This time of year can often see an interesting merry-go-round of managerial appointments in the club game, with some big names taking up new roles ahead of the 2026 season.
While inter-county appointments would have been sorted well before this point, many club gigs remain unfilled as we enter the new year. However, those jobs will start to fill up as we approach the start of various county leagues over the coming weeks.
One Derry club are now set to make an incredibly eye-catching appointment.
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Derry Club Pull Off Major Coup By Appointing All-Ireland Winning Manager
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Gaelic Life are reporting that Derry giants Slaughtneil will appoint Austin O’Malley as their senior football manager for the 2026 season.
O’Malley has a fine coaching CV in recent years, leading Dublin club Cuala to their first senior county title in 2024. He would follow that up with Leinster and All-Ireland crowns over the months that followed.
A former Mayo and Wicklow star during his own playing days, O’Malley also lined out for UCD and St Vincent’s in the Dublin club championship. He will now head to Derry in a bid to help Slaughtneil reestablish themselves as a force within the county.
The club won four senior county titles on the spin from 2014-2017, as well as another crown in 2020. They would also win three Ulster club titles during that run.
Slaughtneil would lose county finals to Glen in both 2021 and 2022, but have not returned to that stage since. They will be hoping that the appointment of O’Malley can give them an edge this season, with the Mayo native possessing a serious pedigree on the club scene in recent times.
With Derry among the most competitive club championships in he country, it will be interesting to see how things play out.
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