George O'Connor has ruled himself out of contention to succeed Joachim Kelly as Wexford senior hurling manager. O'Connor has not been involved at club or county levels since he retired after winning an All-Ireland senior medal in 1996 having given close to 20 years of service to Wexford.
O'Connor said he would not rule himself out of contention for the future, but a young family and the demands of his farm were his priorities at present.
Jack Berry, who figured in the controversial county board debate surrounding Kelly last Monday week, when Enniscorthy Rapparees delegate Paddy O'Sullivan described the appointment of Joachim Kelly "as a last resort", has also ruled himself out.
Both declarations point to another difficult period for the sub-committee responsible for finding a new management team. Wexford's disappointing exit from the championship won't have made the prospect of taking charge any more enticing and the difficulties the county experienced in finding a manager before Kelly have been well publicised in recent weeks. The county board are due to meet to discuss the issue early next week.
Meanwhile, suspended Leitrim defender Colin Regan has issued another statement relating to the violent incident during the Connacht semi-final against Roscommon. The Melvin Gaels player asserts that Francie Grehan did not use verbal intimidation to incite him prior to the incident between the two players. Regan was caught on camera striking the Roscommon attacker and subsequently received a two-month suspension, causing him to miss next week's final against Galway. Recent speculation had been that Regan had become incensed after a series of verbal taunts about his religion.
In the statement, he says comments made on national television and provincial radio were made "without consent or authorisation". He has already publicly apologised for the incident.
The GAA have confirmed that a small number of stand and terrace tickets for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling quarter-final double bill will be on sale today from the ticket office at the rear of the New Stand (the old Cusack) from 11.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. They are priced at £15.00 and £8.00.
