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| Born | 1 June 1965 [1] Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Football manager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Gaelic football, basketball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfield/Full-forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Liam McHale (born 1 June 1965) is a Gaelic football coach [2] and former player (and basketball player) who played in midfield with the Mayo county football team between 1985 and 1999. [3]
He played from the start in four finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (including one replay),but was never successful in winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
McHale started the 1989 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final,which was won narrowly by Cork.
He started the 1996 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. It ended in a draw and a replay followed. Meath defeated Mayo,avenging their defeat to the same opposition in the 1951 decider. McHale was sent off,along with Meath's Colm Coyle. [4] He had been man of the match in the drawn game. [5] However,he did win an All Star award later that year. [6]
McHale started the 1997 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final,in which Mayo was defeated by Kerry.
McHale won two national basketball Cups with his club Ballina (in 1991 and 1996),as well as a Super League title. [7]
McHale was a Gaelic football selector on the Mayo team that reached the 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final,which Mayo lost to Kerry.
In 2013,McHale was involved in coaching the successful St Brigid's GAA team which won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship,under manager Kevin McStay. [8]
In October 2014,it was announced McHale would join the Cavan backroom team.[ citation needed ]
McHale also served as a selector of the Roscommon GAA squad which won the 2017 Connacht Senior Football Championship. However,his charges were heavily defeated in an All-Ireland quarter-final replay against his native Mayo. [9]
In December 2019,Westmeath GAA club Athlone confirmed that McHale would be its new senior manager. [8]
After Kevin McStay was appointed as manager of the Mayo senior team in 2022,McStay named him as a coach and selector. [10] He departed the setup after a year. [11]
On 7 November 2023 he was hired as the new manager of the Mayo ladies football team on a three-year contract. [12]
As of 2018,McHale was living in Carrentrilla in Ballina,County Mayo.[ citation needed ]
He never protested his innocence... At the time McHale, then 32, was Mayo's most influential player. He had been man-of-the-match in the drawn game and very much behind the county's resurgence under John Maughan.... 'all hell broke loose', according to McHale... 'I was right in the middle right from the start'... A year later, Maughan was manager again when Mayo lost to Kerry, while McHale was a selector when they lost the 2004 All-Ireland heavily to the Kingdom.
Rochford is assistant manager along with coaching contributions, Buckley will be head coach and selector, while Mulligan and McHale are also coaches and selectors with additional responsibilities for club liaison and Mayo Under-20s liaison respectively.