Saffron legend Neil McManus is on board as Davy Fitzgerald names his Antrim hurling management team.
McManus worked as a pundit for both RTÉ and the BBC last year having retired from inter-county hurling last winter.
He enjoyed a seventeen year career as an Antrim hurler and still lines out with his club Ruairí Óg Cushendall, playing a key part in their run to last year's All-Ireland club semi-final, where they narrowly lost to Kilkenny's O'Loughlin Gaels.
The 36-year-old is the performance coach on Fitzgerald's ticket which includes Waterford native Pat Bennett, McManus' former Antrim and Ruairí Óg team-mate Arron Graffin and Paudie Shivers, the county's ex-under-20 boss.
Antrim Senior Hurling Manager Davy Fitzgerald, has this evening announced his backroom coaching team.
Coach/Team Selection – Pat Bennett, Arron Graffin, Paudie Shivers
Sports Performance Coach – Neil McManus
Best of luck for the season ahead #Saffrons2025 🟡⚪️ pic.twitter.com/EkbMVgzLdz
— Antrim GAA (@AontroimGAA) August 28, 2024
Bennett is the father of Waterford hurlers Stephen and Shane and is the manager of Wexford club Ferns St Aidans, who he won a county title with in 2022.
He has been involved in Fitzgerald's backroom staff with a number of teams including Wexford and Waterford during Fitzgerald's first tenure, having also managed his home club Ballysaggart to county titles.
Like McManus, Graffin also retired in recent times and he now works as player development manager with the GPA while Dunloy native Shivers managed the under-20s up until the end of 2022.
Fitzgerald takes over from Tipperary's Darren Gleeson who had been at the helm for five years, winning two Joe McDonagh Cups and a Division 2 Allianz League title in 2020. Gleeson has since taken over Laois as manager.
It came as a surprise to some when Fitzgerald decided to step away from Waterford, having managed the Déise for two years, narrowly missing out on qualification from the Munster hurling championship this summer.
