The Galway senior footballers have brought Cian O’Neill on board as a coach ahead of the 2022 season.
O’Neill joins Padraic Joyce’s Galway backroom after leaving the Cork senior football setup following the end of the 2021 season.
The upcoming season will be Joyce’s third in charge and the team will aim to go one further than the final of the Connacht Senior Football Championship.
They will also hope to return to Division One of the National Football League at the first time of asking.
A statement read: “Galway GAA is delighted to announce the appointment of Cian O’Neill to the Galway senior football backroom team.
“The Kildare man will join Pádraic Joyce next season as a coach.”
The Kildare native left the Cork setup after their Munster Senior Football Championship final collapse led to the departure of manager Ronan McCarthy.
He had previously been in charge of his home county’s senior footballers from 2015 until 2019.
It was a period that saw the Lilywhites reach the Leinster Senior Football Championship final in 2017 and knock All-Ireland finalists Mayo out of the Championship the next year in the ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’ game.
O’Neill made a name for himself as a trainer on Liam Sheedy’s backroom in the manager’s first stint with the Tipperary hurlers.
He was involved with the Kerry senior footballers as part of Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s backroom and has also worked with the Limerick and Mayo footballers.
