GAA DUBLIN HURLING MANAGER: Tom Humphriesbelieves Dublin have chosen wisely in the appointment of the experienced and charismatic Anthony Daly on a two-year contract

THIS EVENING the Dublin County Board will ratify Anthony Daly as the next manager of the Dublin hurling side, thus putting a surprisingly speedy end to what has been an otherwise prolonged process to find a replacement for Tommy Naughton who resigned from the post some time ago.

For a county which has been pushing hard with its underage development programmes for the guts of this decade it is a key appointment and represents a major boost for morale in that Daly brings to the job credible experience in the business of transforming a side from backwater fodder to champions in a short space of time.

He becomes manager in a structure designed to give him a huge amount of influence in the direction of adult hurling in the city, thus fulfilling the county board's wish to build an adult section in line with their progressive underage system.

After several attempts to woo candidates living a little closer to the city, the Dublin County Board made contact with Daly just seven days ago and were surprised to find him interested.

Both parties met last Tuesday and Daly, having discussed the matter with is wife and having presumably examined the implications for his business interests (he is a publican and owns a sports shop in Ennis), agreed to take the position for a two-year period.

At 38, Daly has enjoyed a high public profile for some time having captained Clare to All Ireland glory twice.

He then managed at the top level (2003-'05) with some success given that Clare were deemed to be in a transitional period at the time.

He is a familiar face too from his appearances as a respected pundit on RTÉ's The Sunday Game. His pedigree stretches back to his Harty Cup and All-Ireland Colleges-winning exploits with St Flannan's of Clare in 1987 through a distinguished playing career when he was one third of a celebrated Clare half-back line composed of himself, Seanie McMahon and Liam Doyle.

Having made his debut for Clare in 1990, he captained the county from 1992 until his retirement in 2000, a tenure which encompassed his side's rise to dominance under first Len Gaynor and then Ger Loughnane.

Apart from captaining two All-Ireland-winning sides, he was a key figure through the summer of 1998, perhaps the most turbulent and controversial in the county's history.

He retired after the 2000 championship with three Munster championship medals, two All-Ireland medals and three All Stars.

The esteem he was held in was such that he was invited back just three years later to manage the team he had played for.

He experienced, as he bluntly noted himself, the odd kick in the backside but in 2005 his young Clare team led Cork by six points in an All-Ireland semi-final before succumbing late on.

He resigned soon after the defeat.

Daly tells a couple of stories about Clare making the Munster hurling final of 1993.

His brother Paschal, who has since passed on, was home from England and the night before the game the Dalys had a family party at home.

The following day the team went to the Greenhills hotel before the game and Daly, having arranged a car pass for his family, had them come out to the hotel to get it.

He remembers going out to the family who were having their match-day drinks and staying chatting with them.

Later that day he was on the team destroyed by Tipperary. Two years later he was an All-Ireland -winning captain having learned the million small lessons needed to cross the Rubicon.

It is that awareness of the possible and what is required that he takes with him into the Dublin job.