Kevin Walsh (born 5 November 1969 in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

coach,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former player. He won three All Stars and two

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

s while playing at senior level for the Galway county team. Walsh served as manager of the senior Sligo county team from 2008 to 2013 and his native Galway from 2014 to 2019.

Playing career

An effective midfielder, Walsh played at club level with Killannin, winning intermediate county titles in 1991 and 2014 against near neighbours Moycullen at 45 years of age and at inter-county level with Galway. He was a key member of the latter team during the late 1990s and early 2000s and collected two

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

titles and four

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

titles during that time.

Coaching career

Club

Upon retirement from inter-county play, Walsh became involved in coaching. He had been in charge of the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

junior footballers in 2008.

Connacht

Walsh was a selector with the

inter-provincial team for a number of seasons.

Sligo

Walsh volunteered to manage the Sligo senior football team, and was appointed in November 2008. He led Sligo from Division 4 to Division 2 of the National Football League in his first two years in charge winning the Division 4 and 3 titles in the process. He also led Sligo to the

Connacht Junior Football Championship The Connacht Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Connacht Council. The competition began in 19 ...

and

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

in 2010. In 2011, he led Sligo to a second Connacht Junior Football Championship. In 2013, Walsh fell out with

Eamonn O'Hara Eamonn O'Hara (born 6 September 1975) was until 2013 the longest-serving Gaelic footballer at senior level. He first played in 1994 before officially announcing his retirement from inter-county football on 14 May 2013. He plays for his local clu ...

after O'Hara launched a stinging tirade at his former manager on national television and told him to resign. The incident occurred following Sligo's first round elimination from the Connacht Championship at the hands of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. O'Hara gave his inside view of the chaos affecting the county as

Pat Spillane Patrick Gerard Spillane (born 1 December 1955), better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His National Football League (Ireland), league and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, championship career ...

peered down his nose over O'Hara's right shoulder, baffled at the news that a county like Sligo could be in an even worse state than Kerry. Then O'Hara called Walsh "crazy." Former

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

footballer

Oisín McConville Oisín McConville ( ga, Oisín Mac Conmhaoil; born 13 October 1975) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been manager of the Wicklow county team since 2022. McCoville played at senior level for the Armagh county team ...

said O'Hara was out of line with his outburst and pointed out that most teams, apart from those to have played in that year's All-Ireland final, go back training in November. Following defeat to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

in the next game and elimination from the Championship, Walsh resigned as Sligo boss.

Galway

After the resignation of

Alan Mulholland Alan Mulholland (born 1968) is an Irish Gaelic football former manager and player. He was manager of the senior Galway county team from 2011 until 2014, having previously been manager of the minor and under-21 teams. In 2007, Mulholland guid ...

, Walsh was selected as favourite to replace him as manager. Pete Warren was also in the race but withdrew soon afterwards. In September 2014, Walsh was appointed as the Galway Senior Football Manager. On 3 September 2019, Walsh stepped down as manager after five years in charge. With the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Walsh set to the production of his autobiography, which he titled ''The Invisible Game'', and was helped by another man to write it.

Cork

In November 2022, Walsh was announced as coach of the Cork senior footballers, working under the management of John Cleary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Kevin 1969 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) Connacht inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Cork county football team Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football managers Gaelic football selectors Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers Garda Síochána officers Killannin Gaelic footballers Winners of two All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football) Police officers from County Galway