Aidan O’Rourke will remain as the interim Donegal manager until the end of the 2023 championship.
In the wake of Paddy Carr’s resignation, O’Rourke filled the role of stand-in manager for Donegal’s final league game against Roscommon last Sunday. The Armagh native had been part of Carr’s backroom team this season and he will now stay at the helm for the remainder of the campaign.
Donegal GAA stated: “Aidan O’Rourke will continue as interim manager and head coach of the Donegal Senior Squad for the Ulster Championship and for the 2023 All-Ireland series. Paddy Bradley will assist Aidan. CLG Dhún na nGall are also delighted to welcome Antoin McFadden as Strength and Conditioning coach.”
Donegal will begin their Ulster championship campaign with a provincial quarter-final against Down in Newry on April 23rd.
The year it all worked out: Brian Lohan on Clare’s All-Ireland deliverance
Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards: ‘The greatest collection of women in Irish sport in one place ever assembled’
Malachy Clerkin: After 27 years of being ignored by British government, some good news at last for Seán Brown’s family
Two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2024
Speaking after the defeat to Roscommon last weekend, O’Rourke was uncertain as to whether he would be staying on beyond that Hyde Park encounter.
“It’s hard to know where your head would be at,” he said. “Look, I undertook to coach the team this year, working with Paddy at the outset and there was a backroom team built around it, that dynamic has changed this week and there are a lot of moving parts in all of that.
“To be straight, I don’t know where my head would be at at the minute, I didn’t focus on anything bar trying to get this game played and try get a performance out of them, which didn’t happen.
“It has been sort of a tumultuous environment for the last number of weeks, or whatever. This week was really about just keep moving them forward because it was quite a sort of chaotic and emotionally tough week for everybody, Paddy most of all.
“When Paddy asked us to take the boys as far as today, it was difficult to do that. But ultimately we were asked to do a job with the Donegal senior team and to not finish the league out would have been really difficult and Paddy, in particular, felt that should be done in terms of the commitment that was given at the start of the year.”
