Cork GAA Discussion Thread

Disgrace that the pitch is like this for the footballers.

The footballers have been nothing short of full in value this summer and this is how they are rewarded. Joke

It's funny Frank is gone.Yet it's still a case of the same old bs with the county board.

Angliru

The writing was on the wall when they allowed Tracey Kennedy become chairperson. A disaster.

Boom__Boom

Roscommon scored 4-25 last time they played Cork in Pairc Ui Rinn.
As a bonus Conor Cox scored 0-5 and 1-7 for the Kerry Juniors on the two occasions when he played against Cork in Pairc Ui Rinn.

The last 2 times we beat Roscommon we went on to win AI

Vinnie222

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

The last 2 times we beat Roscommon we went on to win AI

Cork might beat Roscommon but wont be lifting Sam anytime soon

thesultan

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Disgrace that the pitch is like this for the footballers.

The footballers have been nothing short of full in value this summer and this is how they are rewarded. Joke

It has been known with months. Hardlyboth at big a deal with the support..

Vinnie222 wrote: »

Cork might beat Roscommon but wont be lifting Sam anytime soon

Of course they wont. It's going be Dublin with Kerry only team that will upset it in next 3 to years

westcork67

thesultan wrote: »

It has been known with months. Hardlyboth at big a deal with the support..

Known for months?? So why did they have to announce this week that the game was being moved from PUC to PUR?

Vinnie222 wrote: »

Cork might beat Roscommon but wont be lifting Sam anytime soon

I think Cork can win Sam, at some point in the next 5 to 6 years.

Meyler deserving of gratitude but even he’ll see it’s time to go

By Kieran Shannon

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/columnists/meyler-deserving-of-gratitude-but-even-hell-see-its-time-to-go-937471.html

We’ll skip with the preamble. Any assessment of where the Cork hurlers go from here has to start with where John Meyler goes from here.

And as he’s a man who is admirably blunt when he feels the occasion warrants it, we’ll be frank about it here too.

His time, not just his term, has expired. While his achievements have justified him been given two years in the position — not something every manager can retrospectively claim, or indeed not something this column could have forecast when he was appointed — there’s no need or case to extend or fudge this. The team needs a fresh impetus that only a new manager can bring.

To be fair, Meyler is likely to recognise as much himself — or that a more attuned county board will — though he was right not to make any pronouncements about his future immediately after something as emotional and devastating as last Sunday’s defeat to Kilkenny.

Whenever and however Meyler steps aside, he and his management should not only be thanked for their service but the memories.

There is understandably a degree of outrage and impatience among the Cork public with the county going a full decade without winning an All-Ireland for the first time since the 1880s and the side, for a third straight year,losing upon its first visit to Croke Park.

But it’s worth remembering where Cork were when Meyler joined the senior set-up as a selector to Kieran Kingston in the autumn of 2016.

A pre-Davy Fitz Wexford side had been too gritty for them in a second-round qualifier. An earlier defeat in Thurles that summer to Tipperary had been the county’s most abject Munster championship performance in 20 years. They’d lost all five of their round-robin games in the league. No one back then could have envisaged Cork winning the following two Munster championships.

The championing and promotion of the likes of Mark Coleman and Darragh Fitzgibbon; Patrick Horgan’s three-year stretch matching even Lar’s Lazarus act of 2008-2011; turning around an eight-point deficit against Clare to win the 2018 Munster final; even something as recent as the ambush of Limerick last month: Meyler contributed in no small part to such great days and welcome developments for Cork hurling.

So did his management team. Just as Meyler always exuded dignity in how he conducted himself in public, every utterance of Donal O’Mahony’s smacked of intelligence, the same way Kieran ‘Fraggy’ Murphy radiated passion and sincerity.

But things stagnated this year. After two seasons of having some involvement with the set-up, Gary Keegan departed over the winter, his role having become more akin to that of a mere sport psychologist to individual players than a high performance consultant advising and reviewing and upskilling the set-up in its entirety.

Did Meyler commission or welcome such accountability of himself and his management? The next manager must.

No one should be sacred.

No one should feel entitled or comfortable.

Dr Con Murphy is rightly and universally respected and loved but over the weekend, it looked as if his mission was to complete the shrine to Cork GAA chivalry that constitutes a snug in Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Ventry.

Fine to be photographed warmly greeting Stephen Cluxton, an associate from International Rules trips; such exchanges are common after round-robin games, league or even championship.

But posing and beaming with Brian Cody moments after the hurlers’ three-year push to win an All Ireland had fallen short? You think that would sit right with a Cluxton or a Cody if their team doc carried on like that after losing a huge game? It’s no longer good enough to say it’s just Con being Con, a reminder that Cork will always be Cork.

