Micheál Donoghue has stepped down as Galway hurling manager after four seasons in charge.
Donoghue made the announcement in a statement released to Galway Bay FM, saying "now right to hand on the opportunity to a new management team".
The Clarinbridge man succeeded Anthony Cunningham as Galway boss in December 2015.
He led the Tribesmen to their first All-Ireland title in 29 years during his second campaign in charge in 2017, defeating Waterford in the final.
He also took Galway to the All-Ireland final in 2018 where they lost by a point to Limerick in the decider.
Donoghue had been ratified for a further two seasons as manager in November 2018. However, 2019 ended in disappointment with Galway failing to progress beyond the Leinster round robin stage in the championship.
The statement from Donoghue reads as follows:
I, together with the Galway Senior Hurling Management team, today informed the Galway County Board that we are not taking up the fifth year of our term.
We would like to thank Galway GAA for the opportunity they gave us to lead Galway Hurling - it was the opportunity of a lifetime and was both an honour and privilege to do.
We started out in December 2015 with the simple goal to bring success back to Galway hurling and to build a culture of professionalism and consistency in performance. Since then we have had some amazing days most notably the 2017 All Ireland success. After four seasons we feel the time is now right to hand on the opportunity to a new management team.
We would like to thank the players for their honesty, dedication and commitment to their sport and county.
We would like to acknowledge and thank our background team and support staff who worked with us for their expertise and service to the Galway Senior Hurling team.
To our families and our employers - thank you for being so understanding and supportive of the time commitment a job like this takes.
To our main sponsor Supermacs and the many other sponsors who give so willingly their support - thank you, it is greatly appreciated.
Finally, we thank the Galway Hurling Clubs and the Galway Hurling supporters - your passion, commitment and connection with this team have made doing this job a joy.
For us all, Galway Hurling will continue to play a huge part in our hearts and lives and we wish Galway GAA every success in the future.
Gaillimh Abú
Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
