McCarthy admits he does not have backing of Cork hurlers

[Tatler Jack]

From Today's  Examiner

Soldiering on


The strongly-held positions remain as polarised as ever in the Cork GAA dispute, but hurling coach Gerald McCarthy is moving on with his new players and holding on dearly to his values and principles. He spoke to Tony Leen.

HE HAS never looked his age, and even in this turmoil, he doesn't look anything like 63. But sitting down across the table from Gerald McCarthy, it's difficult not to think of Sean Óg O hAilpín's 'do you really need this?' question for the Cork coach.

Like everything else – even down to the mis-reported death of his mother last week – he has been stoical and unequivocal in his response. "I'm in a very tough place, and it is hurting me. People ask why are you still there and sometimes I wake up in the morning and think 'why am I there, why did I take this on?'

"I'm a resolute kind of guy, I like challenges but this goes way and above anything I have faced before. (But) there are fundamental issues here; I want to keep an old value because it's a good value. We shouldn't introduce a situation where players have that much power. What's it going to be next year – 'sorry, we know the players better than you, and really, these are the players you should be picking'. There is a line you can't cross."

Sadly, in this epoch-framing saga, that line is a speck in the rear-view mirror. Whatever public pronouncements the players or McCarthy may make going forward, many of them will never share the same side of the street, much less a dressing room, with the coach again. The Cork GAA dispute has enough bile in it to divide families and clubs for generations to come but in the here and now, wounds are too raw and blinkers too tight to consider perspective.

However for McCarthy, stripping away the extraneous issues and anecdotes offers clarity.

"Right now, thanks to be God, I have good health. As long as He gives me that, I'm going to deal with this problem. It's not stubbornness. There are principles involved here, values about Cork hurling that I treasure. Amateurism for one, the fact that nobody's bigger or more important than the jersey. We own this (Cork) jersey for a couple of years and we hand it on — this is not happening with this group of (2008) players.

"I want to establish the right of a manager to be democratically elected and not to be vetoed by a group of players. That's the big question for me, and one I want to pose to Donal O'Grady — does a group of players have the right to veto the appointment of a manager? I thought Donal wrote a nasty, if predictable, piece last Saturday (in this newspaper), but that's an issue he never addressed.

"A second question for Donal O'Grady: would he be in favour of standing in front of two current players and being interviewed for the coaching position with the Cork team? I told the players last year I didn't agree with that (element of the Mulvey Accord). It would have compromised any player-manager situation. Much better to have two ex-inter-county players to represent their position."

The process? "The process is exactly the same as the footballers, who had no problem with it. It seems to me that it's not the process they don't like, it's the end result of it."

WHATEVER about the spirit or abuse of The Process, for many this intractable dispute appears less about procedure and more about elemental emotions such as personality and revenge. Some believe it simplistic to reduce it to a three-way fight between McCarthy, goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack and county GAA secretary Frank Murphy, but it is a no less seductive theory for all that. McCarthy is reticent regarding Murphy's role in this. Of Cusack's, though, there is no ambivalence.

"Donal Óg is a charismatic guy, he's a leader but his involvement in all of this is at the heart of the problem. He bears a big responsibility; in my view, he can be a divisive influence. He doesn't want to be coached — he has ideas about coaching but he has no respect for my opinion on coaching. It's a two-way street and you're not going to impart anything someone with a closed mind.

"The night John Gardiner and Donal Óg came 'looking for my head', we had discussions, (selector) Donie Collins was there too, and I questioned their right to question my coaching credentials. I don't have to defend my coaching ability to anybody, but if I'm pushed to the wall, I will. Donal Óg coached Cloyne in three county finals and couldn't win one. I coached my club (St Finbarr's) to three counties immediately after stopping playing; I managed Cork to National League and Munster championships and coached the team in 1990 when we won the All-Ireland before going to Waterford.

"I didn't believe I had to justify my credentials to them at all, but we agreed to disagree on the matter. We shook hands and Donie Collins set out three scenarios; 1) you play for Gerald, 2) you walk away and leave anyone who wants to play do so and 3) you go on strike. Both of them said No 2 and that did not happen. I will and can stand over every statement I have made in this."

Only those "in the group" as McCarthy puts it, have reliable evidence of his coaching methods, but the Cork legend offers an alternative perspective to a well worn tale of Diarmuid O'Sullivan losing his cool at one Sunday session.

"Sully hit a bad patch last season, his confidence went and a lot of people were clamouring for him to be dropped after he had been taken off in two games. I saw my job to help that individual even if it meant extra work for us both.

