Galway GAA appoints Éamonn Fitzmaurice as senior football manager on three-year term

Appointment and ratification

The Galway county board ratified the appointment of former Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice as the county's new senior football manager on a three-year contract on Wednesday night. Fitzmaurice succeeds Pádraic Joyce, who stepped down earlier in September 2026 after leading the team for seven seasons. Galway GAA chairperson Paul Bellew announced the decision following a selection process carried out over several weeks.

Galway GAA chairperson Paul Bellew welcomed the arrival of the 49-year-old manager.

We are delighted to appoint a manager of Éamonn's calibre to lead the Galway senior footballers for the next three years.

Bellew noted that the county board intends to finalize Fitzmaurice's management and backroom staff over the coming weeks as preparations begin for the 2027 inter-county campaign.

Managerial record and background

Fitzmaurice arrives in Galway with extensive inter-county experience from his native Kerry, where he was involved across 25 years as a player, selector, and manager between 1994 and 2018. During his playing career, the Finuge native won three All-Ireland senior medals. He later served as a selector under Jack O'Connor when Kerry won the 2009 All-Ireland title, while also coaching Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne to consecutive Hogan Cup titles at schools level.

Between 2013 and 2018, Fitzmaurice served as Kerry senior manager, guiding the county to the 2014 All-Ireland title with a final victory over Donegal. His six-year tenure with Kerry also produced a National Football League title and six consecutive Munster Football Championship crowns. After stepping down from Kerry in 2018, the secondary school principal worked as an RTÉ pundit and Irish Examiner columnist while continuing to coach at the grassroots level. He guided Fossa to an All-Ireland Junior Club title in 2022 and coached Finuge to the Kerry Premier Junior Championship title in September 2026.

Football Review Committee and tactical transition

Fitzmaurice served as a key member of the Gaelic Athletic Association's Football Review Committee, chaired by former Dublin manager Jim Gavin, which designed and introduced new playing rules for Gaelic football. His appointment gives him the opportunity to implement those updated rules directly with an established inter-county contender.

Galway reached the All-Ireland senior football finals in both 2022 and 2024, falling to Kerry in 2022. The team experienced a difficult conclusion to their 2026 championship, failing to secure a fifth consecutive Connacht title before losing to Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Fitzmaurice will oversee a squad aiming to return to title contention for the 2027 season.

County title drought and outside leadership

Galway have not won a senior football All-Ireland title since 2001, when the team was managed by the late John O'Mahony. O'Mahony, a native of Mayo, remains the last manager from outside a county to guide that county to a Sam Maguire Cup victory. Fitzmaurice becomes the latest outside manager tasked with ending the 25-year title wait for the Western county.

I want to acknowledge and thank everyone who took part in the process over the past number of weeks. We now look forward to working closely with Éamonn, the players and the wider team as we begin the next chapter for Galway football.

Fitzmaurice will begin assembling his backroom coaching ticket before inter-county training resumes ahead of the 2027 season.