Caulry appoint former Westmeath boss as new manager

Caulry GAA have made a high profile appointment, with Pat Flanagan confirmed as the club's new manager.

A former Westmeath senior football manager, the vastly experienced Flanagan also had spells in charge of his native Offaly and Sligo.

Flanagan succeeds another renowned figure in Shane Curran who had been in charge of the Mount Temple/Baylin outfit for the past three years. Curran was assisted by Owen Mooney, a well respected coach in GAA circles.

Caulry reached the semi-finals of this year's Westmeath SFC, where they lost out to Coralstown/Kinnegad. It was the first time since 1946 for Caulry to reach the last four of the senior championship, and the club will now be hoping that Flanagan can help them to build on the progress already made.

Confirming the appointment of Flanagan, Caulry GAA posted the following statement online: "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Pat Flanagan as our senior football manager for the 2024 season. Pat comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience and we are excited to welcome him into our club.

"His management team will be confirmed at a later stage. We wish Pat the very best of luck."

During his time as Pádraig Pearses manager, Flanagan guided the Woodmount-based club to their first Roscommon senior football title in 2019. He led the club to a second Fahey Cup success in three years in 2021, with Pearses then going on to win the Connacht club senior crown.

Flanagan was most recently in charge of Kildare club Sarsfields, but his time with the Newbridge outfit ended after one season.

During his time in charge of Westmeath, Flanagan led the team to promotion to Division 1 of the Allianz Football League. Championship progress remained elusive, however, though Westmeath famously came extremely close to knocking Kerry out of the All-Ireland race in 2012.

Flanagan has also managed his home club Clara, Kilbeggan Shamrocks and Tyrrellspass. He guided Tyrrellspass to two Westmeath senior titles in a row and to a Leinster final appearance - a significant achievement considering the club's population base.