Rory Gallagher has been ratified as Donegal senior football manager tonight, as the November meeting of the Donegal county committee was brought forward by three days.
Gallagher had been the bookies' favourite to succeed Jim McGuinness. As of today he was co-manager of Kilcar GAA, along with John McNulty of the recent Seanad by-election controversy. A native of Belleek and a former inter-county player with Fermanagh, Gallagher currently lives in Killybegs and was assistant to McGuinness during the victorious 2012 All-Ireland campaign. He expressed his interest in taking the top job a fortnight ago.
Declan Bonner is expected to be offered a second term as Donegal minor manager after he guided the 2014 crop to an agonising one-point loss to Kerry in the Croke Park curtain-raiser. Maxi Curran is expected to remain in charge of the under-21s.
A statement made by the county board said:
Rory Gallagher brings experience and knowledge of the squad as a former selector of the 2012 All-Ireland winning team,
Rory is appointed for a three-year term with the option for a forth-year available.
Donegal GAA look forward to working with Rory and his backroom team and aim to keep Donegal competing at the top level.