Sligo GAA this evening (Tuesday 1 August, 2023) confirmed that Senior football team manager Tony McEntee will continue in the role for 2024, activating the option for an additional one year which was agreed between the Armagh man and the County Board last year.

2024 will be McEntee’s fourth year with Sligo. He will be joined again by Assistant Manager Joe Keane. It is expected that the rest of the Management team will continue in role. The Manager and his colleagues will be watching club championship games over the next two months.

After a difficult opening year, 2021, where the full impact of Covid left the team exposed in a shortened league and straight knock out championship, the second and third years under McEntee have seen the team progress very significantly, reaching the latter stages of the Tailteann Cup in 2022, the Connacht final in 2023 and winning Division Four of the National League in 2023.

The agreement to work together for another year follows an extensive review of 2023 that involved players, management and the County Board. Chairman Sean Carroll said, “the review was very thorough and detailed. We want to thank both the management and the players for their time and thoughts. Between us all we recognise that to progress further requires improving every aspect of the team’s work, on and off the field – our standards have to be higher. The work of the past number of weeks has focussed on getting everyone involved aligned and working together well ahead of the start of next season. We are pleased to have that all tied down ahead of the start of the club championship in three weeks’ time”.

Sligo GAA has also confirmed that Connacht championship winning U20 football team manager Paul Henry will be continuing in the role for a second year and that the option of third year for Henry and his coaching team with the U20s has been agreed.

The Curry man will continue to have Enda Mitchell of Coolera Strandhill as his head coach and will be retaining the core of his management team which will also supervise Sligo’s work with a development squad for 18- and 19-year-olds that don’t make the final U20 squad in the coming year.

Chairman Carroll continued “We are very fortunate to have access to the calibre of coaching and leadership that Paul and his team brough to this year’s U20 player group, building on the excellent work done over the preceding three years by Dessie Sloyan and his management group. While winning trophies is a huge boost, we are also looking with our age group teams to progress a number of players every year to be ready to compete for places in the ranks of the senior team, something that is progressing well and we wish Paul and his team the very best in that work”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Shamrock Gaels 1-12 St. Farnan’s 0-17

With both sides welcoming back players from county duty, the visit of St Farnans to Coola offered the prospect of an entertaining evening from two clubs long associated with attacking football.

It didn’t quite turn out that way and although their respective county players had a significant impact on the game, it was mostly in the accurate conversion of frees by David Quinn and Paddy O’Connor in a game that never had any flow to it.

The visitors in the end took the spoils and the valuable three points that now applies for league games from this stage on in the competition after coming from six behind to take the spoils back to west Sligo.

The home side had the better start and opened the scoring with the game’s first point free from the talismanic Quinn.

The hard-working Tomas Cawley replied with a point from play before Shane Deignan found the net for Shamrock Gaels with a well worked goal from their kickout.

Finnian Cawley and Quinn traded a point each before Fionn Connolly replaced James Golden as a blood substitute for St. Farnan's. 

The home side were still in the ascendancy and might have had a second Deignan but the shot was deflected for a 45" which was duly converted by Quinn.

A further Quinn point gave his side a strong lead, 1-5 to 0-2 going into the second which reflected St. Farnan's struggle to cope with the movement of the Shamrock Gaels forward line who were supplemented by Dillon Mc Dermott and Ciaran Kenny adding to their forwards’ efforts.

As the game rolled past the 20-minute mark however, the visitors did begin to get a foothold with three unanswered points from Patrick O’Connor, Finnian Cawley and Mattie Lang to reduce the deficit to a goal.

Shamrock Gaels replied with two consecutive points to again increase their lead but points from Thomas Cawley and a brace from O'Connor finished out the half for St. Farnan's to leave the half time score at 1-7 to 0-8 in favour of the Gaels.

After the break Shamrock Gaels looked to pick up the momentum but Sligo U20 midfielder Conor Sheridan had an early goal chance blocked.

It was all going the way of the home side though and despite a number of changes in personnel by the St Farnan’s, including the introduction of Eamonn Kilgannon who has been studying abroad, the Gaels continued to add to their total with three Quinn points from frees and Deignan adding one from play to leave the score at 1-12 to 0-9 halfway through the second half.

From there though, the momentum swing as St. Farnan's showed the strength of their attack to finish strongly.  O'Connor and the Cawley brothers Finnian and Tomas aided by substitute Fionn Connolly gained the upper hand and reduced the deficit to two points.

Although St. Farnan's lost the returning Kilgannon to injury his teammates sensed that there was more to get and when Martin Mulligan fisted a point to reduce the deficit to a single point it was anyone’s game.

The equaliser followed from an O’Connor free for a foul on Finnian Cawley and he repeated the act after James Golden was fouled to give his side the lead for the first time as the game ticked into added time.

