HURLING EXHIBITION:There was a strange and muted atmosphere, despite the large crowd, as Gerald McCarthy'sCork development squad performed for the first time in Fermoy
A 3,000-STRONG crowd attended one of the most high-profile hurling exhibitions in years in Fermoy yesterday. They braved ice-cold winds and the occasional shower to see Cork, in the guise of a development squad, defeat the celebrating St Colman's College All Stars by a point, 2-8 to 1-10.
The day should have been all about the college, one of the great hurling nurseries who have nine Dr Harty and four Dr Croke Cups to their name.
Surviving members of the first Harty Cup-winning side of 1948 were guests of honour and the old-style green and white hooped jersey, last witnessed in 1967, was reproduced for the occasion.
But the school's 150th anniversary was overshadowed by the continuing stand-off in the county, where the hurlers remain steadfast in their refusal to work under the direction of current coach, Gerald McCarthy
The row has divided families, clubs, parishes, villages, towns and the city itself with no apparent end to the bitter dispute in sight.
The occasion should have been a celebration of what St Colman's have given to Cork hurling in particular and the game in general, but there was no escape from the ongoing controversy.
And the sight of a quartet of Cork players in the All Stars selection added further intrigue to the event; Brian Murphy and Ciarán McCann featured in defence while Timmy McCarthy and Neil Ronan lined out in attack.
One wonders how they felt about a group of untried youngsters wearing the famous red jersey, something they've sweated blood and tears for over the years?
McCarthy, who captained the 1996 Harty-winning side, wouldn't be drawn on the matter, saying the day belonged to the college and nothing should detract from that.
The local Fitzgerald Park hasn't attracted such a big attendance in the past, but the crowd were strangely muted and the game lacked atmosphere, despite the colourful contributions of public address announcer, teacher Gus Kelleher.
Goals from Michael Collins of the beaten county finalists, Bride Rovers, and Cian McCarthy from the champions, Sarsfields, helped the Cork combination win by the minimum margin
Interestingly, Cian McCarthy's father, Teddy, was in the dug-out, though his position as selector for 2009 hasn't yet been ratified.
Afterwards Gerald McCarthy offered an olive branch to the disgruntled senior panel when he said: "Anything that can be done to resolve the problem would be very welcome from me. It's a decision now for other players. It's not a war. It can be sorted out.
"I think it moves on another bit from today. We've played a game and I just hope the players who've opted out and not played will reconsider their position and get back playing hurling."
Cork's next game is in early January in the Waterford Crystal Trophy with yesterday's squad firmly in the picture once more.
"We will be working with them in the next number of months no matter what happens. You can see there are players of the future there. There is some very good talent there. They will be working in the gym and we will be paying a lot of attention to them, no matter what Cork team is on the field," McCarthy added.