Brian Corcoran was quoted extensively yesterday claiming Cork lack the necessary belief to win All-Irelands because of their lack of underage success, but as plenty of other top operators in sport could tell him, it is neither a prerequisite or a guarantor of senior success.

The Donegal footballers had won next to nothing before Jim McGuinness came along in autumn 2010 to transform them and their sport. Whatever underage honours any Galway hurler had won was a distant memory by 2017.

Even the likes of Joe Deane and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín which Corcoran namechecked had thought their success of 1999 couldn’t be repeated until they insisted upon having a high-performance set-up.

Excellent preparation — not underage success — is what mandatory to compete and win at the highest level.

Under McGuinness, Donegal felt no one was better physically, mentally, and especially technically prepared, just as Corcoran and his teammates were when their careers were transformed by Donal O’Grady and Sean McGrath.

There will be some support for Kieran Kingston to return to the helm, especially were he to bring with him Pat Ryan who was well respected by the players for his work on the training ground in 2017. But would either be able to give more than two years to the job when they couldn’t the last time?

Because this can’t be just a a big squeeze to win an All-Ireland before Patrick Horgan or Anthony Nash’s window closes. For sure there needs to be a suitable sense of urgency and for certain there would be a beautiful symmetry of Cork winning the All-Ireland on the centenary of the birth of a particular clubmate of Horgan’s, one Christy Ring.

But there needs to be a grander vision and ambition to all this. Pat Gilroy and Jim Gavin didn’t just set up Dublin to win an All-Ireland; they came in to win All-Irelands. Plural. Multiple.

The next Cork manager should be thinking along similar lines. Just as Dublin progressed under four years of Paul Caffrey, Cork made significant strides under four years of Kingston and Meyler. But Dublin didn’t promote within. They made a clean break, going for a detail-obsessed manager in Gilroy accompanied by a ground-breaking coach in Mickey Whelan.

Last Monday on Off The Ball, the leading hurling writer Denis Walsh touted the name of Donal Óg Cusack as someone to succeed Meyler.

He certainly would bring a lot to the party. That forensic attention to detail. A ruthlessness and healthy scepticism of, as he put it in his book, “the good ol’ boys of Cork GAA, part of the Masonic system” which needs to be shaken up. He’s got something Cork GAA doesn’t have enough of —external experience, from coaching Clare where the players still rave about his input in to the national league triumph of 2016.

And he’s a winner. In his book, to defend the fact he wasn’t “always the easiest” to deal with, he quotes from another Al Pacino film, Any Given Sunday, where Jamie Foxx’s Willie Beamen says, “I’m trying to win, coach. I ain’t trying to disrespect nobody, but winning is the only thing I respect.”

There would have been no strikes in a Kerry or Kilkenny because there they keep the main thing the main thing — winning, or at least striving to win. If Cork want to get back to what should be the main thing and not peripheral matters about personalities and history, then Cusack should no longer be persona non-grata in the corridors of Páirc Uí Chaoimh or indeed the wider Cork GAA community.

That’s not to say he’s the only or even outstanding candidate. Also worthy of consideration are the Murray brothers, Paudie and Kevin. Like Cusack, Paudie is merciless, obsessive and a winner, while as Joe Quaid pointed out in these pages, coaching a senior inter-county camogie manager in many ways better prepares you for the challenges of a full inter-county season than taking the U21s ever could.

Kevin, meanwhile, is a cutting edge coach in the mould of Paul Kinnerk, not just because he’s studying for a post-grad in the discipline but in how he can apply such a constraint-led coaching in both football (as coach to Billy Morgan’s Sigerson-Cup winning teams in UCC) and the small ball with the all-conquering Cork camógs.

Every night Limerick and Tipperary feel, with coaches like Kinnerk and Eamon O’Shea with the whistle, that no one else in the country is training better or more diligently than them.

That Joe Schmidt could observe and admire and learn from their session. Cork haven’t had that conviction since the middle of the last decade.

Until that returns, Liam MacCarthy won’t.

jacool

windy shepard henderson wrote: »

Absolutely 100% but it won't be easy win any all ireland under the current rules

Wexford for example are in the all ireland semi finals after a win against carlow and kilkenny

Cork are out after two wins against the current champions and waterford and are out

Statistics cut two ways.
Cork have been defeated 3 times in the Championship.

Historically, the first decade without a title.
Having said that, if they had held on against Limerick last year, they would have defeated Galway (one loss this Championship!) as they have a hex over them in finals.

munsterlegend

Straight Talker wrote: »

I think Cork can win Sam, at some point in the next 5 to 6 years.