Shamrock Gaels had a chance to equalise, but the shot was sent wide and the last word of the day was a fourth point of the evening for Tomas Cawley to give St. Farnan's a victory that would have seemed unlikely for much of the evening but was well-earned in the end.

Shamrock Gaels: Adam Kearns; Shane Barry, Evan Lyons, Ben Tuohy; Ciarán O' Connell, Liam O' Connell, Ciarán Kenny (0-1); Paul Higgins, Dillon McDermott; Conor Sheridan, Stephen Willis, Conor Mc Morrow; Shane Deignan(1-1), Dylan Willis(0-1), David Quinn (0-9(7f, 45').

Subs used: Oisín Conlon,  Darragh Hailstones,  Johnny Quinn.

St. Farnan's: Simon Mullarkey; Conor Gordon, Trevor Kilgannon, Ronan Molloy; Shane O'Brien, Ciarán O'Connor, Shane Molloy; Martin Mulligan (0-1), Kevin Mc Gee;  Finnian Cawley (0-2), Patrick O'Connor (0-9(8f), Mattie Lang; Thomas Cawley (0-4,1m), James Golden, Stephen Mulligan. 

Subs used: Niall Hallinan, Fionn Connolly,  Eamonn Kilgannon,  Mark Devaney. 

Referee: Keith Henry 

Dublin 3-23 Sligo 0-8

Sligo senior footballers season ended with a disappointing reverse against Dublin at Cavan’s Kingspan Breffni on Sunday last with the Leinster champions delivering a comprehensive display to outscore the Yeats County by 24 points.

In a game that not even the most optimistic Sligo fan expected to win, Dublin absorbed Sligo’s’ early energy before delivering a master class in movement and finishing to win at their ease to secure an automatic place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

While Sligo will have many highlights to savour from the current season, this game won’t contribute much to the reel. It did however open brightly and after Paddy Small got the game’s first point from play with a free, Darragh Cummins equalised for Sligo after a strong run up the right flank.

Colm Basquel and Niall Murphy exchanged points before Sean Carrabine put Sligo ahead after 13 minutes.

Paul McNamara was then unlucky to see his effort for a point come off an upright. It rebounded into play and into Dublin arms to start a move the length of the field that ended with Con O’Callaghan palming to the net for the first goal of the game.

Pat Spillane opened up the Dublin defence with a great run but saw his shot go just wide of Stephen Cluxton’s goal.

Dublin then proceeded to add 6 points without reply with Small (2), Sean Bugler, O’Callaghan (2), Lee Gannon before Carrabine pointed a free for Sligo on 31 minutes.

The Dublin response was to hit five more points – two from O’Callaghan and one each from Basquel, Gannon and Bolger to go into the break twelve points ahead 1-13 to 0-4.

When Sligo last played Dublin in championship in 2001, their opponents hit them for 2-2 in a burst of early first half scores. History repeated itself on Sunday as Basquel pointed two minutes into the second half and then finished Dublin's second goal of a mazy solo run that mesmerised the Sligo defence. Brian Howard then hit a point before another Basquel run from deep set up Eoin Murchan to palm to the net to move the score on to  3-15 to 0-4, 7 minutes into the half.

With the game long over as a contest, Dublin had the luxury of withdrawing  key figures like James McCarthy, John Small and O'Callaghan and giving run to the returning Paul Mannion and Jack McCaffrey.  They outscored Sligo by eight points to four with Gannon (2), O’Callaghan, Paddy Small (2) Mannion (2) and Basquel on the mark. Sligo had points from Carrabine (2), Paddy O’Connor and Murphy whose second point was the last kick of the game as the heavens opened.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; D Newcombe, M Fitzsimons, E Murchan (1-0); B Howard (0-1), J Small (0-1), L Gannon (0-3); B Fenton, J McCarthy; N Scully, S Bugler (0-2), C Kilkenny (0-1); P Small (0-5, 3 f), C O'Callaghan (1-5), C Basquel (1-3, 1 f).

Subs: T Lahiff for McCarthy (46); C Murphy for J Small & P Mannion (0-2) for Scully (50); L O'Dell for O'Callaghan (53); J McCaffrey for Murchan (59).

SLIGO: A Devaney; L Nicholson, B Cox, E Lyons; L Towey, J Lavin, P McNamara,; C Lally, P Kilcoyne; D Cummins (0-1), A Reilly, F Cawley; P Spillane, S Carrabine (0-4, 2f, 1 45), N Murphy (0-2).

Subs: M Gordon for Towey (29); G O'Kelly Lynch for Lally (50); M Walsh for Cummins (51); P O'Connor (0-1) for Reilly (52); K Cawley for Lavin (61).

Referee: N Cullen (Fermanagh).