"Sully must have felt he was going to be dropped and that led to what I consider a contrived situation on a Sunday morning at training. I was working him hard on balls in over his head, getting back and clearing them quickly, but he was of the opinion that he should be settling on the ball (obviously waiting to dish off the hand-pass). I said that's fine when it's on but there are times you have a split second to get it out of there, down the wing, out of the danger zone.

"Anyway he blew the ball out of Páirc Uí Rinn, out onto the road, in frustration. I went to him and said he had done this drill before and found it very good, now this morning, we're working on the parts of the game that are weak, which is important. 'If you do that again, go in and get your clothes and get lost'.

"We got him extra training, physical stuff, we brought Brian Corcoran in to help, and he did a magnificent job with him. I got the top rugby coach in Ireland to advise me and his tips worked a treat too. Ten minute blocks of the game at a time (to focus on), then the next block of 10 minutes. It produced his best performance of the season (against Kilkenny).

"I recognised the guy was under pressure, the easy thing to do was to have the big row but I worked on him and showed faith in him. That's the essence of coaching.

"I know I've got into trouble with players before for saying this, but basically hurling is an instinctive game. Of course, you've got to have certain plans and tactics, but with this group of players, they were so good at inter-passing game etc, I wouldn't want to change that. I was trying to introduce a little more variety into their game. Out of every three balls you get, fine express yourself on two of them, but on the third one, think of the fella inside relying on the fast ball.

"The style we showed in the second half against Galway last year was the most perfect we achieved. I said to them the following week that was the type of hurling I was looking for us to play. Playing like that, we'd beat anyone over 70 minutes."

McCARTHY says he was expecting nothing less than further denigration as a coach from the recent players press conference. He wasn't surprised. "Clearly they are still hoping I'll slink away and say good luck. This has left a mark on me, but I'm determined to see this through and the players realise that now. It seems to me that the players' tactics are stall and obstruct in the hope that this young group of players will ship some heavy defeats.

"Depriving those lads of the experienced players is intolerable and inexcusable in my book. No amount of kissing the crest can justify what they're doing here. Of course I'd still welcome any positive intervention but the players don't seem to want that. They'd seem to be prepared to see a group of young players getting humiliated. What good is that going to do Cork hurling?"

And Frank Murphy? "Frank is not the kernel of the problem. The problem is there is a man involved with the players who is bringing us down a road that certainly I, and a lot of genuine Cork people, don't want to go. These are all little tests in my book.

"They've been a great bunch of players, my heart bleeds at the prospect of them never playing for Cork again. I would be sorry about that. But why are they walking away? Their behaviour is completely disproportionate to the issue. If there's a problem we should be talking about it.

"I couldn't comment on Frank, he's never interfered with me in the two years. I had a major barney with him last year on the issue of the manager giving up the right to pick his own selectors. I backed the players all the way on that. (But) it's a full time job for the man, I'm not going to comment on that, I couldn't."

What he was angered about was the GAA's watery intervention in the dispute this week.

"I'm very disappointed with Croke Park's handling of the situation this week. They should have told it as it was. They met with me last Thursday (week), they met with officers of the Board. Both were available for talks but obviously the players didn't agree, because there's no talks. I wish they'd come out and said they couldn't make any progress with the players."

The thought resurfaces that if this is what relations were like after a generally agreeable campaign between players and coach, things must have been especially poisonous in McCarthy's first season in charge, 2007.

He shakes his head. "At the end when Waterford beat us in the quarter final replay, I had a drink with Donal Óg in Cork and he said 'at least that shit is behind us now'...

"I felt everything in the first season was calculated to get us to resign. Donie Collins was the liaison officer and every night he would get five or six things to sort (from the players). We'd deal with them, and the next night there'd be another five or six things, things that had nothing to do with hurling.

"On one evening we had a problem at training because the field was flooded, but we got onto Nemo who had a training field available at 6pm. We knew some fellas mightn't be able to make it but in the event, everyone did. However the following morning Donal Collins got a call from Sean Óg Ó hAilpín to say this isn't on at all – getting fellas to rush from their jobs to training, someone's going to get killed.

"That was the first time I said we'll have to address this, we'll have to stop putting out fires at every turn. So we decided to address the whole group, and I could see from the way fellas were looking around, they hadn't a clue what I was talking about. 'Lads', I said 'take ye're time, I can't have it on my conscious that if something happened to ye rushing to training, and I didn't address this issue here and now, I'd be fairly out on a limb. That was the night of a big pow-wow and two fellas left the panel (Cillian Cronin and Mickey O'Connell)'."

