Derry announce new hurling manager after Dominic McKinley and Cormac Donnelly step down

McGarvey’s appointment is expected to be ratified at Derry GAA’s January meeting with the new man having precious little time to prepare his squad for the rigours of a tough looking Allianz National League Division 2A campaign which gets under way on Saturday, February 4th with the visit of Kerry to Celtic Park.

Last season McGarvey, who was in charge of his own club Lavey for eight seasons, took Rasharkin to the Antrim Junior final and he possesses a wealth of knowledge about Oak Leaf hurling. He has considerable shoes to fill though in the form of McKinley and Donnelly who secured promotion to Division 2A for Derry thanks to a 1-23 to 2-15 victory over Sligo in Ederney last April,

This season represents a real baptism of fire though with league fixtures against Offaly, Kildare, Down and Carlow to follow that Kerry opener.

A statement on the Derry GAA website said McKinley and Donnelly had previously indicated that they were stepping down ahead of the 2023 season.

“Derry GAA would like to sincerely thank Dominic McKinley, Cormac Donnelly and their management team for their efforts over the past two years, which saw Derry seniors hurlers promoted to Division 2A of the Allianz NHL and qualify for the Christy Ring Cup final in 2021,” read the statement.

McGarvey is expected to waste little time shaping his squad, with little over four weeks to prepare to welcome last year’s beaten Joe McDonagh Cup finalists on February 4th.