O Flatharta gets Galway job
Tomas O Flatharta has been appointed as the new Galway senior football manager, following a board meeting in Loughgeorge last night.
The Kerryman got the nod from the five-man sub-committee, set up to find a successor to Joe Kernan, and was then ratified by club delegates on a 33-6 vote.
O Flatharta, who previously managed Westmeath, has been given a three-year term out west, which includes an annual review.
He beat off competition from fellow interviewees including Annaghdown manager Matt Duggan, Galway minor boss Gerry Fahy and former All-Ireland winning selector Peter Warren.
There had been widespread speculation that Warren, who assisted John O'Mahony when Galway won the All-Ireland SFC title in 1998 and 2001, would be appointed. O Flatharta's selection ahead of him is understood to have angered a number of delegates.
The new manager learned last night of Galway's draw for the 2011 Connacht Championship. The Tribesmen received a bye into the semi-finals, where they will face either London or arch rivals Mayo.
Before that, O Flatharta will have to negotiate a tough National League campaign which includes three trips to Ulster and a floodlit encounter with Kerry in his native county.
