Former Armagh All-Ireland winner John McEntee is expected to be confirmed as the new manager of the Monaghan senior footballers at a county board meeting on Monday night, 12 October. RTÉ Sport reported on Saturday that the Crossmaglen Rangers clubman had come out on top after the county spoke to a number of candidates during the week, and Northern Sound said the board was set to make the announcement after interviews held on Friday night.
McEntee succeeds Gabriel Bannigan, who stepped down in August. RTÉ Sport, which first reported Bannigan's departure, said he left in somewhat acrimonious circumstances, releasing a lengthy statement that cited "moving goalposts" around his plans to continue into 2027.
A familiar face on the Monaghan club scene
Although McEntee will be new to inter-county management, he is well known in Monaghan club football. He managed Clontibret to a county title in 2019, beating Scotstown in the final, according to Northern Sound. He then spent the last four seasons with Inniskeen Grattans. In his first year in charge he brought the south Monaghan club to its first county final since 1990, and he repeated that in 2025. In the other two seasons Inniskeen reached the semi-finals.
On all four occasions, Inniskeen's season was ended by Scotstown. The most recent defeat came in this year's county semi-final at St Tiernach's Park, Clones, which the three-in-a-row champions won by three points.
The Anglo-Celt noted that McEntee also has a strong record with his home club. Alongside Oisín McConville, he co-managed Crossmaglen Rangers to an Ulster club title in 2015 and to two Armagh senior championships.
Who else was in the frame
According to RTÉ Sport, Andy McEntee and Séamus McEnaney were understood to have been interested in the job, while Gavin Devlin and Enda McGinley were linked early in the process before committing to Louth and Errigal Ciarán respectively.
The appointment comes seven years after McEntee's twin brother, Tony, went for the same role, only to lose out to McEnaney, who was beginning his second spell in charge. Tony McEntee later managed Sligo and coached Mayo, and the Anglo-Celt reports he is now involved with Down's backroom team.
Backroom team still to come
RTÉ Sport said the Monaghan hurling management for 2027 would also be confirmed at Monday's meeting, but the football backroom team is not expected to be finalised until later in the month. Northern Sound reported that the ticket is believed to include a former Monaghan county player, and that Tony Kernan, who has worked with McEntee at club level, will also be involved.
Another Armagh 2002 manager
McEntee will become the eighth member of Armagh's 2002 All-Ireland-winning team to manage at senior inter-county level, RTÉ Sport noted. The others are Kieran McGeeney, Aidan O'Rourke, Justin McNulty, Tony McEntee, Oisín McConville, Paul McCormack, who managed Louth's hurlers, and Ronan Clarke, who took charge of Armagh's ladies.
For Monaghan, the immediate task is to settle a new management team and start preparing for the 2027 league and championship. Monaghan Brief will report the county board's confirmation and backroom appointments once they are announced.
