Kearney counting down to final curtain
Meathman Mick Kearney will end one of the most fulfilling chapters in his career when he steps down as Irish team rugby team manager after the last of the November tests against Australia at the Aviva on Saturday.
Kearney, who is from near Dunboyne, took over as Irish manager in 2012 replacing Paul McNaughton.
He has filled the role for the past five years after serving as team manager with the Leinster and Irish u-20s. He also served for a time as President of Lansdowne RFC.
Educated at Castleknock College, Kearney is a successful businessman. He purchased the franchise for Snap Printing and turned it into a very successful enterprise while he has also been involved in Home Instead Senior Care among other ventures.
He was part of the Irish senior set-up at a time when the Boys in Green achieved some of their greatest triumphs including two Six Nations championships won under the guidance of Joe Schmidt and the historic 40-29 win over the All-Blacks in Chicago.
'I've witnessed at first hand the incredible work ethic of players and management and the desire to reach world class standards in everything they do. The time was right for me to step down and allow the next team manager time to integrate into the group ahead of the next World Cup,' Kearney was recently quoted as saying.
As manager Kearney was deeping involved in the logistics in running the team such as ensuring everything was in place for trips aboard as well as home games.
He also was a spokesman for the team and last week he expressed the disappointment felt by the Irish management over some of the tackling by New Zealand players in last Saturday's game in the Aviva.
The Irish were annoyed by the preceived leniency of South African referee Jaco Peyper towards some of the All-Blacks and their approach to tackling with Robbie Henshaw and CJ Sander both forced to leave the field after shipping heavy blows.
Malakai Fekitoa's tackle on Simon Zebo was later upgraded from a yellow to a red-card offence. After a spell in the sinbin Fekitoa came back on to score what turned out to be the decisive match-winning try.