DERRY Camogie Board have announced that PJ O’Mullan will be the county's senior manager for 2023.
The Loughgiel man headed the management team that guided his native club to the All-Ireland Club hurling title just over a decade ago.
Since then, O’Mullan was with Slaughtneil, before they made their breakthrough to take provincial and All-Ireland titles between 2016 and 2019.
More recently O’Mullan was in charge of his home club's senior side. Although each of his seasons with the Shamrocks resulted in a county title, defeat to Slaughtneil in the Ulster final ended their season.
It is believed that O’Mullan is still putting together his own backroom team for the season ahead.
In the past an outside manager such as O’Mullan usually sought help from the county board in selecting aides who were familiar with the Derry camogie scene. O’Mullan is thought to be bringing a new approach with personnel he has worked alongside already.
The aim, of course, will be to follow Down and Antrim into senior camogie.
This year Derry, under the guidance of former Down hurler Martin “Dingy” Coulter and Danny McGrellis, reached the All-Ireland intermediate semi-final, where they conceded the last four points to lose by the minimum to Cork.
Two of the Derry stalwarts over the past season, Megan Kerr and Therese Mellon, have since picked up ACL injuries and had operations to repair them. Both will certainly be out of action at least for the early part of the season.
However, the camogie scene in Derry is quite strong with plenty of talented players coming through the clubs and schools and, if O’Mullan manages to get the players he wants, Derry should stand a good chance of reaching Croke Park next summer.
