Football

Derry GAA drop plans to reappoint Rory Gallagher to county management team

Moves to have former boss included in team headed by former player Enda Muldoon have been shelved

Derry's Rory Gallagher (right) with Enda Muldoon. Derry are big favourites to progress in Ulster at the expense of Fermanagh
Rory Gallagher (right) will not be part of Derry management team headed by Enda Muldoon

DERRY will not proceed with plans to propose a return for Rory Gallagher at tonight’s executive committee meeting, The Irish News understands.

With the search for Mickey Harte’s successor coming up on four months tomorrow, attention had turned once more back to Gallagher as part of a team headed by Enda Muldoon.

It had been expected that the proposed ticket would be put before the 13-person executive this evening where they would have voted on whether to recommend it to the clubs at a full county board meeting.

But The Irish News understands that those plans have now been shelved again.

Gallagher had been considered for a return both last summer and in the early part of this summer’s search for Harte’s replacement.

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Derry had initially ruled him out but amid a prolonged and fruitless search for a new boss, attention had turned back to Gallagher.

He managed Derry to an Ulster title in 2022 before stepping down on the eve of the 2023 following allegations of domestic abuse made by his ex-wife Nicola.

It’s believed the plan involved Gallagher rejoining the setup under former Derry stalwart Muldoon in a reversal of the roles they held during Gallagher’s time as manager.

Derry’s executive are due to meet tonight but a management that includes Gallagher will not be proposed at the meeting, The Irish News has learned.