Finnerty calls for Lynskey to lead Galway in 2020
Former Galway star Peter Finnerty has endorsed U20 manager Jeff Lynskey to succeed Micheál Donoghue as county manager.
As the hurling board gave the go-ahead on Monday evening to consult with the players about the vacant managerial position, five-time All Star Finnerty warnsed that ultimate responsibility for such an appointment must still rest with GAA officials.
After attempts to persuade Donoghue’s selectors Francis Forde and Noel Larkin to reconsider their decisions to be interviewed for the position and work with county board chairman Pat Kearney failed this past weekend, a new representative group has been charged with recommending a manager.
Finnerty has looked on with dismay at how far Galway have fallen, off the pitch, since their 2017 All-Ireland success.
“Brian Cody uses the word ‘we’. He never uses the word ‘them’ when he’s talking about the county board, he never uses the word ‘them’ when he’s talking about the supporters. It’s all one combined effort and whether you’re a supporter, or a player, or a sponsor you’ve a stake in Kilkenny hurling.
“We have to start working together like that in Galway. We have been working against each other for far too long. We have won only one All-Ireland in 30 years and we have gone as far back in the last two years since that All-Ireland as we have done in a long, long time.”
Finnerty believes Lynskey, who led the county to minor All-Irelands in 2015, ’17, and ’18, is the best candidate to replace Donoghue.
He won three All-Ireland minor titles, and most of the time with the underdog tags. He has knowledge of underage players. I know from playing three years at minor that the character of a lad at the age of 16 or 17 is the same 10 years later. A young man’s character is in him and you can’t change it.
"You can make him more skilful, more powerful, and do all these things, but his desire and his wish to beat you is there from the first day and you can’t change that. Lynskey knows the character of every young fella that has played under him.
“People might question if he has done enough to go into the cauldron of senior management. Maybe he needs Noel Larkin, Franny Forde, or somebody like that [alongside him] but he knows more about the youth of Galway hurling than anybody. Larkin and the boys know all about the present team, but how many new players have we found? None.
"Where are they going to come from? They’re going to come from a pool that Jeffrey Lynskey has already managed, coached, and brought along and many of them he has been successful with at All-Ireland level.”
He continued: “I don’t know if his relationship with some people on the board has affected him, but I think there is a lot of that in Galway — you’re either on one side or the other and that is never going to work in any set-up.”
Finnerty insists Galway U20s’ Leinster semi-final loss to Kilkenny shouldn’t be held against Lynskey and asserts the need for new blood in the senior group.
“Conor Hayes has spoken about the need for continuity as to what we’re doing, and he’s right. I don’t think we need somebody to come from outside. I don’t think anybody is going to come from outside. We don’t need a new gospel being preached. Galway are in the top three or four still, and the last thing we want to do is alter what has been working.
“We need to improve what has been done right and, you know, the candle has been burning quickly for a lot of the players as well. We have a few that have played in four or five All-Ireland finals and they can’t stay going much longer and they need help with the young lads.
“That’s why my theory is centred around Lynskey. I’ve no alliance with him, but he seemed to be chastised too much about the U20s’ defeat. Anybody can get it wrong on the day but if you look at his track record, it’s impressive.”
Finnerty, however, warns against players having too much say in the process.
“I agree the players should have some input into it, and there is a players’ committee there who will be asked what they would expect and like. But the players should not pick the manager. The manager, whoever it is, can be consulted by them and hear what they wish and see if he can work to that, but at the end of the day, it’s the hurling board who should decide.
“The players did that before with Ger (Loughnane). They wanted Ger and it didn’t work out that rosy for us. I’m not blaming Ger or anybody else, but when you put that onus on the players in return you expect victory for it and if we lose we can use them as scapegoats.”
