Dublin legend slams county board over Dessie Farrell departure
Despite Dublin’s All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Tyrone on Saturday, the big story was the resignation of manager Dessie Farrell after the match.
The former Sky Blues player took over at the end of 2019 and led the side to All-Ireland SFC glory in 2020 and 2023.
However, fans have been critical of his reign, given the success under Jim Gavin, which saw the team win six All-Irelands in a row, from 2013 to 2018.
Paul Flynn, who won six All-Irelands with Dublin during the 2010s, was critical of the county board and the fact that they do not have an immediate successor in place.
Farrell had also revealed in post-match interview that he had told the board that it would be his last season.
Dessie Farrell will forever be a legend of Dublin Football! Sad to see him go but it is the right decisionYou can tell how passionate he is about Dublin in this interview 2023 was one of the best All Ireland wins I witnessed as a Dublin fan!
Speaking on Second Captains, Flynn said: “Dessie’s been great. Anyone who knows him knows how honourable a man he is. His commitment to Dublin has been second to none, really…he really has a fantastic legacy.
“I feel like the county board have been asleep at the wheel a little bit, to be honest with you. It’s not to be looking at other counties going, ‘Well, why can’t we do that?’
“Dublin should be competing underage in competitions and we’re not.
“When Jim Gavin stepped away six years ago, Dessie was there as a ready-made solution, and now we don’t have a ready-made solution in place. There’s no one even of my generation of players who have been brought in to coach with minors or U21s. Maybe they’ve been asked, I don’t know. It just feels like we’re losing that tacit knowledge if we don’t do that.
“Look, Ger Brennan is there with Louth, he’s in a current job, so he’s currently an option. But he’s also by default, he wasn’t developed by the county board and is now ready-made.”
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