I’m an optimistic Cork supporter as anyone but can’t see any basis for prediction. Yes we have improved this year but are miles off competing to win an all Ireland.

The Cork Team to play Kerry in the EirGrid Munster Under 20 Football Championship Final has been announced

1. Josh O' Keeffe (Newmarket)

2. Michael O' Mahony (Knocknagree)

3. Maurice Shanley (Clonakilty)

4. Paul Ring (Aghabullogue)

5. Gearoid O' Donovan (Newcestown)

6. Shane Hickey (Millstreet)

7. Peter O' Driscoll (Ilen Rovers) - Captain

8. Brian Hartnett (Douglas)

9. Daniel O' Connell (Kanturk)

10. Colm Barrett (St Finbarrs)

11. Blake Murphy (St Vincents)

12. Mark Hodnett (Carbery Rangers)

13. Mark Cronin (Nemo Rangers)

14. Cathal O' Mahony (Mitchelstown)

15. Damien Gore (Kilmacabea)

16. Ian Giltinan (Carrigaline)

17. Jack McCarthy (Carrigaline)

18. Fionn Herlihy (Dohenys)

19. Sean Meehan (Kiskeam)

20. Rory MaGuire (Castlehaven)

21. Jack Murphy (Eire Óg)

22. Brian Hayes (St Finbarrs)

23. David Buckley (Newcestown)

24. Colm O' Callaghan (Eire Óg)

Great start for the u20s, 0-7 to 0-2 after 14min

On TG4

Cork 0-10 Kerry 0-6 HT. playing some great football, quick passes into a very dangerous looking full forward line

Blake Murphy goal, 1-11 to 0-7 after 37

DDC1990

Said it in the Kerry thread but these Cork lads are an absolute credit to the county. An exhibition of football here. Kerrymen are often slow to credit a Cork team as being better footballers, saying Cork were more physical or whatever. No doubt these lads are better footballers. Some of the best scores I've seen in a long time.

3-16 to 0-12 FT. Well done to all involved, brilliant performance in both defence and attack.

Stoner

Great win, and very emotional at the end for the lads.

That's how to finish a game.
Great fielding too. Terrific bunch of young lads. They look the best at this age group.

SeaFields

Powerful display. Really was. The backs were particularly impressive with the amount of ball they turned over. Superbly taken scores too and some majestic fielding around the middle. Brilliant. Just a brilliant display by those young lads

citykat

Straight Talker wrote: »

Meyler deserving of gratitude but even he’ll see it’s time to go

By Kieran Shannon

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/columnists/meyler-deserving-of-gratitude-but-even-hell-see-its-time-to-go-937471.html

To be fair, Meyler is likely to recognise as much himself — or that a more attuned county board will — though he was right not to make any pronouncements about his future immediately after something as emotional and devastating as last Sunday’s defeat to Kilkenny.

Whenever and however Meyler steps aside, he and his management should not only be thanked for their service but the memories.

Meyler might not have been that devastated. His ma is s Cat.

Fantastic stuff lads. A welcome boost after the weekend

ShamoBuc

Awesome performance. Simply awesome. We totally wiped the floor with that Kerry team. The sheer effort to track back by the forwards was very noticeable, getting a hand in or simply not allowing the continuation pass. The desire was there for all to see. But the most satisfying aspect of that win was the fact that Cork were better footballers- plain and simple. Each of the subs that came on followed a well drilled tactical plan aswell.
So many positives to take from such an emphatic win over the team that won the minor All Ireland 2 years ago and beat Cork by double figures. Clifford not playing in particular a difference but that Cork team have done serious footballers spread across the entire squad.

Beating the living daylights out of Kerry is always great.The fact that we smashed a Kerry side managed by Jack O'Connor, makes it all the better.Hopefully we drive on now and land the all Ireland.If that level of performance, as was seen last night is maintained, then this side will take some stopping.

Seadin

That was a fantastic performance by Cork u20 last night. 9 out of 10 times Cork lose to Kerry in most grades but always nice to beat Kerry when the opportunity comes around. Hope they go all the way now. Cork football could do with some silverware no matter what grade it is. This is definitely a confidence booster for the future.

a bit of cop on at last from the GAA, double header for our minor and u20 footballers

Sunday 28 July @ Tullamore:

Kerry v Tyrone (minor) 2pm

Cork v Tyrone (u20) 4pm

Cork v Monaghan (minor) 6pm

Cork Ladies football team going well against Cavan, 4-15 to 2-5 with 20min left. Doireann O'Sullivan on for her first game this year

Cork 6-19 Cavan 3-8 FT. great start to the All Ireland series.