Sligo GAA Announces Coaching Changes for 2027

Sligo have redrawn the lines on the sideline for 2027, but the faces remain familiar.

After a year sharing the top job, Dessie Sloyan and Yeats County great Eamonn O’Hara are moving into a more traditional structure, with Sloyan confirmed as manager and O’Hara stepping into the assistant role. The county board has opted for clarity over co-leadership as they try to push Sligo out of Division 3 and deeper into summer.

The change was confirmed at a County Committee meeting on Monday, 24 August 2026, with Sligo GAA outlining a revamped backroom team around Sloyan.

He will front a “reconfigured coaching team” with O’Hara as his right-hand man. The most eye-catching addition is two-time All-Ireland winner Joe McMahon of St Enda’s Omagh, Tyrone, who comes in as Head Coach. He joins Paul Higgins and former Donegal defender Eamon McGee, both retained from the 2026 ticket, to form a coaching core heavy on experience and defensive nous.

There is change between the posts too. Des McGuinness, also from St Enda’s Omagh, links up as goalkeeping coach, tasked with sharpening a key area for a side that has often been competitive but not always clinical in tight games.

The performance side remains largely intact. Sean Boyle, who heads Performance Games Development for Sligo GAA, stays on as Strength and Conditioning Coach, maintaining continuity in physical preparation. Michael Quinn of Killoe Young Emmets, Longford, joins as Performance Coach, adding another outside perspective to a set-up that now blends local knowledge with Ulster steel and Leinster expertise.

The backdrop to all this is a 2026 campaign that promised more than it delivered. Sligo finished fifth in Division 3 of the Allianz Football League, safe but stuck, and then slipped out of the Connacht SFC at the first hurdle, edged by a single point by Leitrim in mid-April.

That narrow provincial defeat still stings. It also explains the urgency.

By keeping Sloyan and O’Hara at the heart of the project but tightening the chain of command and importing seasoned operators like McMahon and McGee, Sligo are betting that structure, clarity and a harder edge can turn near-misses into breakthroughs.

Division 3 again awaits. The question now is whether this reshaped ticket can finally kick the county into a higher gear when 2027 rolls around.