SO in spite of the strong possibility now that his 2009 panel will suffer a series of humiliating League defeats – starting tomorrow at Pairc Uí Chaoimh against Dublin – McCarthy is savouring a lost innocence.

"There's a group of 33 players relying on me, I'm their coach and we're starting into a National League. These group of players have committed themselves to put their heads on the block. Am I going to tell these players before we hit one ball in the National League that I'm out the gap?

"Of course, there's a certain level of anxiety going into the game because it's the first time that Cork have fielded 15 debutants going into the league. There's a lot of skilful players there but they haven't been exposed to this level of competition before. So that is a worry.

"One of our biggest problems is a lack of physicality. Most of them are very young and haven't been exposed to a lot of gym work. They will get stronger in time but right now that will be a little worry. Their attitude is very good, they are mad to learn; it's a joy to be involved with a team like that again; a bit like when you get your first juvenile team as a coach. The most striking thing about them is they're willing to learn and they're very conscious of the burden of wearing that jersey."

Nevertheless it is fated to go down as a loveless relationship with the most passionate hurling supporters in the country.

"If I'm brutally honest, Sunday represents the best chance we have of picking up points, at least on paper. There is a lot of goodwill towards these players; the genuine GAA fan will have to be realistic; it's a big ask for them, they are lacking experience and that is a big handicap. People must be patient. The thing I would hate most is if there are heavy defeats, that fans start writing off the players; that shouldn't happen. The famous case in 1996 down the Park against Limerick, and a lot of people wrote off JBM and the players, and within three years they had won an All-Ireland."

McCarthy still believes the future is bright for Cork hurling, that a number of the younger hurlers caught in this stand-off will come back in time to the fold. He says he stalled on the appointment of a fifth selector this season to give the 2008 players some leverage on the team management, and is holding firm to his views that there was no concern voiced about his coaching last season and that the 2008 players only expressed their reservations about him after the committee had selected him at the meeting the two player representatives walked out from.

"I don't hold any grudges against any one of those young lads. They're in a situation where majority rules. They feel now they don't want to be the first to break the circle. Down the line, I would hope they're hurling careers will resume."

Tomorrow is the continuation of a living nightmare for McCarthy, not a new one. In all probability the new Cork will be relegated to Division Two and Heaven help them in the Championship in Thurles. Neither seems to deter McCarthy, a man with a keener appreciation of Cork's hurling heritage than most.

"What I've achieved in my career, I've achieved. The values I want for Cork hurling going forward, I treasure them and I would like that to be passed on. I don't want to be the man who broke a chain here where the players get the power to veto the appointment of a manager. They say they don't want to but that's exactly what they will have achieved."

[The GAA]

I really do despair with McCarthy at this stage.

That seems like a very genuine interview and he's obviously a nice guy, but what is he trying to achieve with this flow of interviews and criticism of the players?

he's saying nothing new but seems to think he should continually put his story over and all he's doing is harm

[orangeman]

I really do despair with McCarthy at this stage.

That seems like a very genuine interview and he's obviously a nice guy, but what is he trying to achieve with this flow of interviews and criticism of the players?

he's saying nothing new but seems to think he should continually put his story over and all he's doing is harm

Yes it might seem like a game of tennis with the ball going back and forth. He not only comes across as a decent, nice man but is all of those things.
I'm not sure that Donal Og is the main driving force in all of this though he seems to be at the forefront of it all.

The line about the players and management not even sharing the same side of the street let alone a changing room in the future puts the dispute into very stark terms.I always hoped that there might have been some sort of patch up job done in the relationship but it is clear that there will be no reconciliation here.

Mc Carthy is determined as are the players to take this to the very end in the hope that the Cork GAA public and clubs share exactly the same views and values as he does.


Only time will tell but I don't think that Mc Carthy is guaranteed to be sacked in the next month or so.

However this pans out, this will go down as one of the most divisive issues in Cork GAA for a long time.

Clubs are already split and it will take a long time to resolve this.

[passedit]

Some believe it simplistic to reduce it to a three-way fight between McCarthy, goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack and county GAA secretary Frank Murphy, but it is a no less seductive theory for all that. McCarthy is reticent regarding Murphy's role in this. Of Cusack's, though, there is no ambivalence.

says it all really

[Reillers]

I do feel for him, but he's lost the popularity contest with the fans, he knows it and he put out that statement. There's no more little violin for him. It's been said 100 times by everyone involved with the layers, the players themselves..etc

He goes on about how horrible it was for the first year..but why the hell is he doing if he hates them so much, what's he doing other then fighting for his ego.


You really have to wonder what the hell is he doing, and what was this about with this statement.

