The St Mary's coach Brent Pope will part company with the club after this weekend's final round of matches in the AIB All-Ireland League.
The Kiwi, a familiar figure in Irish rugby circles thanks to his role with RTÉ sport, which will continue, feels he has taken the club as far as possible.
"The split is totally amicable," stressed Pope. "I've been here five years and a change is needed, from both parties. I have not had a down time in 10 years and I feel I need to freshen up in order to focus on my health and other aspects of life."
The decision comes on the eve of the club's crunch relegation showdown with Galwegians in Crowley Park. If Dolphin beat Blackrock in Cork and St Mary's lose, their 14-year involvement in Division One will end.
"In my first year with Mary's we had to beat Instonians, away, to stay up. In my time, they have always been in Division One and I would like to leave them there when I'm gone," said Pope.
Pope first joined St Mary's in 1991, playing for three seasons before becoming player-coach of Clontarf, who he took from Division Three to the top tier.
In the 1999-2000 season he returned to Templeville Road to lead St Mary's to their solitary league triumph (in fact, they are the only Leinster club to have won the title).
Thereafter, with the growing emphasis on provincial rugby, the role of the league-club manager became increasingly difficult as clubs began to lose all their top players.
"It has been very frustrating," continued Pope, "but it's been like that for a lot of clubs. Once I won it, I was delighted to push the young guys through. Recently we've seen Ciaran Potts, Shane Jennings and Conor McPhillips move up to the provinces."
No decision has been made on a successor to Pope at St Mary's, the obvious priority being survival, but the club will seek an Irish replacement, ideally from within.
Pope has been contacted by some other clubs and is keen to remain involved in coaching, with an eye on development: "My forte has been rebuilding a club and I would like to continue that in some capacity."
Also, he will still organise an annual trip to New Zealand for developing Irish players.
