Diarmuid Kirwan and Eddie Murphy set to be involved in new Éire Óg hurling management

Former All-Ireland hurling referee Diarmuid Kirwan is set to take over the Éire Óg hurlers.

The Offaly native will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new role as the Muskerry club look to make an impression in the Co-Op SuperStores PIHC in 2026.

The new boss has enjoyed underage success as a manager with a host of teams in Éire Óg and he has played a big role in Muskerry doing so well in recent years in the top-grade of Cork hurling.

He’s expected to replace John Malone at the helm.

Joining Kirwan on the new management ticket will be the experienced Eddie Murphy, who will be the coach.

The Bishopstown clubman is now based in Tralee and has enjoyed wonderful success with a number of clubs both on Leeside and in Kerry and even further afield.

Eddie’s father is the famous Ballincollig and Muskerry player, Willie ‘Long Puck’ Murphy, who was a member of the storied Cork hurling side who won the four-in-a-row between 1941 and 1944.

Eddie has had great triumphs coaching teams most notable at this Premier Intermediate grade. He has guided Bishopstown and Ballymartle to success at this level and came very close with Carrigaline in 2024, where they lost to Watergrasshill in the final.

Carrigaline were beaten by Ballincollig at the quarter-final stage this year with Eddie stepping down in the aftermath of that defeat.

In total, the new Éire Óg coach has been part of 12 All-Ireland wins – one football, two camogie and nine in hurling. As well as Ballymartle’s All-Ireland Club IHC win of 2011, he helped Bennettsbridge of Kilkenny to Junior and Intermediate titles in the 2015 and 2016 seasons respectively.

He will be looking to make an impact straightaway with an Éire Óg team looking to rediscover their spark.

Since winning the IAHC title in the 2020 season, they haven’t come close to winning the county at the higher grade. They did reach the quarter-finals in their first season up in 2021 before ending up in the relegation play-off in the following campaign.

The Ovens-based outfit have failed to qualify out of their group in the last three seasons. They lost to Ballymartle and Mallow on the final day of the group in 2023 and 2024 respectively when density was in Éire Óg’s hands.

This year, having lost to Ballymartle and Carrigaline, they had to beat Cloyne to avoid another relegation play-off, which they did.

Éire Óg have a decent squad on paper and the hope is that the new management will push on the panel of players.

They will be missing arguably their best player in Eoin O’Shea for the start of the season with the latter travelling. There’s a quiet confidence that he will play some part in 2026 though.

Éire Óg will be in the RedFM Division 3 Hurling League next year after suffering demotion from Division 2 this season.

They will discover their Co-Op SuperStores PIHC group stage opponents on Tuesday, December 9 when the draws are made at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.