GAVIN Gallagher gave Castlehaven ‘the extra edge’ in their county-winning 2023 campaign, explains James McCarthy, the man who brought the Donegal native into the Haven set-up.

Gallagher will join John Cleary’s Cork senior football management team as coach/selector for next season, subject to ratification at November’s meeting of Cork County Committee.

He relocated to the parish after marrying a local woman and, having joined Castlehaven in 2023, quickly made his mark with the club.

‘He gave us the extra edge to get over the line in 2023,’ explained McCarthy, manager of the Haven that season.

‘Four years ago we were ahead of a lot of clubs tactic-wise, especially breaking down packed defences with the old rules and setting up ourselves against the different teams we faced. Gavin had a big part in that.

‘He brought our preparation for games to a new level with a breakdown of opponent players and styles.’

Always looking for an edge and new ideas, Gallagher now faces the challenge of translating the impact he had at club level to the inter-county scene.

James McCarthy has only good things to say about Gallagher’s role with Castlehaven, first in 2023 and then with Seanie Cahalane who was manager for the past three seasons. His fingerprints are on the club’s county-winning campaigns of 2023 and ’24, and the Munster triumph in ’24, as well as the Division 1 county league win this year.

‘Gavin had a big part to play in our success over the past few years,’ McCarthy adds.

‘Castlehaven and Gavin were a perfect fit. He was ultra-professional, and players and mentors soaked up the information and standards he brought. He’s very professional in anything he does – Gavin was just what we needed.

‘He gave players great confidence with the information and his tactical planning on the pitch. He’s also able to transfer stats and video analysis to the pitch with a plan, giving players no get-out clause of “what if this happens” – he would have everything covered if it happened.’

In further changes to John Cleary’s set-up, Terry O’Brien of Mallow will join as goalkeeping coach, and Dylan Byrne of St Finbarr’s comes in as the strength and conditioning coach.

‘As they leave their roles, we also extend our sincere thanks to Kevin Murray, Paddy O’Shea and Cian Sisk for their significant contribution to the team, and wish them well in their future endeavours,’ Cork GAA said in a statement.