Ireland have parted company with long-serving coach Andy Kelly as part of a major re-organisation ahead of the 2013 World Cup. Rugby League Ireland (RLI) have also disbanded Kelly's backroom team, which included former Great Britain internationals Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor, and will advertise for a new head coach.
Kelly, who guided Ireland to within 80 minutes of the World Cup semi-finals in Australia in 2008, is understood to be "bitterly disappointed" over the decision, but has yet to comment officially.Ireland were part of the success story of the last World Cup, qualifying ahead of Lebanon and Wales and producing a stunning win over Samoa to reach the semi-final eliminator, in which they lost to Fiji.
That saw them reach seventh in the world rankings but their results since have been disappointing as they failed to reach the European Cup final in both 2009 and 2010 and therefore missed out on a place in this year's Four Nations Series.
An RLI statement read: "RLI would like to recognise the hard work and success of the senior management team over the last 10 years.
"Andy Kelly and his team leave behind a legacy of success that will prove invaluable to Rugby League Ireland in its efforts to grow and develop the game in Ireland.
"The board owes a huge debt of gratitude to Andy and his assistants Barrie McDermott, Terry O'Connor and Mike Callaghan, who were all instrumental in helping Andy produce those teams that were so successful in Australia and elsewhere."
Kelly's departure ends a decade of service to Ireland. He was assistant to Steve O'Neill for the 2000 World Cup and was also number two to Daryl Powell before taking over as head coach in 2006.RLI said they opted to implement a new strategic development plan following a major review of both the domestic game and the senior national team.
The statement added: "The new strategic plan will see a unified coaching and operational strategy deployed at all levels of the game in Ireland.
"This will further assist the development of domestic Irish Rugby League players whilst ensuring that all representative teams are suitably prepared to deliver results on the national and international stage.
"Rugby League Ireland will, therefore, advertise the position of head coach with responsibility for all representative teams, for developing and delivering a coaches programme in Ireland and for developing and maintaining a performance pathway for domestic Irish players."
Ireland are in the same group as England, Australia and Fiji for the 2013 World Cup, with three teams to qualify for the quarter-finals. Ireland A, under coach Alan Robinson, are currently in Philadelphia preparing for Saturday's St Patrick's day international against the United States.