No sign of peace in Cork

IT APPEARS all will not be peaceful within Cork GAA circles over the festive period after the senior football panel decided to boycott next Tuesday's medal presentation for their Munster championship wins in 2006 and this year.

A "strongly worded" letter was sent to the Cork County Board on Monday stating the footballers' intention not to attend the presentation at Rochestown Park Hotel. The function has since been cancelled. It is understood the footballers are making a stand in support of their hurling counterparts - who supported them 12 months ago - branding their treatment by the board as "disgraceful".

In a statement last night the Cork County Board president Derry Gowen said: "I am pleased to confirm that I have appointed an independent chairman to facilitate a meeting between all parties involved in the current Cork hurling impasse. I urge all involved to co-operate fully with the chairman whose responsibility it will be to convene a meeting of all concerned as a matter of urgency."

The senior hurling panel refuse to play under Gerald McCarthy, who was reappointed as manager for a further two years against their wishes. "They wrote a letter to the board to confirm the senior county panel would not be attending the presentation," said Cork PRO Bob Ryan. "It was supposed to be a function exclusively for the senior footballers to present them with the 2006 and 2008 Munster championship medals. But that's not going to happen now and the presentation has been cancelled. It's disappointing from our point of view because of the difficulty in finding a date to suit the players . . . Without giving specific details of the letter I'd say their reasons for boycotting the night is in support of the Cork hurlers, that much seems fairly obvious," added Ryan.

The latest development comes after McCarthy was forced to make a U-turn over the appointment of Mike McGurn as fitness adviser. McGurn, a former fitness coach in Eddie O'Sullivan's Ireland backroom team, said he wouldn't be able to carry out the work while in his current role as fitness coach with Welsh side Ospreys.

While on strike before this year's championship the Cork players secured places for two representatives on the seven-man selection committee but neither was consulted when the decision was taken to extend McCarthy's contract.