Influential club manager Joe Kernan has announced he will be stepping down as football manager of Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club.
After eight years in control of the Co Armagh side, Kernan has opted to spend more time with his family. He has also ruled out the possibility of taking control of another team.
Kernan - who guided Crossmaglen to All-Ireland club glory in 1997, 1999 and 2000 and to five county SFC titles - is widely regarded as one of the shrewdest club managers of his generation.
But many will pin-point Crossmaglen’s shock defeat in the earlier rounds of this season’s Ulster championship as a crucial factor in Kernan’s decision to retire.
Crossmaglen had been such a supreme force on the club scene that last October’s defeat to Castleblaney was scarcely believable.
Kernan had offered his resignation after that defeat but club officials urged him to stay on.
Meanwhile, referee Willie Barrett will be out of action for several weeks after sustaining an injury at the weekend.
Barrett, who refereed last year’s All-Ireland hurling final, suffered ligament damage after he was struck on the ankle following the throw-in of the Senior Hurling match between Tipperary and Waterford at Clonmel.