New Zealand while Kieran Molloy is facing an extended spell on the sidelines after picking up a serious injury while on duty with Corofin.
Kerry
Manager: Jack O'Connor
Year: Two
We know what Year One Jack O’Connor brings – that's an All-Ireland title, as he has done in 2004, 2009 and 2022 – but he has yet to go back-to-back with the Kingdom.
That’s obviously the clear aim for next season having swept up all titles before them over them last season.
The target is on their back, but for the younger members of the squad, they now have relieved the pressure with their first Celtic Cross.
O’Connor is into the last season of his two-year term, but with Sam already secured, it’s doubtful this will be his final run.
He received a real boost with the news that Tyrone coach Paddy Tally is set to remain on board despite speculation he may be stepping away.
Jack Savage isn't expected to be around for the title defence having moved to Dubai while 2022 captain Joe O'Connor is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a cruciate injury.
Mayo
Manager: Kevin McStay
Year: One
Notes: One of the most interesting managerial races of the off-season came to an end late in August as Kevin McStay came out on top in Mayo.
The Ballina man has been handed a four-year term and his backroom team includes former Mayo boss Stephen Rochford, Donie Buckley, Damien Mulligan, Liam McHale, Sean Finnegan, who will act as operations manager, Liam Horan, who will act as communications and strategy manager, and physio Garrett Coughlan.
KEVIN MCSTAY: MAYO FANS SHOULD STRAP IN
Niamh Fitzpatrick will look after the psychology end of things, Dr Sean Moffatt and Dr Lisa Cunningham will oversee the medical side of it with nutritionist Evan Regan also involved. Conor Finn is head of athletic development.
Ray Dempsey, who ended up in Limerick, Mike Sloan and Declan Shaw had been other candidates in contention for the job but McStay won out.
Monaghan
Manager: Vinny Corey
Year: One
Notes: Having acted as a coach in Séamus McEnaney’s second spell in charge of the Farney County, Clontibret’s Vinny Corey will now move up to the number one role after a drawn-out process.
Jason Sherlock, Ger Brennan and Mark Counihan were others heavily linked with the position before Corey was appointed in late September with his brother Martin, formerly of Cavan, also involved.
Dermot McArdle and Gabriel Bannigan, who had his Aughnamullen side playing good stuff on their return to top-flight football for the first time in 26 years, are also included.
Corey’s first big job will be to keep Monaghan in Division One, somewhere they’ve resided since Malachy O’Rourke brought them there in 2015.
Roscommon
Manager: Davy Burke
Year: One
Notes: The last football appointment came in Connacht as former Wicklow manager Davy Burke got the nod.
The Kildare native has been handed a three-year term and he will be bringing an Ulster coach with him as Donegal's Mark McHugh is to be involved. That's not a new thing for this group with previous manager Anthony Cunningham calling on the skills on Steven Poacher in 2021.
Burke has an impressive CV despite his young age, and that includes an All-Ireland U20 crown with the Liylwhites.
His link to his home county will continue as he is manager of the Maynooth Sigerson team.
Tyrone
Managers: Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan
Year: Three
Notes: Logan and Dooher go into the final year of their three-year term and given what has happened in the first two, it’s very hard to know what to expect.
Their first outing was pretty much perfect, culminating in the Red Hands climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand and lifting the Sam Maguire for the fourth time.
Last season followed the path of their three previous title defences, and their championship exit was rather meek as they were well beaten by rivals Derry and Armagh.
A lot of players stepped away ahead of last season, so the pair will be hoping for a bit of stability first and foremost and to take it from there.
DIVISION 2
Clare
Manager: Colm Collins
Year: Ten
Notes: Brian Cody’s exit at Kilkenny means that Colm Collins is now the longest-serving manager across the football and hurling championships.
That looked quite unlikely after the All-Ireland quarter-final hammering at the hands of Derry as he spoke about discussing his continuation with friends and family.
