Ronan McCarthy’s return offers continuity as Cork footballers enter a key period

A TWO YEAR term for the return of Cork boss Ronan McCarthy offers stability for footballers going forward.

The Douglas native has been in charge since 2018 and this season he guided his team to a surprising Munster semi-final victory over Kerry, though they were subsequently defeated by Tipp.

McCarthy will have been the manager for five years when this extension concludes, while his predecessors, Peader Healy and Brian Cuthbert, were only two years old each, and this approach did not help Cork football. Even if the pragmatic Conor Counihan [2008 to 2013] it was a difficult act to follow.

His initial period ended after the provincial final, although he was expected to stay given the progress made in recent seasons. The road has not been without its bumps, including relegation to the league’s Division 3 and hammering by Kerry and Tyrone in 2018.

A year later, Cork made the Super 8s and did quite well against Dublin, Tyrone and Roscommon without getting a positive result, before promotion to Division 2 and that beat Kerry in 2020.

Munster’s poor performance in the final against Tipp was a sobering reminder of the distance Cork had to go, though a lot of the under-20s were full of blood, with Seán Meehan particularly impressive at the half-lap line.

Cork is clearly on the right track, aided by the under-age All-Irelands in U20 and under in 2019. With seasoned coach Cian O’Neill on board, a CIT teacher who made a mark with Tipp’s pitchers and the footballers Mayo and Kerry, It is definitely positive and now he has two more seasons to reshape the team and his mindset.

McCarthy has added two high-profile selectors to his ticket, Bobbie O’Dwyer, who led the minors to glory in 2019, and former Cork senior John Hayes.

O’Dwyer, a Macroom-based Beara native, was hugely impressive as a junior coach and the young Rebels were unlucky enough to lose to Kerry after extra time at Tralee recently.

Hayes, 35, was the Carbery Rangers’ top scorer in 2016 when they captured their first senior county title with Ronan McCarthy as manager.

A 2010 All-Ireland winner, Hayes will add a youthful perspective to a setup that already includes Kildare native Cian O’Neill and Nemo’s Sean Hayes. Ballinora’s Gary O’Halloran has left as coach for family reasons.

A statement from GAA explained:

“The County Cork Executive is pleased to announce the re-election of Ronan McCarthy as Cork Senior Soccer Manager for an additional two years.

“Your selectors will be: Cian O’Neill (CIT), Sean Hayes (Nemo Rangers), John Hayes (Carbery Rangers) and Bobbie O’Dwyer (Macroom).

“The committee would like to extend our sincere thanks to outgoing coach Gary O’Halloran (Ballinora) who is leaving for family reasons.

Commenting on the appointment, Cork County committee chair Marc Sheehan thanked everyone involved:

“As we all look forward to returning to the top table of senior inter-county soccer in the near future, on behalf of the board, I want to once again acknowledge the incredible contribution of everyone involved, particularly Ronan, sooner than we hope will be two productive years.” .