Former Roscommon, Tipperary and Wicklow manager John Evans takes over in Cill na Martra

FORMER Roscommon, Tipperary and Wicklow Senior Football manager John Evans takes the reins as Cill Na Martra boss for the 2022 Cork GAA club campaign.

Over the coming months, the Muskerry side will be working with a man with an extensive and impressive GAA CV.

A native of Killorglin County Kerry, Evans inherits a talented Cill na Martra squad which contains the likes of current Cork Senior Footballers Tadhg Corkery and Daniel Dineen, while Noel O’Leary is stepping away through retirement.

Speaking to The Echo, Evans said on taking on the Cill Na Martra managerial job. “I am looking forward to it and it is a new challenge.

“Having spoken with Noel O’Leary, he is an absolute gentleman. He has given long, long years to Cill na Martra anyway that is for certain. He has set a high bar there and I think that is what the young lads are trying to do there.

“There are a lot of young players there now trying to emulate Noel and none more so than young Tadhg Corkery and Dan Dineen, who are on the county team.

“But the core of the Cill Na Martra team is young and they want to achieve something. At the end of the day, I will be trying to instill new values into them and bring them along, trying to get each guy to be the best he can be."

During his time with Tipperary, Evans guided the county to back-to-back National Football League promotions in 2008 and 2009, bringing them from Division 4 to Division 2. In 2010, he was in charge as Tipperary won their first Munster Under-21 Football Championship, with a 1-7 to 1-6 victory over Kerry in the decider.

Evans, who also spent a period as part of the Meath Senior backroom team, managed Roscommon to three titles in a 12-month spell, Division 3 and Division 2 leagues and a Connacht League for the first time in 16 years.

While at club level Evans was at the helm when Kerry side Laune Rangers won the All-Ireland senior club football title in 1996, in the same campaign they defeated Clonakilty along the way to a Munster title.

“The first thing I am looking for is their attitude. I started with a country team in Knocknagoshel a good many years ago," describes Evans.

I always found a country team that there is honesty there, that is the first thing you look for.

“The players themselves built their own gym. That impressed on me that these guys were interested in their club and that they have pride in their club. Most of all they wanted to better themselves.”

 Cill Na Martra are a side that have been knocking on the door in terms of the Cork Premier Intermediate Football Championship silverware in recent years. In 2021 they made it to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by the eventual champions in Newmarket.

2020 saw Cill na Martra lose by just a point also in the semi-finals to Kanturk, who also beat the Gaeltacht club in the 2019 quarter-final stages.

The Premier Intermediate Football championship draw has seen them pitted in a group which will provide a very tasty local derby clash with Iveleary, while city outfits Nemo Rangers and St Vincent's are the other teams that will make up this particular group.

POTENTIAL

Cill na Martra have the potential to challenge once more in 2022 for silverware and Evans will hope to assist them in fulfilling that potential.

“The Intermediate Championship seems to be foremost on people’s minds,” said Evans when asked about what his targets are for the upcoming campaign.

“We will try and take it one step at a time and build along. But that is a long way off. There is a lot of work to be done in the meantime.

“That is not happening until somewhere in late July or early August. So there is a long road there yet before we actually get to that.

“In the meantime, we have the County League, which we should be able to sharpen our claws, get a team structure and get a bit of a plan going and we will see where it takes us.” 

What should encourage those associated with Cill na Martra is the ability Evans has to develop players and help teams improve.

One can argue was evident in his inter-county management career thus far and he will hope to play his part to drive things forward now with the Muskerry club.