He’s back in though, and that’s good news for Clare as Collins has been excellent. Under his tutelage, the Banner County have retained their Division 2 status since 2017. Coach Brian Carson and strength and conditioning coach Michael Cahill are also back in having been previously involved.
Down coach Mark Doran, who managed Ballybay to the Monaghan title, is an interesting addition to his backroom team, while Joe Hayes is the new goalkeeping coach.
"The man has given so much to Clare football. We know what he brings to the table and what he expects of us," Keelan Sexton told RTÉ Sport.
Cork
Manager: John Cleary
Year: One
Notes: An unfortunate situation in Cork as John Cleary has been appointed permanent manager for next season as Keith Ricken had to step down for health reasons.
Ricken had to step back in the middle of the 2022 season with Cleary stepping in on an interim basis.
"We are certain that he has all the right credentials to lead and further develop the green shoots of recent months," said Cork chairman Marc Sheehan.
Those green shoots included a good Munster performance – for three quarters of the match anyway – against Kerry as well as qualifier wins over Louth and Limerick.
Cleary has been handed a three-year term and former Kevin Walsh is expected to be involved in the Rebel set-up.
James Loughrey, Ray Keane, Mícheál Ó Cróinín and Barry Corkery are also part of the coaching ticket.
Derry
Manager: Rory Gallagher
Year: Four
Notes: Few managers possess a higher stock right now than Rory Gallagher, and he will be hoping to build on a brilliant 2022 that saw the Oakleaf County end their wait for an Ulster title and reach the All-Ireland semi-final.
The Fermanagh native has committed his future to the team, extending his term by three years last October to take him up to 2025.
Derry manager Rory Gallagher reflects on a breakthrough year for his team#rtegaa
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 24, 2022
📺 Watch https://t.co/NcrNtKeU0O pic.twitter.com/tLciHEW6iM
Conor Glass’ return from the AFL has had such a big impact on Gallagher’s time, but any thoughts of Callum Brown doing likewise were crushed at the start of August as he signed a new deal with the GWS Giants.
Dublin
Manager: Dessie Farrell
Year: Four
Notes: Dessie Farrell was stepping away from the Dublin job, the country and its mother apparently knew that around the time that Kerry and Galway were meeting in July’s All-Ireland final.
A number of names had been heavily linked with the job, most notably Declan Darcy who would end up joining Leinster Rugby.
As it happens, that uncertainty over Farrell’s future was misplaced and he was instead handed a two-year extension
Farrell’s three seasons have included an All-Ireland win, an extra-time semi-final loss to Mayo and a one-point semi-final loss to Kerry. They’re right there, despite last year’s relegation to Division 2.
Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey’s return is a hell of a boost, too.
Kildare
Manager: Glenn Ryan
Year: Two
Notes: Ryan’s debut year was a strange one. There were some real high points, like the league win over Dublin and the way they bettered Mayo for the majority of their Croke Park clash, and low points like the concession of five goals to Dublin in the opening 27 minutes of the Leinster final and allowing Mayo to come back in that qualifier game.
Year two will, no doubt, be about trying to find some consistency in the Lilywhite performances.
They’ll have to search for a lot of that without Kevin Feely who ruptured his Achilles tendon in August. Eoin Doyle could make a return though having missed the 2022 season with injury.
In Division 2 this season, and will be targeting an instant return to the top flight.
Limerick
Manager: Ray Dempsey
Year: One
Notes: Ray Dempsey was denied in Mayo, but he quickly bounced back by taking up the role of Limerick manager.
He will replace the outgoing Billy Lee who really took the Treaty County forward, and Division 2 football awaits in 2023.
Dempsey is the second Mayo man to manage Limerick in the last decade with Maurice Horan previously having a stint with the Munster outfit.
An early blow has been the loss of key forward Josh Ryan who broke his tibia in Doon's Limerick SHC loss to Kilmallock.
Louth
Manager: Mickey Harte
Year: Three
Notes: All is going well for Harte in the Wee County and in March his term was extended by two years to bring him up to 2025.