It's pointless. The players aced him with a surf but he's trying to hit it back and it's not working.

McCarthy knows the players don't want to pick their own teams let alone their own manager.

I'm listening to him on the radio now and he's saying he'd know idea they thought he wasn't a good manager, which is bullshit because he's said all ready that he knew they didn't think he was a good manager, and they all ready needed a facilitator earlier in the year.
Gerald had even said to one of the players he wouldn't take it if they didn't want him to.

He's saying that the players wanted him to go forward and that Donal Og said, Good news, which is bullshit.
The players have outlined what has happened in the meeting..now either FM lied to Gerald or Gerald is lying thorugh his teeth.

I'm listening to him there now and I have to say that some of the stuff he's saying are lies and he's underminding what he's said earlier on. What's he doing like?

This has to be one of the worst, bitchiest interviews I've heard from McCarthy, he's tried to undermine everything the players have said to someone who hasn't a clue who FM is, and he's just come across horribly. If there were a lot of Cork fans listening to that there'll be a few added on to the march.

That was really an awful interview and he's getting away with a lot of what he's said because your one hasn't a clue what he's talking about.

[INDIANA]

anyone hear the debate on radio1 this morning between mc carthy and donal og? Christ its gone pathetic at this stage. People losing their jobs everyday and somehow this is seen as more important? Embarrassing for all parties.

[agorm]

From the outside I cannot believe how an individual would put himself through all of this when the cards are so stacked against him. Some people are going on about democracy and the county board being allowed to pick the manager but in normal circumstances any self respecting manager in a situation like this would move on,if for nothing more than allowing a fresh start to be made.

The team that is playing tomorrow is more like a fifth string from the county from what I have heard as there are many playing colleagues of the striking players that arent going to play either.

[stevetharlear]

anyone hear the debate on radio1 this morning between mc carthy and donal og? Christ its gone pathetic at this stage. People losing their jobs everyday and somehow this is seen as more important? Embarrassing for all parties.

I blame the players.

[The GAA]

What was the story indy?

[orangeman]

anyone hear the debate on radio1 this morning between mc carthy and donal og? Christ its gone pathetic at this stage. People losing their jobs everyday and somehow this is seen as more important? Embarrassing for all parties.

What station was it on ? Is there a pod cast ?


Why did Donal Og put himself forward ?

[INDIANA]

both sides simply said the other was lying, nothing new and really was cringeworthy stuff. if you were listening to it you were saying too yourself "who cares" the gaa will manage fine without cork.

[orangeman]

21st July 2008


After reading this, it's hard to beleive where we're at now in this dispute. That much I'm sure about.


But Cork bypassed that inconvenience by running smart lines rather than lobbing snow-tipped missiles. And no-one did it better than Joe Deane.

Afterwards, Gerald McCarthy singled out the Killeagh man for special commendation, his 0-4 haul barely a murmuring towards the efficacy of his overall contribution. Indeed, McCarthy's language told us much about the texture of the win.

He outlined how Cork had trained through the week preceding their qualifier against Dublin, gambling on an ambition to fry bigger fish.

"This is one of the greatest victories I've ever been involved with," said the manager with untypical emotion. "Down a man and in big trouble at half-time. I'll be quite blunt, I was very disappointed that the referee issued the first yellow to Donal Og. The second one? Certainly, he had to go then.

Targeted

"But, if ever a man being sent off turned the tide in our favour, that certainly did. I just feel that Donal Og is being targeted a bit by certain referees."

McCarthy revealed that Cusack gave an impassioned speech in the dressing-room at half-time that caught the perfect tone.

"We were very calm at that point," reflected McCarthy. "I felt we had out-hurled Galway completely in that first half. They had scored 1-1 from play. Just two scores. So, we felt that we had the legs on them."

Then he began to touch on what he saw as unjust press treatment of his team, Ben O'Connor pitching in with a caustic "Sure, we're gone Gerald. We're finished!" as the Cork players spilled out by us for their warm-down.

"Some of the press treatment this bunch of players got during the week was very unfair," said McCarthy. "The way they were written off completely. But not just that, they were ridiculed in some quarters."

[orangeman]

These may have been put up already but as GAA already said, it's a case of despairing now.

So time for a bit of humour to lift the mood.

January / February 2008 - Strike Jokes

The continuing controversy raging in the Rebel County took on a new twist today ahead of the now in doubt first National League match scheduled for this weekend. In an alleged statement released just after lunchtime the Cork Senior Inter County Footballers and Hurlers have indicated that they would retake the playing field in the red jersey if the following ten conditions were met;

1. All inter-county players receive an apology from the Cork County Board for the embarrassment caused to the People of Cork for this "Laurel & Hardy" mess.

