While the announcement came out of the blue earlier this week, it was no surprise to see Mickey Harte leave his post as Derry manager in recent weeks.
The Ulster county had experienced an incredible disappointing campaign, one that fell well short of expectations after their strong run of form during the league. After coming up well short in their provincial opener against Donegal, they would go on to lose two of their three All-Ireland round robin fixtures.
A penalty shootout win over Mayo would follow in their preliminary quarter-final, although they would then be soundly beaten by Kerry.
There had been rumours of unrest in the Derry camp during the championship, meaning that Harte's departure after their championship exit seemed likely.
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Brolly Throws Cheeky Dig At Mickey Harte Motives After Derry Exit
The appointment of Mickey Harte as Derry manager was a controversial move at the time, with many unconvinced by the decision to appoint the Tyrone legend. Joe Brolly was one of the most vocal critics of his arrival, something that never really subsided over the months that followed.
He greeted the news of Harte's exit with a hilarious response on social media, discussing the matter once again on his podcast this week.
Speaking on the Free State podcast, he questioned the appointment of presumably paid outside managers in Derry and gave a cheeky prediction as to where Mickey Harte might end up next.
The most important thing is the health of our GAA community, not this short-termism which is very damaging and sends us down a very disloyal path.
I hope someone is paying attention here. The Derry GAA board is not the not the board of Derry City soccer club, we're not a League of Ireland club.
Their preoccupation must be the wider health of the Derry GAA community, loyalty, togetherness, community. That doesn't include paid outside managers who have absolutely no interest in the long-term good of out community...
I wish Mickey well as the next Carlow manager, no doubt he will be a massive success there.
No doubt there are some very generous car dealers in the Carlow area who will be able to provide himself and Gavin [Devlin] with some state of the art transport.
That's it. Gaelic games cannot be privatised, that's what some of these county boards are trying to do. They are trying to privatise what we do, they are commodifying it. They are saying 'we will bring in X because X done well elsewhere, and we will pay him'.
The salaries are increasing, they are going out of control. That is all money that could otherwise be going into the Derry GAA community.
It seems as though Joe Brolly certainly has some questions about Harte's motivations for taking the Derry job in the first instance.
In any case, it it clear that he would be keen to see their next inter-county manager appointment come from within the county.
SEE ALSO: Five Contenders In The Running To Replace Mickey Harte As Derry Manager
