Dónal Óg Cusack, on behalf of the Cork hurling panel, has sent a letter to every member of the Gaelic Players Association outlining the reasons for their refusal to play under Gerald McCarthy’s management and, not for the first time, attempting to set the record straight.
With no end to the crisis in sight, the latest lengthy missive from the players lays the blame for the current dispute firmly at the door of McCarthy and the county board and urges club members in Cork to “take back control of the GAA in their county”.
In the letter, Cusack repeats the panel’s belief that McCarthy’s appointment was flawed and that, while the board may have technically complied with the process, they did not comply with the spirit of it.
The players, who hope to meet members of every club in the county this weekend, also appear to dismiss Tuesday night’s vote where McCarthy received overwhelming support from county board delegates.
“We will not yield to the latest attempt by the Cork county board executive to ride roughshod over our principles” Cusack adds. “We have the courage of our convictions to see that through no matter what happens.”
Full text of today's letter from Dónal Óg Cusack
Dear Players,
We, the Cork hurling panel of 2008, are writing to you as an inter-county colleague to inform you of the facts behind our current dispute with the Cork Co Board executive and team management.
We believe it is important for every county footballer and hurler to be aware of the situation because of the misleading spin being produced by our critics, in particular the claim that we are 'unreasonable'. We are not. We are passionate, committed hurling men who, together as a united panel, have taken a stand to ensure that the best standards are applied to every element of our preparation. There has been NO intimidation of younger players by senior members of the panel and everything we do and say, is arrived at by consensus.
We have no delusions about who we are or what we're about. We make no secret about our ambition to win for Cork but we do not complain when mistakes are made or games are lost; when there is a better team against us, we will be defeated; all we have sought since 2002 is that there is a genuine intention in our county to work together for one purpose. Yet again, the Cork County Board Executive under the leadership of Secretary Frank Murphy has ensured that this cannot happen.
It is no coincidence that most of the regularly successful counties and management teams enjoy good relationships with their county boards with efficient lines of communication operating at all times. These are essentials.
Despite the fact that Gerald McCarthy is at the centre of the current impasse and has chosen to personalise it, the origins of the dispute lie firmly in the actions of the Cork panel in 2002 when a stand was taken against the County Board executive to improve preparation standards and conditions. This action was taken despite severe intimidation by certain officials. We believed, passionately, that in the pursuit of excellence, an excellent environment must first be created. In the eyes of a number of officials, we had committed an act of treason and they have taken every opportunity since then, to undermine and divide the squad.
Since 2002, the Cork hurling public and indeed the GAA public at large has been misled by a Cork executive driven by an agenda to take back 'control' at all or any cost. We would like to put the record straight for our playing colleagues.
This is the sequence of events which have led to the current situation.
- As part of the resolution to the dispute involving the appointment of the Cork football manager in 2006/2007, we were given a role in the selection process for the appointment of the hurling manager in 2009. We entered this process in good faith, assuming, naively as we now know, that our views would be considered carefully. However, we soon realised it was a sham.
- We expressed, privately, our reservations to the Board about Gerald McCarthy after his two-year tenure. We had said nothing over those two years despite our shortcomings. However, our views were ignored and the Board decided to push ahead and reappoint the manager, without any contest. As we had attended meetings, the Board believed we had 'technically' engaged in the process and ploughed on with the ratification.
- Out of respect to Gerald, we met him in private and expressed the views of the panel to him in person and in private. We explained that we no longer had confidence in him as a manager. We also told him we believed he was being used by the Board Executive to further their agenda. He rejected our views.
- The Cork panel informed the Board on numerous occasions that the only man we did NOT want as manager was Gerald McCarthy. Their response was to reappoint him immediately.
- Since then, we believe the manager has been in a compromised position, supported by the County Board Executive, and he has spent the past two months engaged in an unedifying PR battle opening and closing the door on the panel and issuing personalised attacks on certain individual players.
- Forced to criticise the manager's ability only as a coach and a manager due to the actions of the Board Executive, we have NOT commented on him personally. We have not spoken about his business activities, his interests or his personal traits. He did not afford certain members of our panel the same respect.
After our press conference last week, we are now in the position where we are seeking the support of the Cork hurling public. If that support is not forthcoming we will disband as a panel and every player is free to return if he so wishes. We do not and will not hold any ill-feeling towards those who return or those currently involved with the Cork set-up.
As players, we have been proud to represent our clubs and our county with the very best of our efforts. Whether those efforts include the principled stands we have taken over the past six years is now for the Cork people to decide.
If the Cork GAA members are happy with the current county board situation then so be it. If not, then the time has come for them to end this ridiculous series of disputes.
- We do NOT want to choose our own manager
- We do NOT want to cause trouble or difficulties
- We do NOT want to sully the name of Cork GAA
We have called on our club members to take back control of the GAA in their county. In the meantime, we will not yield to the latest attempt by the Cork Co Board executive to ride roughshod over our principles. We have the courage of our convictions to see that through no matter what happens.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the players and squads who have expressed their support for us to date.
While we are aware that our situation may seem a million miles away to certain players and squads, particularly those who enjoy excellent relations with their Board, there are wider implications for the treatment of players at local and national level at stake nonetheless.
The Cork squad has always supported the GPA philosophy - that the role of the modern-day player must be acknowledged and respected properly. This is an issue at the heart of the current negotiations between the GPA and the GAA on official recognition which you, no doubt, are closely monitoring.
We thank you for taking the time to study this information and for all your genuine support to date. We wish you and your squad the very best for the season ahead.
Dónal Óg Cusack
On behalf of the 2008 Cork Hurling Squad