Have Dublin come up with the right formula?

Pat Gilroy? Remember him? If you had forgotten about him or just filed his name into that category of Dublin footballer who left as quickly as they came then it"s perfectly understandable. Gilroy spent a few seasons as a Dublin footballer in the early 1990s, a peripheral figure who got plenty of chances under Dr Pat O"Neill, but was never able to seize any of them and make a real fist of his playing career. As Dublin manager from 1993 to 1995 O"Neill populated his team with tall, strong boned type players and Gilroy fitted that bill perfectly. He started the All-Ireland final of 1994 against Down as Brian Stynes" midfield partner and came off the bench in the final against Tyrone 12 months later to claim his All-Ireland medal. After that though his career began to lose some altitude and he disappeared from the inter-county scene without much fuss or fanfare in the latter part of the 1990s at a point when he possibly should have been at his peak. O"Neill clearly saw something he liked in him however and that manifested itself again last week when Gilroy was the surprise choice as the new Dublin football manager. It"s easy to see why O"Neill and Kevin Heffernan, the last two men to manage All-Ireland-winning Dublin senior teams might take to him. He has strong business acumen, he"s Trinity educated, smart and comes from good stock, St Vincent"s stock, as it happens. Heffernan has been taking much of the blame/credit for the appointment but, given his connection and clear liking for him as a player, O"Neill was a strong influence on the decision too. It is a spectacular gamble from Dublin however, completely against the grain, even if Dublin chief executive John Costello was insistent last week that they have come up with equally daring appointments in the past. Who? Tommy Carr was a past Dublin captain with strong leadership qualities, Paul Caffrey was a proven club manager with three years" experience in the front line before he assumed control, and Tommy Lyons had won an All-Ireland club title a few years earlier (and he had also guided Offaly to a Leinster senior championship in 1997). Which brings us to the core of why Gilroy has been appointed. As much potential as he may have, he is the perfect foil for the return of Mickey Whelan who led St Vincent"s to All-Ireland glory earlier this year. In any other county, coaching a team to an All-Ireland club success would automatically guarantee a prospective candidate the favourite"s tag for a vacancy in the same county. Joe Kernan and Billy Morgan immediately spring to mind. But because of his previous bitter experience as Dublin manager, Whelan does not have that luxury. Nor would he want it either it seems. Whelan will do what he does best - coach. Gilroy will do what he has does best in his personal life - manage. Whelan failed to win over a dressing-room that convinced itself almost collectively that he was 10 years behind the times. In revision many of those same Dublin players would not admit that he may actually have been 10 years ahead of his time. His success with a St Vincent"s team that played an attractive brand of football to win the All-Ireland club title was quite a redemption. As individuals neither Gilroy nor Whelan could have carried the job on their own, Gilroy because of relative inexperience, Whelan because of 1996 and "97. But there is method in bringing their respective qualities together. What the succession race in Dublin has revealed is the dearth of real coaching talent in the capital. Outside Brian Mullins and the Mick Deegan-led triumvirate of past players, who else was really in the frame? Changing the management and making such a bold decision won"t automatically change results on the field. Four Leinster titles in four years may yet emerge as a serious legacy for Paul Caffrey. They didn"t do a lot wrong except foster a siege mentality around the squad that ultimately didn"t help them. The same challenges would have faced any Dublin management in 2009 - performing better in the league, unearthing a new full-back, the positional crux involving Bryan Cullen and better crisis management on the field. Dublin are not blessed with obvious names to fill some of those positions, but then they were not blessed with a range of candidates to choose from last week earlier when Gilroy stepped up. Could Gallagher be an inspired move? Speaking of bold moves last week there was none bolder that Sean Boylan"s decision to include David Gallagher in his international rules squad. As "left field" selections go this was right out of the top drawer, even surpassing Kevin Heffernan"s selection of Cork"s John O"Driscoll for the 1986 tour prior to his Cork debut and Eugene McGee"s choice of Kevin Fagan, who had only played a handful of league games in 1990. There is strong reasoning behind Gallagher"s selection, though for the public the proof of this particular pudding will be in the eating. Those that are familiar with Gallagher will know that he has the qualities to match the prototype International Rules goalkeeper. He has height and strength, plays outfield for his club at a high level in defensive positions and is also a shot stopper of some repute. But the move is still a gamble because Boylan and his selectors have overlooked the cache of inter-county goalkeepers that were available to him. Gallagher has essentially not played inter-county as a goalkeeper for over three years and in the meantime has shaken off a prolonged back injury. Sean Boylan has risked much by including him, but somehow it could turn out to be one of his most inspired selections. *Colm Keys is GAA correspondent with the Irish Independent.