I ALWAYS thought I was too young to be cynical – the world hasn’t beaten me down just yet – but then I received an email at 4.03pm on Friday evening that piqued my skeptical tendencies: The subject line read: Cork GAA football report.
Better late than never, I thought. This was the long-awaited report from the Cork County Committee football review meeting on July 1st – originally due a week later. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
We had to wait nine more days, but Cork GAA chiefs had their hands full with hurling matters ahead of the All-Ireland final.
So why the raised eyebrow? It’s a well-worn tactic in politics and PR: bury bad news on a Friday evening when scrutiny softens ahead of the weekend. Add in Cork’s All-Ireland hurling final distraction, and the timing of this long-awaited report felt … convenient.
The 2700-word report itself is detailed and welcomed, with the admission that the Cork football five-year plan failed to deliver on two of its key objectives – inter-county success and growing significantly public support for the football teams – to be welcomed. That is a step in the right direction.
‘It was clearly stated that milestones relating to success at inter-county level were not achieved, for example, a lack of success at underage level coupled with the senior team remaining in Division 2 for another season and with no All Ireland semi-final appearance in the interim. Also, the lack of engagement by the GAA public at large was clear,’ the report explained.
It also, rightfully, highlights where the plan succeeded – examples like the addition of nine new GDC roles, the formation of a senior development squad, as well as Football Project manager, High Performance manager and Commercial Director appointments – but by addressing the shortcomings of the Cork football plan, everyone can now finally talk about the elephant in the room.
‘It can be agreed that while most of the actions in the plan were completed, the overarching objectives of success at inter-county level and greater engagement by the public in support of teams were not achieved,’ the report added – and these are two key areas.
The lack of recent success and fan support for Cork football teams is widely known. Just look at the sea of red that followed the Cork hurlers in all of their championship games. Sold-out signs at every venue the Rebels visited. Contrast that with the attendance figures of, for example, 14,358 and 13,072 on the two occasions this season when Kerry footballers came to Páirc Uí Chaoimh – less than a third full both times when the biggest rivals came to town.
The apathy towards the footballers, sadly, is not a surprise, and is directly linked to a lack of success. Achieve the latter, and the former will improve – but what is the plan to lift the fortunes of Cork football at all levels? There is another admission in the report concerning ‘a worrying downward trend in many of our underage football results’, so what happens next?
Interestingly, the report on the Cork County Committee football review meeting does reveal that there was ‘a review of the (five-year) plan by members of the original committee at the conclusion of the relevant period in 2024.’
On March 3rd this year, this paper contacted the county board to ask if a review was held into #2024 – A Five Year Plan for Cork Football? And, if not, is one planned?
The response we received: ‘We are fully focused on supporting our teams at present and will review all such issues upon the exit of teams from their respective championships, as standard. The Football Plan will be considered in this context also.’
There was no mention of a review that was held last year, and the recommendations that emerged. Why the secrecy? And why is their advice only being conveyed now? For the record, the suggestions put forward by the original committee behind the Cork football plan launched in 2019 are:
- Further broadening of development squads
- Review of divisions/colleges participation in county championships
- Continued focus on the senior development squad
- Expansion of training hubs across the county
- Reform and restructuring of the county coaching committee
It’s what happens next that will shape the future of Cork football, in the short and long terms. If John Cleary, as has been suggested, remains in the senior hot-seat, that offers continuity, but the Castlehaven man is one piece in a much bigger jigsaw. Still, the release of this report is a starting point because it highlights issues that exist.
Regarding appointments/coaching pathway, it said: ‘While there was significant progress in coach education countywide, it was noted that there was a failure to engage the football coaching community to the same extent as their hurling counterparts, as well as a clear and present requirement to connect more with former players.’
On facilities, the report acknowledged ‘while there was a clear improvement in terms of the provision of gym facilities and with engagement with regional facilities having been secured in clubs, there remained a shortage of grass pitches for inter-county teams. The support of MTU in this regard was noteworthy, while the pursuit of a Centre of Excellence is a clear objective of the current strategic plan.’
While there has been work done, and progress made in certain areas, it’s performances on the pitch that will ultimately get bums on seats and fans excited about Cork football again. Now that this report has been released to clubs, what is the next step? What are the actions from these meetings and this report? In March this year, the Irish Examiner quoted Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan as saying ‘dangerous ideas’ are needed to shake Cork football from its slumber. What are these dangerous ideas? It’s time for action.
