Paul Shankey steps down as Waterford football manager
Meath native Shankey led the Déise to a notable Munster Championship win over Tipperary in 2024, ending the county's wait of 14 years for a victory in the province
In a statement, Waterford GAA thanked Shankey for his contribution.
"We extend our sincere thanks to Paul for his commitment and service to Waterford football," they said.
"His contribution over the past two years has been valued, and we wish him every success in the
future."
The board confirmed that the process to appoint a new manager will now begin.
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RTÉ News
30 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'There was nobody talking about winning All-Irelands' - Class of 2016 revel in Tipperary's rags to riches transformation
This time last year a third All-Ireland medal seemed a far-fetched dream. But that is what Tipperary's Michael Breen, Jason Forde, Seamus Kennedy, captain Ronan Maher and John McGrath have today. Kennedy played the last 20 minutes of yesterday's All-Ireland final victory over Cork, coming on shortly before now four-time winner Noel McGrath, and the others all started, making key contributions to a sensational 15-point win. "The resilience of this man," said manager Liam Cahill of Forde (who scored two points from play) afterwards. "He's like a good wine, he gets better with age. Breen gave an exhibition today and Noel comes on, Seamus Kennedy, John McGrath, they're just different class." How did a team that finished bottom in Munster last year - with just a single point from drawing with Waterford - get back on top so quickly? "It's a number of things," says Forde, 31, who reveals he sat down with Cahill to discuss the future after a rough 2024 in which he lost his role as free-taker. "We were so hurt after last year. Tipp is obviously such a mad hurling county. I remember meeting Jake Morris a couple of weeks after and you're nearly ashamed to show your face around because of the manner in which we went out. "When I met Liam, I just said we couldn't leave things like that, the year that we had. Having played for Tipp for 13 seasons and winning All-Irelands, to leave it on that note, it just wouldn't have felt right. "And you could see the younger players that were coming. This is Liam's third year with this group of players. We are after finding exceptional young players, three players in Darragh [McCarthy], Sam [O'Farrell] and Oisin [O'Donoghue] that we didn't have last year. "We just went back to the grindstone, we trained really, really hard. We've been finishing all the games really strong and I put that down to work our S&Cs have done with us. When it comes down to the last ten minutes, we back that we have the legs, the boys coming off the bench to finish the job as well. "We said as a group all year, there's nobody going to come and save us. We had to go back and put in the work and drag ourselves up out of it and thank God we did." Having performed well to draw with Limerick on the opening day in April, Tipp imploded after McCarthy's early red card against Cork. That meant they went to All-Ireland champions Clare needing a first Munster win in 10 attempts to keep their hopes of progression alive. They got it, McGrath and Andrew Ormond (in his breakthrough performance) scoring two goals each in a 4-18 to 2-21 victory that sparked a run of six to glory. "Munster is so tight and hard to get out of, you are targeting every game," says Forde. "But that Clare game, the Tipp crowd came out that day and cheered us off the bus. We were starting to reconnect with the support. "Ennis is a really tough place to go, the All-Ireland champions. That game was in the melting pot with five minutes to go, a couple of big scores from Eoghan Connolly and Seán Keneally off the bench and a few others got us over the line. But I think after that game we could see that the team was starting to open up, we knew if we got a result against Waterford, that would get us out of Munster." Two-goal hero John McGrath was lost for words in trying to describe the level Tipperary found in the second half as they won the All-Ireland title. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 20, 2025 Tipp have been described as the ultimate confidence county and their results in finals seem to back that up. When they win, they win big. Nine points to spare over Kilkenny in 2016 and 14 in '19. Some 15 over Cork yesterday, outscoring them 3-14 to 0-02 in the second half. John McGrath scored 1-03 and 0-03 in the victories over the Cats and 2-02 yesterday, in addition to winning the penalty converted by McCarthy. Good going for an almost 31-year-old who didn't start a championship game for almost three years after rupturing his Achilles' tendon against Clare in 2022. "There were a few years there it wasn't going for me but you don't just throw in the towel," he told RTÉ Sport. "I love playing this, I love being a part of this. You keep plugging away as long as you can. "I was lucky enough we were still going with the club so I didn't see Clonakenny but by all accounts savage work was done. Even into January, February, training was so intense. "We just really went back to basics. Built a real squad unity, a real belief as the year went on. Everyone