2. That all Cork matches home and away are played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and no away supporters allowed admission to the ground.

3. The GAA rename the Sam Maguire Cup the Jack Lynch Cup.

4. The Kerry football team will play in the Ulster Championship instead of the Munster championship.

5. The Cork Hurling team get automatic qualification to the All-Ireland semi-final every year, with the Leinster winner (i.e. Kilkenny) on the opposite side of the draw.

6. The sixth condition has been omitted for fear of any future litigation proceedings....

7. The government declare Cork city the official Capital of Ireland.

8. All future managers of the Cork teams have to undergo rigorous Psychological Assessment & in-depth Personality Profiling to see if they are up to the job. (This will take the form of having to spend hours locked in a room listening to Donal Og Cusack & Sean Og OHalpin, if they survive this they will be considered)

9. Each player is to get 4 packets of Walkers Cheese & Onion and 2 bottles of 7-up after each match.

10. Frank M. is to keep his job if he desists with the embarrassing comb-over.

The Labour Relations Chief Executive allegedly commented that "these demands seemed reasonable but that the only sticking point could be Frank M.'s hair"
-----------------------

Ross O'Carroll-Kelly was asked about the strike at the weekend and replied something like 'Roy Keane, Peter Stringer and now this shower, the only way they make sporting headlines nowadays is when they AREN'T playing'.

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the cork players released a statement thanking liverpool f.c for supporting their strike by not playing foootball during the month of janurary!

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Frank Murphy was in hospital for a circumscision, the surgeon stopped after an hour saying 'there's no end to this langer'

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The pope has declared Cork to be holiest county in Ireland.He was amazed when they even gave up hurling and football for Lent!

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Field to let Summer 2008 for hay or silage. Contact Frank Murphy at Pairc Ui Caoimh.”

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[The GAA]

Why did Donal Og put himself forward ?

Who says he was putting anyone forward?

21st July 2008


After reading this, it's hard to beleive where we're at now in this dispute. That much I'm sure about.


But Cork bypassed that inconvenience by running smart lines rather than lobbing snow-tipped missiles. And no-one did it better than Joe Deane.

Afterwards, Gerald McCarthy singled out the Killeagh man for special commendation, his 0-4 haul barely a murmuring towards the efficacy of his overall contribution. Indeed, McCarthy's language told us much about the texture of the win.

He outlined how Cork had trained through the week preceding their qualifier against Dublin, gambling on an ambition to fry bigger fish.

"This is one of the greatest victories I've ever been involved with," said the manager with untypical emotion. "Down a man and in big trouble at half-time. I'll be quite blunt, I was very disappointed that the referee issued the first yellow to Donal Og. The second one? Certainly, he had to go then.

Targeted

"But, if ever a man being sent off turned the tide in our favour, that certainly did. I just feel that Donal Og is being targeted a bit by certain referees."

McCarthy revealed that Cusack gave an impassioned speech in the dressing-room at half-time that caught the perfect tone.

"We were very calm at that point," reflected McCarthy. "I felt we had out-hurled Galway completely in that first half. They had scored 1-1 from play. Just two scores. So, we felt that we had the legs on them."

Then he began to touch on what he saw as unjust press treatment of his team, Ben O'Connor pitching in with a caustic "Sure, we're gone Gerald. We're finished!" as the Cork players spilled out by us for their warm-down.

"Some of the press treatment this bunch of players got during the week was very unfair," said McCarthy. "The way they were written off completely. But not just that, they were ridiculed in some quarters."

Its posts like this, which are irrelevent and diverting the thread unnecessarily, which pisses people with you.

[dowling]

Reillers I heard most of that talk on the radio and it's funny how we heard it differently. Donal og seemed unable to refute some of the points put by Gerald. I don't believe Donal og spoke well at all. Whether it was down to nerves or because Gerald was able to challange his version of events I coudn't be sure but he definitely ducked the interviewer on a couple of occasions. Having said that Gerald avoided discussing the leaked document. Again whether that was because he leaked it or, by saying he didn't imply Cathal Reilly did I don't know.
As to why Donal og spoke, he said the 2008 panel were having a meeting and asked him to go on the radio but I don't know if he contacted the radio or vice versa.
The whole thing did take on an air of a squabble but The 2008 panel have brought this dispute to that level. In spite of Reillers assertions members of the 2008 panel made remarks which Gerald had to respond to and all along that's mostly the way it's been. Only in the last couple of days has Gerald focused on Donal og.
One interesting point that Gerald made was that he believes there's a hidden agenda here in relation to player power.