At tonight’s county committee meeting at Austin Stack Park, Tralee, Jack O’Connor (Piarsaigh na Dromoda) was named manager of the Kerry under-21 football team for the next two years in succession to Darragh Ó Sé.
This will be O'Connor’s second involvement with the under-21s, having served as a selector under the late Paidí Ó Sé, during which time Kerry defeated Mayo in the 1995 final, before subsequently taking over as manager and winning two All-Irelands.
The first victory came in 1996 with Seamus MacGearailt as coach when Cavan were defeated, and two years later in 1998 with Johnny Culloty as coach when the Kingdom defeated Laois.
Currently manager of the Kerry minor team, O'Connor’s entire focus will be on that team for the duration of this year's U-18 championship.
His appointment as under-21 manager at this stage is to oversee the putting in place of a programme of strength and conditioning for the Kerry under-20 development squad in conjunction with the county’s coaching and games committee.
O'Connor will name his under-21 management team once his tenure with the minor team comes to an end.
O'Connor has had two stints as manager of the Kerry senior team, guiding them to All-Ireland glory in 2004, 2006, and 2009, completing league and championship doubles in those years.
His appointment as Kerry minor manager last year resulted in Kerry’s first All-Ireland title in that grade since 1994 with victory over Donegal last September.