That was no surprise really as in two seasons, the three-time All-Ireland winner with Tyrone has brought Louth from Division 4 to Division 2, with a league final win over Limerick at April in Croke Park putting the cherry on top.
Making a bigger mark in the championship, and Division 2 consolidation, will be the aim in 2023.
Meath
Manager: Colm O’Rourke
Year: One
Notes: A bit of a surprise appointment, not because he was not qualified but because O’Rourke had told RTÉ Sport a few weeks before that he had no interest in the position.
Paul Garrigan, who enjoyed such success with the county’s ladies team, will come in as coach while Stephen Bray and Barry Callaghan will also form part of the team. Eugene Eivers will look after the strength and conditioning while O’Rourke has also said that Seán Boylan would have a role to play too. Former Dublin player Shane Supple will be the goalkeeping coach.
Andy McEntee stepped down after six seasons having failed to reign in Dublin, but with their stock appearing to fall, O’Rourke will be confident of getting back in range.
DIVISION 3
Antrim
Manager: Andy McEntee
Year: One
Notes: After ending a six-year, at times stormy, association with Meath, Andy McEntee was quickly snapped up by Antrim who were looking a replacement for the outgoing Enda McGinley.
It was an appointment out of the blue, and McEntee will hope that a competitive football championship leads to more materials to use with the Saffron County.
John McCloskey and Darren O'Neill, who helped Armagh to the 2002 All-Ireland title, will form part of his backroom team with Terry McCrudden. Brendan Murphy will be in charge of the strength and conditioning while
Former boxing world champion Brian Magee will again be involved in pre-season, having worked with a number of Saffron managers in the past.
McEntee has been handed a three-year spell.
Cavan
Manager: Mickey Graham
Year: Five
Notes: After their Tailteann Cup final loss to Westmeath, Cavan fans were fearing that Mickey Graham’s time in charge had come to an end.
Rumours circulated that he had opted to step aside with links to the Longford post growing. However, despite selector Martin Corey stepping away before eventually joining brother Vinny at Monaghan, Graham was confirmed for a new two-year term.
Former Mayo coach James Burke has replaced Corey and he will join Ryan McMenamin and Seanie Johnston in the backroom team.
All-Star Thomas Galligan is set to spend 2023 in Australia.
Down
Manager: Conor Laverty
Year: One
Notes: Having come close to taking over for the 2021 season, Conor Laverty has now been handed the job of reviving the Mourne County’s fortunes.
James McCartan was set to stay on for another year but a late change of heart saw him exit, and who could blame him in what are lean times for Down football?
Success seems as far away as ever while player buy-in has been suspect in certain cases.
Laverty’s first goal will be unity, and it’s vital he is given time for what will be a long-term project.
Martin Clarke and Declan Morgan will form his backroom team, and they will also oversee the county’s under-20s. Former Derry U20 manager Mickey Donnelly has also been added.
Fermanagh
Manager: Kieran Donnelly
Year: Two
Notes: Fermanagh’s confirmation that Donnelly will continue in the role is of no surprise as it’s clear that the Erne County will need time to move up the food chain.
Donnelly, manager of Omagh CBS at MacRory Cup, would have come up against the St Michael’s, Enniskillen side that claimed the Hogan Cup in 2019, and he’ll continue to oversee their integration into the senior team.
Their Division 3 promotion challenge faded after a controversial draw with Westmeath last season, when Sean Quigley’s point was ruled wide, and they’ll be hoping to make amends in 2023.
The Cullen twins, Lee and Che, have returned to the Erne fold while Tyrone All-Ireland winner Ronan O’Neill is a new addition to the backroom team.
Longford
Manager: Paddy Christie
Year: One
Notes: Former Dublin star Paddy Christie was appointed on a three-year term a month after Billy O’Loughlin stepped down after a year in charge.
Christie has worked with Ballymun Kickhams at club level and DCU at colleges' level. He was in David Power’s backroom team as Tipperary won a first Munster title in 85 years in 2020.
