Report: Philly McMahon Set To Step Into First Role As A Manager

Dublin great Philly McMahon will make his first venture into management as he is set to take over managing Kildare SFC champions Naas.

The Ballymun Kickhams man was linked to a number of managerial roles on the intercounty circuit last year, and told the GAA Social podcast that he was offered the Derry job amidst the drawn-out process to appoint a successor to Mickey Harte.

The job eventually went to Paddy Tally.

I spoke to a couple of bodies that I had an interest in bringing in and basically I was a couple of days from giving that decision and the guys that I was talking to basically said, 'Paddy's looking to take the job'.

"I just said to the guys, 'if there's somebody 100% in then you're better off giving it to them because they're 100%, I'm not'."

Conor McKeon in the Irish Independent today reported that McMahon will take over the Naas role Joe Murphy left when he became Carlow manager early in the spring.

Naas are one of the most successful clubs in Leinster club football this decade. They've won four consecutive Kildare SFC titles while the club also excel in hurling.

Naas lost the Leinster final to Kilmacud Crokes in 2021 and 2023, while they were defeated by eventual club All-Ireland winners Cuala at the quarterfinal stage last year.

There'll be a hope that McMahon can help the Kildare side finally get an edge over the Dublin champions.

Philly McMahon has shown a real interest in coaching since retirement and took a role as performance coach with Bohemians in 2021.

Naas caused some controversy within GAA HQ when they tried to appoint former Derry manager Rory Gallagher as a coach early this year. GAA president Jarlath Burns wrote an email to the club about the decision, and the club backtracked. Gallagher reportedly initiated legal proceedings because of Burns' intervention.