Hurlers vote to stay away

Cork players' strike: Cork players have decided unanimously to persevere with their withdrawal from the senior county football and hurling panels.

At a meeting lasting two hours on the north side of the city last night, the combined panels also voted to reject the memorandum of understanding proposed last week as the basis for resolving the crisis that is virtually certain to cost the county its place in this season's National Leagues.

The outcome of the two votes entrenches the players' position and maintains the polarisation of the row between them and the county board after the breakdown of talks last Wednesday night and the exchange of conflicting press statements on Thursday.

There were two motions taken at last night's meeting.

The first was taken by the hurlers on their own and concerned a proposal by the footballers that the hurlers disengage from the dispute and salvage their league campaign.

After the footballers had withdrawn from the room, the matter was put to secret ballot and unanimously rejected.

"There was another secret ballot on whether we should accept the document, proposal recommended by Páraic Duffy and Mr Mulvey and unanimously we have rejected the document," Seán Ó hAilpín told RTÉ news.

It appears, however, that the meeting effectively addressed two criticisms of the players' delegation at last week's talks facilitated by Kieran Mulvey, chief executive of the LRC, and the GAA's Director General Páraic Duffy.

One was the reported refusal to place the memorandum prepared by Mulvey and Duffy before the full panel of players. The second was the reservation that senior, more influential players would exert undue influence over younger colleagues unless any vote was taken by secret ballot.

It is understood, however, that the memorandum wasn't rejected on the grounds of its proposals, which the players view positively, but as a basis for calling off the dispute and agreeing to play for the football management appointed last November under new terms that are at the centre of the current impasse.