Christie could have been heading to Mayo had Declan Shaw’s ticket been ratified, but now he’ll stay in Leinster with Dessie Sloyan – also on Shaw’s ticket – joining his backroom team along with former Leitrim stalwart James Glancy.
Offaly
Manager: Liam Kearns
Year: One
Notes: After John Maughan’s exit, it was widely accepted that Tomás Ó Sé would move up from coach to the main role, but a change in circumstances saw that ruled out.
In instead comes the experienced Liam Kearns who has previously managed Limerick, Laois and Tipperary. He has agreed a three-year deal.
Portarlington boss Martin Murphy will be a selector along with John Rouse, with Galway's Alan Flynn coming in as a coach. Keith Carr [S&C], Brendan Egan and Paul Fitzgerald will also be involved.
Offaly were unfortunate to be relegated to Division 3 – and the Tailteann Cup – last season as their round seven game with Cork really could have gone either way. Made it to the Tailteann Cup semi-final were they fell to eventual champions Westmeath.
Tipperary
Manager: David Power
Year: Four
Notes: Having originally been appointed on a two-year term ahead of the 2020 season, Power was unsurprisingly handed an extension after leading the Premier County to a first Munster title in 85 years in his debut season.
That means he will be in charge until the end of the 2024 season at least, and they’ll hope to build on last year’s promotion from the bottom tier of the league.
Their Tailteann Cup campaign was disappointing as they fell to Carlow in the first round, and Power will be hoping for a bigger championship showing next season in the new round-robin format.
Westmeath
Manager: Dessie Dolan
Year: One
Notes: Westmeath ended the season on a high after their Tailteann Cup win, but they were hit with a blow as manager Jack Cooney departed to take up a full-time role with the GAA as National Player Development Lead.
Having retired from The Sunday Game recently, Kerry’s Pat Spillane admitted that the Westmeath job is one that would tempt him but it’s another pundit from the show, Dessie Dolan, who has stepped into the breach.
A Lake County legend, Dolan had coached under Cooney but now replaces him for an initial two-year term with an option of a third.
DESSIE DOLAN: IT WAS TOO GOOD OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO PASS UP
John Keane will remain on as coach, and it will be pretty much the same backroom team as before.
Dolan told RTÉ Sport that he did hope to add a high-profile coach to the ticket, too.
DIVISION 4
Carlow
Manager: Niall Carew
Year: Three
Notes: Niall Carew continues as Carlow manager, and he is bringing in former Kildare footballer Eamonn Callaghan as performance coach to boost his backroom team.
Last season’s league campaign was a disappointing one, only Waterford finishing lower, but they rounded their season off in good fashion with a fine Tailteann Cup win over Tipperary before they gave eventual champions Westmeath their fill of it.
A better league showing will be one of the key aims for Carew in 2023.
Laois
Manager: Billy Sheehan
Year: Two
Notes: Billy Sheehan endured a difficult first season as O'Moore County boss with the side dropping into Division 4, losing out to Wicklow in Leinster and seeing their Tailteann Cup campaign end at the first hurdle against Westmeath. The fact that their opponents went on to lift the trophy maybe does soften the blow somewhat.
He reflected afterwards and said that he must shoulder the majority of the blame, so he'll aim to rectify things in 2023.
The Leinster draw pitted them against Wexford with the winner having the unenviable task of facing Dublin.
Leinster SFC 2023 draw 🏐
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 15, 2022
First round
Longford v Offaly
Wicklow v Carlow
Wexford v Laois
Quarter-finals
Kildare v Wicklow/Carlow
Dublin v Wexford/Laois
Meath v Longford/Offaly
Westmeath v Louth
Semi-finals
Kill/Wic/Car v Dub/Wex/Laois
Mea/Long/Off v West/Lou#GAA #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/rctjCCVYQr
Leitrim
Manager: Andy Moran
Year: Two
Notes: With the Mayo position lying vacant, Leitrim acted fast to hand Moran an extension to his original two-year term with the 2017 Footballer of the Year now tied down until 2024.
