"It was unnecessary the way it was done in the end"

Former Mayo goalkeeper Rob Hennelly says he was “really disappointed but not overly surprised” with regards to the county board’s handling of senior team manager Kevin McStay’s dismissal.

Mayo GAA came under fire issuing a short statement on Wednesday night to confirm that McStay, who stepped back from his role in May due to health reasons, and his backroom team had officially been relieved of their duties.

Former All-Star defender Lee Keegan and RTE’s Des Cahill were some of the first to criticise the county board’s handling of the situation, and Hennelly echoed their comments when speaking to RTE Sport yesterday.

“I’m disappointed but not overly surprised with regards to how it was done. It seems very quick in the way they obviously went about it and I was very surprised because Kevin management’s team put in massive shifts,” said the six-time Connacht SFC winner.

'Totally unnecessary' - Former goalkeeper Rob Hennelly angered by Mayo GAA statement on Kevin McStay departure

He has been speaking to @MartyMofficial #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/X8RSXjWOAr

— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) June 26, 2025

"One of the hardest jobs you're going to get in GAA is managing Mayo. They put everything into it, and unfortunately, results weren't what they would have wanted, particularly over the last two years.

"But regardless, the way it was kind of handled in the end didn't fit the work that they put into it, and what they've done for Mayo as well.

"That's Kevin, that's Stephen Rochford, and obviously all the backroom team. It’s a lot of people who have been involved in Mayo a long time and put a lot of work into it, so really disappointed but not overly surprised with regards to how it was done.

"We've had a tendency to do things probably not in the right way in Mayo, unfortunately.

"It was unnecessary the way it was done in the end."