Gavin Devlin set to be ratified as Louth senior football manager
The 42 understands the Tyrone native will take charge after Ger Brennan stepped down earlier this month.
Advertisement
Devlin spent three years as Harte's assistant with Louth from 2021 to 2023. The duo guided the Wee County to a Leinster final in 2023 while climbing the National League ranks, before departing for Derry.
After one season with the Oak Leaf county, Devlin returned to Louth as underage football development co-ordinator. Having helped rejuvenate youth systems while training the senior team, he kept a good relationship with Louth GAA while with Derry.
The Ardboe clubman is now set to be appointed to the top managerial job.
Brennan vacated the hotseat at the beginning of July. The former Dublin footballer helped Louth to their first Leinster senior football title in 68 years.
- With reporting from Declan Bogue
*****

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Extra.ie
40 minutes ago
- Extra.ie
Kerry boss hints at exit after final win
Jack O'Connor looks poised to bow out as one of Gaelic football's most decorated managers after masterminding an emphatic 10-point victory over Donegal at Croke Park yesterday. A comprehensive 1-26 to 0-19 win comes in a season when Kerry also won the National League and Munster championship, and it's the fifth time O'Connor has guided his native county to a league and Championship double. Kerry's 39th All-Ireland senior football title might just be the greatest of his senior management career that dates back to 2004 and comes in three different instalments. Kerry manager Jack O' Tyler Miller/Sportsfile 'My last hurrah' is how he termed yesterday's thrilling triumph, with captain Gavin White and the Clifford brothers Paudie and David so influential in a five-star team performance that left Ulster champions Donegal shellshocked. Paudie Clifford admitted afterwards that the talk of Kerry being a 'one-man team' in light of his brother David's talent was a hugely motivating force, saying the team didn't take well to being 'disrespected' in such a way. 'We felt disrespected for a long time. Ryan McHugh of Donegal in action against Paudie Clifford of Kerry. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile A team that was in three of the last four All-Irelands and have won two of the last four, we felt very disrespected. 'Being called a one-man team when you have fellas like Joe O'Connor, fellas like Jason Foley [who] have worked all their lives to play for Kerry, and you're called a 'one-man team' because you haven't won every All-Ireland.' Donegal manager Jim McGuinness was blunt in admitting his team just came up short: 'We didn't perform, Kerry did perform, that's the bottom line. Sometimes in life you've got to put your hands up and you've got to take it on the chin.


Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Unbelievably poignant' Katie Taylor message strengthened Lions' will to win
Jack Conan's seasonal finale has delivered in spades. After captaining Leinster to the United Rugby Championship title, the Lions ever-present from four years ago was in ebullient form after Saturday's 29-26 win sealed a series triumph that he will remember forever. The result was all that mattered as Conan reflected on an imperfect training week and what he felt was a far-from-perfect display by himself and the Lions, but one that had additional meaning for the man from Bray. 'We were not at our best by any measure, but physically the lads dug in unbelievably well,' said Conan, who turns 33 on Tuesday. He revealed: 'We had a video from Katie Taylor earlier in the week and it was unbelievably poignant and powerful. It spoke about being prepared to win with skill, but be ready to win by will. 'I think that was something that summed up today massively because we were not at our best at all. Pretty disappointing how we played, but we played for 80 minutes. READ MORE 'Barry ( Hugo Keenan ) getting over the line last minute was just unbelievable. I think the celebrations and the crack and changing room, if we went out and we won by 20, it wouldn't be the same,' he admitted. 'Everyone's just over the moon. To be part of a Lions winning series team is just incredibly special. I feel incredibly humbled and honoured to be part of it all. Not my best game, but a lot of us weren't at the races at all, but we stuck in there. You can't fault the effort. I thought the defensive sets we put in, just whacking people and just staying in there, was unbelievable. I think everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy — Jack Conan 'It's something that will go down in history,' he continued, random thoughts pouring out amid the immediate euphoria of reaching one of the true highs of his rugby career. 'They weren't writing the history books about how s**t we were, but they'll say that we won and that's all that matters. Just so special to be part of it.' Jack Conan (left) and Tadhg Furlong celebrate the Lions' victory over Australia in Saturday's second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images Taylor's message was particularly poignant for Conan given they both hail from Bray. 'Massively. Huge. Someone to come from the town I'm from, I'm incredibly proud of where I come from and I know Katie is as well. She's gone on to achieve incredible feats in the boxing world and to be such a superstar and be just incredibly humble and driven and knock it out of herself is something that we kind of leant on as well. We knew that Australia are a hugely proud nation and they showed it today in spades. 'They were unbelievable, they really were, but we just stuck in it for 80 minutes and [I'm] just incredibly proud of the effort from the lads. I know things didn't click and we weren't flowing properly, but we were getting off the line, trying to hit people, trying to make it count every chance we got. And I think we did that and that's why we got the result in the end.' [ Australia head coach Joe Schmidt unhappy at match officials over Jac Morgan clearout Opens in new window ] It transpired that the Irish performance coach Gary Keegan, who is also part of the extensive Lions backroom team, was the key figure in asking Taylor to provide a motivational video. 'Gary Keegan would have been very close with her and helped her through her amateur career into professional career; he's the link there. It meant a lot to me being from the same place and seeing her on the world stage, but I think everyone loved it, even the English and the Scottish boys and the Welsh boy. It resonated with everyone. 'It was unbelievably poignant, it was class. It really hit home for us, it was brilliant.' Conan was one of a record nine Irish players in the starting line-up who contributed to this series-clinching second Test win, as well as Rónan Kelleher and James Ryan off the bench, with three of them among the Lions try scorers. In another ever-lasting image, Keenan was the match-winner. Putting down one of the two cans of Guinness he had been holding in each hand, Conan said of Keenan: 'Delighted for him, because he had a bit of a rocky start to the campaign with the sickness that derailed him for a while and it's a testament to his professionalism and staying in it. I was delighted for him. Jack Conan came close to scoring a try in the series-clinching victory against Australia. Photograph:'Now in saying that, I would have liked it more if he gave me the ball on the edge and I scored the try,' joked Conan, who helped give Keenan the space to beat Len Ikitau on his outside shoulder by holding his depth. 'No, delighted for Barry, I probably would have dropped it like the other one,' added Conan, in reference to the moment early on when James Slipper's tackle dislodged the ball from his grasp as he was diving over the line. 'No, it was knocked out of my hands lads. 'I was shouting for it, but Barry goes and scores a try. I've no complaints. If he bottled it there in that moment, I would have killed him and kicked the arse off him afterwards, but that was great.' Leinster being the bulk suppliers had generated quite a bit of debate, but Farrell's selections had been vindicated. 'As a Leinster man you're normally on the other end of it where you don't win them, so it was nice to be on the other side of it for once,' admitted Conan with a smile. 'Yeah it's class, just the feeling afterwards, the celebrations. Big Tadge (Tadhg Furlong) was giving it 90 on the sideline which was class and it was just unreal, part of a Lions winning series is just so special, to have played two 80 minutes. I'm not sure if I'll be playing next week after my performance but we'll see what happens, but yeah, absolutely class. 'You can't take these things away from people; [they] go down in history. I know people don't have the best things to say about Australia but I thought they were class today, they were unbelievable, they played above themselves. 'We saw Valetini and big Willie Skelton come back into the side, they were unbelievable. They made a huge difference and we struggled with it at times. A little bit high in the contacts, a little bit soaking, whatever else. But it doesn't matter, we got there in the end, didn't we. 'The win's a win. Series win; Lions series winner. You can't take that away from us, so I'm delighted for everyone. Delighted for the coaching staff, delighted for the lads who played, the lads who didn't play because everyone's played their part. Roll on the celebrations, roll on next week and one more 80 minutes to go and then a bit of well-earned time off.'


RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Non-committal Jack O'Connor ponders management future after guiding Kerry to another All-Ireland title
Jack O'Connor hinted that he might be bringing his management term to an end after guiding Kerry to a fifth All-Ireland title in three different terms. It's a third treble, following on from successes in 2004 and 2022, after National League and Munster Championship victories earlier in the year. "I'm a long time at it, and I might be passing the baton onto somebody else," he said on RTÉ's Sunday Sport. Pushed as to whether that was the end of his third spell in charge, he added: "That was the plan anyway, so we'll see." Asked again in his post-match press conference, the five-time All-Ireland winner seemed non-committal. "I'm on record as saying it's my last hurrah... But there's no hurry." While O'Connor considers his future, he can reflect on All-Ireland number 39 for the game's most successful county. It's a second in four seasons, and with a cohort of players in their 20s in the panel, there's no reason why the current crop can't add more titles in the years to come. "You can't beat panel spirit. We said what happened to Cork last week wouldn't happen to us." Kerry boss Jack O'Connor looks back on winning the final #sundaygame — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2025 Kerry burst out of the blocks to take the lead after 13 seconds with a point from Dylan Geaney, with David Clifford's haul of seven points pushing them into a seven-point lead at the break. They always had Donegal at arm's length with Joe O'Connor capping another sensational performance with a goal at the death. And for the manager, it was a performance built on massive spirit within the camp. "If you take the year as a whole, we had a lot of adversity," O'Connor told RTÉ Sport after the game. "We had a lot of injuries, we lost a lot of good men but we had a tremendous panel spirit. "We had men like Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, lads like that that didn't think they'd be near the team, starting midfield in an All-Ireland final for Kerry. "It's the stuff of dreams so I'm delighted for them all. A massive team effort, panel effort, backroom team effort, so I'm thrilled for them all. "We'd two big performances here against Armagh and Tyrone. We felt that we were well tested coming into the game. Maybe the hammering that Donegal gave Meath two weeks ago mightn't have done them the same amount of good that our game with Tyrone did. "We felt we were well tested, we were in great shape leaving the hotel this morning. There was a great atmosphere in the room, just a great anticipation, ready for battle. "The boys fought on their backs out there." Donegal did have periods of momentum in the game but they couldn't get closer than four points in the second half. The gap would have been five at the break only for David Clifford to land a two-pointer with the last kick of the half. "There were times when Donegal looked like they were coming back," O'Connor acknowledged. "I think that two-pointer before half-time was a massive score by David. It was a massive fillip going in at half-time. "We said in the dressing room that what happened Cork last week wasn't going to happen us. We were going to come out and play and we were going to try and win the second half. We did win the second half by three points so overall it was two good halves. "We needed to get our hands on the ball, use up the clock and get a good shot off. Near the end we were able to enjoy the last three or four minutes after Joe got the goal. "I'm thrilled for them all, this was a tough auld year. There were times when we were well tested this year but I'm delighted that it finished like it did."