James Horan is a good Gael.
That tale of him coaching the under 8s at Ballintubber only a few days after another excruciating All-Ireland final defeat sums him up. It sums up every good GAA man.
It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, what county you’re in and, for some, what code it is, they have this innate duty to serve the country by throwing themselves into football and hurling. They seem to have this obligation to continue to teach the young ones and to continue to strive for a better future for our Games.
Someone like James Horan sees a team and he wants to work with them, it’s that simple. There are no airs and graces about him that he was respected as one of the best managers in the country. He’s not above any job or role because he’s not above the GAA – he gets it.
But what is set to be his next job is still a massive surprise.
According to the Mayo News, Horan is being lined up as part of the management team to take charge of Galway hurling club Turloughmore for 2017.
The Mayo man is said to have accepted a role as a coach, an advisor and a big part of the team’s strength and conditioning for the season and is ready to join John Hession and former Galway player Barry Cullinane – should they be ratified at the club’s AGM on Sunday.
Turloughmore haven’t won the senior hurling championship in 31 years but do boast the likes of two-time All-Star Daithí Burke and Fergal Moore who was on the Tribesman panel earlier in the year.
Horan is said to have connections with the Galway club and wouldn’t exactly be a difficult personality to work with despite all his experience and expertise – he’s already worked under Tony Duffy in a similar role in Ballintubber back in 2015.
This will be his first job in hurling.
Aaron Kernan joins Colm Parkinson on The GAA Hour to explain the work he’s doing for the Club Players Association. Derry captain Chrissy McKaigue talks Slaughtneil and a Dublin club advertising for hurlers gets a sore touch. Subscribe here on iTunes.
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