Carlow manager Colm Bonnar is being heavily linked with a return to his native county.

The rumour mill is in overdrive as to who will replace Michael Ryan as Tipperary senior hurling manager after he stepped down from the position earlier this week.

Current Tipperary under-21 manager Liam Cahill has been linked as has former Offaly and Laois manager Eamonn Kelly. Further names in the loop are former Tipp managers Nicky English and Liam Sheedy who are always mentioned for a return when the position becomes available.

However, it is Bonnar's name that has jumped to the head of the queue following the work that he has done with Carlow. This year, he guided the Barrowsiders to the NHL 2A title and the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup.

Bonnar won two All-Ireland titles with Tipperary in 1989 and 1991 before hanging up his hurl in 1998. A year later, he was brought on board to the Waterford management team working under Gerald McCarthy and then his namesake Justin from 1999 to 2003.

Under Ken Hogan, he was a selector on the Tipperary team before coaching Waterford IT to four Fitzgibbon Cup titles in six years.

A three-year spell with Wexford ended without any success and Bonnar managed a number of clubs before taking on the Carlow job.

Follow this weekend's All-Ireland SFC and MFC semi-finals on the hoganstand.com live match tracker.

Tweet

Most Read Stories