was out on their feet there at the end but lads were still throwing everything in the way just to get over the line. "That second half was 'Oh my God'. "It's a long way we have come. We were long gone this time 12 months ago. It's hard to describe what exactly changed. It's not one single magic thing. The talent was always there, it was just about fine-tuning it and we have gone from strength to strength as the year has gone on." "Can we a bit of pride back in the jersey?" They were eliminated 14 months ago, to be precise. "We're never too far away from the summit," insisted Breen. "But if you're off a yard, you can be the bottom in Munster. "Our hurling is never an issue in Tipperary. Maybe the lungs and the legs, when we got them right this year, it did improve our game so much. But you could see it all come together in that second half today. "We spoke about minding the ball, we spoke about running it and working it out well. That's the way we train all year, and last year, these are things we tried to do, but just didn't execute. So to fully execute in an All-Ireland final [is very pleasing]. "I think the goal before half-time really woke us up. We had been playing reasonably well. But that second half, we just attacked everything. And we came up trumps. "This is really sweet. 2016 and '19, they were brilliant, but I'd never seen the colour and the excitement around the county [this week]. And the supporters again today were unbelievable." Did they really believe they could turn things around so dramatically? "When I met Liam you got a really good sense that there was going to be no stone left unturned to get the team back," says Forde. "You need a bit of luck in these situations too. There was nobody talking about winning All-Irelands. Can we get this team [going] and get a bit of pride back in the jersey, get out of Munster and maybe reconnect with the Tipperary supporters?
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Five key moments: Tipperary turnaround stuns Cork in All-Ireland decider
Yellow card is a telling moment Inside the closing five minutes of the first half, everything was going from end-to-end as both teams still searched for the first real breakthrough. After Shane Barrett scored an excellent point for Cork, their advantage went up to five. It was the first sign of danger that perhaps Tipp might drift behind. Then John McGrath was fouled by Eoin Downey, resulting in a yellow card for the Cork full back. That would later prove telling. When Eoghan Connolly's long-range free was then touched into the net by Jason Forde, it appeared Tipp's fortunes might be about to turn. It was rightly called a s, but offered them some encouragement nonetheless. Cork's Shane Barrett scores a goal despite desperate Tipp defensive work. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho Potentially killer blow for Tipp Two minutes of added time were announced at the end of the first half, and on 36:44, Robert Downey won back possession to set in train Cork's first goal chance of the first half. When the ball was passed out to Mark Coleman, he quickly passed on to Shane Barrett. Approaching just left of the goal, under the Davin Stand, Barrett placed his shot with stunning accuracy into the bottom right corner, and ensured that Tipp goalkeeper Rhys Shelly had no chance of stopping it. A killer blow for Tipp just before the break, it put Cork into a commanding 1-16 to 0-13 lead. READ MORE Tipperary's John McGrath celebrates scoring a vital goal. Photograph: Inpho Cahill works the oracle Whatever was said by Tipp manager Liam Cahill at half-time was soon working a treat as his players started to win possession all over the field. After shooting five unanswered points, and shooting one wide, Jake Morris took another shot from distance, which appeared to be within the safe range of Cork goalkeeper Patrick Collins. But instead, Collins tapped the ball down and out into the path of John McGrath on 46 minutes. He displayed remarkable calmness when he collected the ball and then promptly finished his shot into the Cork net. That made it 1-5 without reply, and the game had turned on its head. Cork's Eoin Downey sees red. Photograph: Inpho Situation goes from bad to worse Cork had finally got their first score of the second half moments after McGrath's first goal, but then conceded another two points without reply. Things were about to get a whole lot worse. After 53 minutes, McGrath made another mesmerising fetch from another long ball in front of the Cork goal, and Eoin Downey had little choice other than to foul him. Downey was shown a second yellow card, and his All-Ireland final was over. When Darragh McCarthy stepped up for the penalty and blasted it into the top left of the Cork goal, Tipp went up 2-20 to 1-17. Tipperary's John McGrath scores his side's third goal. Photograph: Inpho A deft touch into the net finishes Cork The hour-mark proved to be closing time for this most unpredictable of All-Ireland final outcomes. Cork had just conceded another two points without reply, when a third Tipp goal would end all hope of them making a late comeback. Eoghan Connolly attempted another long-range shot, and once that started to fall short, John McGrath read the movement of the ball to absolute perfection, getting to it in advance of Patrick Collins. McGrath finished it off with the deftest of touches into the Cork net. After another move of magic simplicity, Tipp went up 3-22 to 1-17. Game over.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Nicky English: I believed anything could happen in a Cork-Tipp match but wasn't quite prepared for this
