Monaghan showdown brought the end for Paddy Carr, Co Board discuss future with O’Rourke

A showdown with three senior players on Tuesday night in Monaghan brought the curtain down on Paddy Carr’s tenure as the Donegal senior football team manager.

On Wednesday afternoon, a brief statement announcing Carr’s resignation was released, just 149 days after he was officially appointed as Declan Bonner’s successor.

Donegal Live understands that, at a special county committee meeting on Thursday night in Convoy, club delegates were briefed on how Carr’s short spell as Donegal boss had ended.

Donegal GAA Chairperson Fergus McGee told the meeting that Donegal captain Patrick McBrearty, Eoghan Ban Gallagher and Hugh McFadden travelled to Monaghan to meet with Carr.

Comment piece: Donegal debacle shows that silence proves anything but golden

Whatever issues Donegal GAA thought they had deepened this afternoon and their silence over the last few weeks means there are more questions than answers

The Fanad native, the chairperson said, ‘went quietly’ after being informed that the squad had ‘lost confidence’.

On Wednesday afternoon, the three senior players and Carr met with the county chairperson at the Donegal GAA Training Centre in Convoy. Soon, word began to spill out that Carr had walked away, his dream job ending in a nightmare.

McGee is believed to have told clubs that Carr’s ‘heart and soul was without doubt in Donegal’ and wished him well for the future.

McGee said Donegal GAA was ‘sorry’ to see Carr leave his role.

Coaches Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Bradley will take charge of the team for Sunday’s concluding Allianz Football League Division 1 game with Roscommon at Dr Hyde Park.

Clubs were told that the pair would be on board ‘in the short term’ with McGee to have talks with O’Rourke on Monday ‘to see what the future holds’.

With just four weeks to go until Donegal begin their Ulster SFC campaign with an away game against Down, the county committee rubber stamped a training camp at Carton House for the senior football squad.

Meanwhile, Antoin McFadden - a member of the 2012 All-Ireland winning Donegal squad - is expected to take over as the strength and conditioning coach for the Donegal squad. 

McFadden will take over from Mattie Brady, a Tyrone native who was recruited as Donegal GAA’s full time S&C Coach in December. 

Creeslough man McFadden is presently working with the Donegal under-20s and recently launched a new business, McFadden Performance,, based in his hometown.