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Congratulations to the 2021 Hurling Manager nominees.
Voting opens Thursday 10th February 2022 and will close at 10am on Monday 14th February 2022.

The winner of this category will be announced at our Black Tie Gala Event on Friday 11th March 2022 at the Armagh City Hotel.

Michael McShane
(Sleacht Néill)

Ryan Lynch
(Banagher – photo by Philip Walsh)

Paul Cunningham
(Craobh Rua)

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Michael McShane (Sleacht Néill)

MICHAEL McShane doesn’t need any introduction at this stage. The Sleacht Néill boss, who won this award in 2018 and 2020, has guided the team through a period of unprecedented success for the club.
They’re still ruling the roost in Ulster and overcame Ballycran and Dunloy on the way to claiming their fourth provincial crown in five seasons. Yes, they have some incredible players, but the buck stops with McShane and he has created a team that has shown time-and-time again that they can compete with the very best teams across the country.

Ryan Lynch (Banagher)

Ryan Lynch described himself as the proudest man in Banagher after managing to the team to the 2021 Ulster Intermediate hurling title. It was a momentous occasion for the club – they had never won a provincial title at any grade – and it’s fair to say they deserved it with a 2-11 to 0-12 victory over a strong Lisbellaw team. It was a labour of love for the Banagher native, but there’s no doubting his managerial ability and they overcame Armagh champions Middletown, arguably the competition favourites, in the Ulster semi-final. They also dealt with the challenges of a prolonged season and performed to their optimum in that memorable win over Lisbellaw in January.

Paul Cunningham (Craobh Rua)

It’s fair to say that Paul Cunningham has proven himself as a manager of serious expertise. Not only did he lead Armagh hurling team Craobh Rua to the Ulster Junior Hurling title – an incredible achievement in itself – but he also managed Carrickcruppen (one of Camlough’s other teams) to the Armagh Intermediate title.
The impact of Covid meant that there was no Ulster Championship campaign for Craobh Rua after winning the Armagh Junior title in 2020, but they more than made amends as they went all the way to the very top this season, defeating Carrickmacross by eight points in the final.