When I referred to the propensity of this fixture to throw up the unexpected and almost play into the hands of the outsider, I didn't for a second envisage something like this – an All-Ireland final that can hardly be explained such was the turnaround after half-time. To lose a second half of hurling by 3-14 to 0-2 in an All-Ireland final has to be unprecedented. It was simply a disaster for Cork , who were in a good position at half-time, leading by six points after Shane Barrett's goal. Tipperary will have been disappointed by that all the same. They had actually played quite well in the first half but for the amount of wides they had hit, which could have kept them closer in touch. Their forwards had been well contained by Cork but there was a strong breeze, which I don't think was fully taken into consideration. The ball was being held up in the breeze, typified by the disallowed goal for Jason Forde from Eoghan Connolly's free driven into the square. READ MORE In the second half, though, the Tipperary backs took complete control over the Cork full-forward line under the hanging ball. Michael Breen and Ronan Maher were just totally dominant. Tactically, Tipp got it superbly right. Bryan O'Mara stepped back as extra cover and they brought out Sam O'Farrell to the middle and Darragh McCarthy to float up front. Tipperary's Willie Connors celebrates after the final whistle. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho None of these changes should have been a surprise to Cork by the way. Everything that I thought would happen did happen, like Ronan Maher taking up Brian Hayes. Willie Connors moved to wing back, which was a strange move on paper but he played magnificently and had Declan Dalton in his pocket. At all stages Tipperary were able to get that flick in and tip the ball away from the Cork forwards and never let them settle into their running style. Also, there was never the quality of ball that Cork had managed against Dublin when it was hopping in front of Connolly and Hayes. They were just much smarter and more capable, and in the second half they just slowed Cork down relentlessly and worked unbelievably hard. I have said all year that there's no doubt that Tipp's touch is better than anyone else's in the championship, and they proved in the final that their touch was better than Cork's. In some respects, Cork getting the goal before half-time was actually the worst thing that could have happened to them. There was already a huge expectancy among Cork supporters that Barrett's goal may have turned it into a foregone conclusion. Tipperary's Rhys Shelly and Robert Doyle celebrate after the game. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho There was now huge pressure on Cork for the second half. Maybe it showed in Patrick Horgan's missed free at the start of the second half. Andrew Ormond kick-started Tipperary's comeback and Jake Morris got in on the act, as well as the outstanding Darragh McCarthy. John McGrath really showed his renewed form, having a role in all three goals. He's such a wily customer and just because he's quiet for a while shouldn't lead to assumptions. I was surprised in a way that Cork didn't replace Eoin Downey after he picked up a yellow at the end of the first half. Last year in their pivotal match against Limerick at Páirc Uí Chaoimh they replaced him in similar circumstances. I thought that first yellow was very harsh, but if you're on a card you're vulnerable and it would have been a good idea to get Damien Cahalane on earlier. It was a sobering afternoon for Cork. To score just two points in the second half was inexplicable. Last year, maybe they had excuses and only lost the final in extra time, but this year there was no such consolation. They were just crowded out and Tipp's defenders simply ate them up. Tipperary's Ronan Maher lifts the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Their half-forward line, which had started well, was completely obliterated in the second half, with both Healy and Dalton replaced and the midfield was bypassed. Of course, when a team hits the woodwork five times they probably suspect it's not their day. I think you have to hand it to Liam Cahill and the Tipperary management. Ultimately, their decision-making was very clear. They stuck with Darragh McCarthy to start him and left him on frees and they were vindicated. The final might have been their best of the year, which is a credit to any management, but they have also been improvers throughout the season. This was the culmination of that. Cahill brought in young players and took a chance by sticking with them and they all now look like they'll be around for years to come. I said on Saturday that Donie Nealon and Theo English always believed it was easier to win when you already had medals in the team. Tipp had eight this time while Cork had none. Now, Tipperary are going to have medals in the team for at least another 10 years.