Moran’s first year brought some positivity. League wins over Tipperary, Waterford and Carlow and Wexford were by a combined 26 points and they opened their Connacht campaign with a win in London.
Mayo trounced them in the semi-final but they responded to beat Antrim in the Tailteann Cup before Sligo defeated them on penalties.
His number two Mike Solan had applied for the Mayo job but he will remain with Leitrim after being unsuccessful in that particular pursuit. Luke Bree, who worked with Roscommon in 2022, has been added to the management ticket along with Moran, Solan and Barry McWeeney.
London
Manager: Michael Maher
Year: Four
Notes: Michael Maher is back on the horse in London with a two-year extension agreed at the start of September.
It’s undoubtedly one of the more difficult jobs in Gaelic, given their location and the travelling issues even for players to make training in the English capital, but Maher brings real enthusiasm to the role.
The Exiles looked good for a promotion push from Division 4 last year after opening with one-point wins over Carlow and Waterford and a two-point win over Leitrim, but they’d lose four in-a-row from there.
It’s set to be another tight and competitive division, and Maher will expect his team to be pushing hard.
Sligo
Manager: Tony McEntee
Year: Three
Notes: The 2002 All-Ireland winner moves in to the third year of his three-year term, and in July an optional fourth season was added that will be discussed at the end of the 2023 season.
The Armagh man’s second season in charge could have ended in disaster though as they just about got out of the Bronx after extra-time on a day when New York’s shooting cost them a famous win.
After Roscommon were too strong in the semi-final, McEntee’s young panel made it to the Tailteann Cup last four after wins over London – after extra-time – and Leitrim, after penalties. They gave heavy favourites Cavan a real rattle at Croke Park before exiting, so there are signs that they can make a move in 2023.
Waterford
Manager: Ephie Fitzgerald
Year: Two
Notes: The former Cork ladies boss is preparing for the second year of his initial two-year term and he will be hoping for an improvement on a trying first season in charge.
The Déise finished bottom of the league and their season came to an end after championship losses to Tipperary [Munster Championship] and Wicklow [Tailteann Cup].
He’ll be hoping for much better after that bedding in season.
Wexford
Manager: John Hegarty
Year: One
Notes: John Hegarty makes the step up to the county scene after his good work with Shelmaliers, although they did suffer a surprise county final loss to Castletown this season.
With that garnering a lot of his focus in recent weeks, Hegarty's Wexford backroom team has yet to be fully assembled.
The Model County face Laois in Leinster with the winner facing Dublin, but the immediate focus will be trying to put together a promotion push from Division 4.
Wicklow
Manager: Oisín McConville
Year: One
Notes: An appointment right out of left field as the Armagh legend takes his first steps into senior inter-county management.
McConville had been part of Ray Dempsey’s unsuccessful Mayo ticket, and quickly hooked up with the Garden County after that rejection. He told RTÉ that he had previously met with Wicklow but, at the time, it did not work out to due to family commitments.
MCCONVILLE: TAILTEANN CUP KEY FOR WICKLOW
Joe Cawley, his trusted lieutenant at a number of clubs, will travel with him while Gary Duffy and Paul Kelly [both selectors], Eimear Kelly (S&C) and Des Jennings [performance coach] will also be there.
Connacht Championship
New York
Manager: Johnny McGeeney
Year: Two
Notes: New York do not play in the Allianz League so they will instead be preparing for their Connacht opener against Leitrim. Win that, and a semi-final against London or Sligo, and Johnny McGeeney's side will be in the All-Ireland Championship rather than the Tailteann Cup next year.
McGeeney will have the same backroom team as last season with the exception of former Cavan goalkeeper Alan O'Mara who has stepped away.
The Culloville native is one of four Armagh inter-county managers alongside Kieran McGeeney [Armagh], Tony McEntee [Sligo] and Oisín McConville [Wicklow]. Aidan O'Rourke is also the new head coach in Donegal.
