ROSCOMMON HAVE RECRUITED a former Laois and Limerick manager to be part of the back room team for their senior footballers for the 2015 season.
Liam Kearns will link up in a role to assist his fellow Kerry native John Evans, who is the manager of the Connacht side. Roscommon won the Division 3 football league title this year before losing to Mayo in the Connacht semi-final and to Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Kearns was previously in charge of Limerick where he steered the county’s U21 football side to Munster glory and they also contested the All-Ireland final in 2000. In 2003 and 2004, he brought Limerick to the Munster senior football finals but they lost out to Kerry on both occasions.
The Tralee native took over Laois when Mick O’Dwyer stepped down in 2006 and remained at the helm until 2008. In 2010, Kearns guided Aherlow to the Tipperary senior football title and he has also been involved with UL Sigerson Cup teams in recent years.
Kearns new role was confirmed today by Roscommon GAA while it also emerged that the county will have new U21 and minor football managers next year. Strokestown’s Mark Dowd, who steered Mayo club Ballaghaderreen to the 2012 AIB Connacht senior football final, will take over the U21′s.
Dowd was a selector when the Roscommon minors won the All-Ireland football title in 2006 and when the county’s senior side claimed Connacht honours in 2010. He has been appointed for a two-year term and succeeds Nigel Dineen who enjoyed tremendous success. Under Dineen’s tutelage, Roscommon reached the 2012 and 2014 All-Ireland U21 football finals.
It was also announced at last night’s county board meeting that Fergal O’Donnell was stepping down as the county minor boss. O’Donnell famously led Roscommon to All-Ireland glory in this grade eight years ago while his second term over the last two years has seen Roscommon featured in the All-Ireland minor semi-final last year and the All-Ireland quarter-final this year.
