Cork footballers issue strike notice to board

GAELIC GAMES: THE CRISIS in Cork GAA intensified last night, as the senior footballers issued an ultimatum to the county board…

GAELIC GAMES:THE CRISIS in Cork GAA intensified last night, as the senior footballers issued an ultimatum to the county board to resolve its dispute with the hurling panel or else they too will withdraw from inter-county activity.

In a statement released late last night the footballers, who last Sunday won their first match in Division Two of the NFL by defeating Meath, vowed to step down at the end of the competition if a satisfactory resolution isn’t found.

The statement in full reads: “We have been monitoring the current conflict between the Cork senior hurling panel 2008 and the executive of the Cork county board for a number of months. We feel it is now time to clarify our position, which is that we fully support the stance taken by the 2008 hurling panel.

“We confirm our unanimous agreement to withdraw our services as of the end of the National Football League unless a resolution is found to the satisfaction of the 2008 hurling and football panels.

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“We believe that Mr Kieran Mulvey’s arbitration findings were an ideal template for the executive and the players to begin working together for the benefit of the GAA in Cork and to help repair relations that have been damaged in the past.

“Unfortunately, we believe that it is evident that the executive would rather work against the Cork Hurling Panel of 2008 rather than work with them and we are fearful that Cork hurlers and footballers of the future will be put in the same position.

“We do not believe that the executive have acted with the best interest of Cork GAA at heart with their recent actions, whereby the spirit of the arbitration was not adhered to in the selection process.

“We support the plea of the hurlers that a process, by which the clubs discuss and debate the issue, in an appropriate time-frame, would begin as soon as possible. We would urge all Cork GAA followers to actively and urgently engage with their clubs so their views can be reflected at club and county level.”

An intervention from the football panel had been expected. A year ago when the footballers were in dispute with officials over the appointment of Teddy Holland as manager, the hurling panel supported them by withdrawing from inter-county activity, a move that greatly contributed towards the eventual resolution, which saw Holland’s departure recommended in an arbitration by Kieran Mulvey.

The dispute between the hurlers and the county board over the re-appointment of manager Gerald McCarthy for another two years has been running for nearly four months and sees Cork fielding a fourth- or fifth-choice team for Sunday’s opening of the National Hurling League against Dublin in Páirc Uí­ Rinn.

Along with the football panel’s ultimatum ticking down over the remaining two months of the NFL there will be the likely pressure of McCarthy’s hurling team struggling to stay afloat in Division One of the hurling league. Last night’s statement echoes the call by the hurlers for club members to become involved in the process and make their views on the controversy count.

Meanwhile Gerald McCarthy’s first selection for this year’s National League was released last night, featuring as expected 15 players who haven’t before played at this level. It includes nine of the starters from the previous competitive outing, last month’s Munster Cup defeat by Waterford IT, who were beaten in the first round of the Fitzgibbon Cup yesterday by the University of Limerick.

In other team news Tipperary, who play Cork tomorrow week to launch the floodlights in Semple Stadium, have named their first league selection for the weekend’s trip to take on All-Ireland finalists Waterford in Walsh Park.

Patrick Maher makes his NHL debut at centre forward for the holders, who lost the recent Munster Cup final to Clare.

CORK (NHL v Dublin): A Kennedy; E Clancy, C Murphy, C O’Sullivan; E Keane, R Ryan, C Leahy; B Johnson, G O’Connor; T Óg Murphy, A Ryan, D Crowley; A Mannix, M Collins, E Cronin. Subs: C Cronin, A Kearney; J Moran, G O’Driscoll, T Murphy, R O’Driscoll, P Lynch, C O’Leary, C McCarthy.

TIPPERARY (NHL v Waterford): B Cummins; C O’Brien, D Fanning, P Curran; B Dunne, C O’Mahony, D Fitzgerald; S Maher, T Stapleton; P Kerwick, P Maher, J Woodlock; P Kelly, J O’Brien, W Ryan.

DERRY (NHL v Mayo): D McDermott; R McCloskey, C Quinn, S McNicholl; P Sweeney, L Hinphey, S McCullagh; S Henry, K Hinphey; M Craig, B Dodds, P McCloskey; M Kirkpatrick, R Convery, O McCloskey.