When I was elected chairperson of Cork County Board in late 2017, I expected the role to be a challenging one, and so indeed it has proven.

Testing for the coronavirus is expected to begin at a temporary drive-through facility at Páirc Uí Chaoimh from this weekend.

Croke Park and Nowlan Park are also being repurposed as drive-thru test centres.

Play as many sports as you can for as long as you, former Munster out-half Johnny Holland advises children.

Cork GAA clubs have been warned to stop facilitating “unregulated camps” on their grounds.

The Cork county board and the Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium board will jointly make three business-related appointments — the latest step in the coming together of the two bodies.

Former chairman of Clare GAA Michael McDonagh is spearheading a campaign for the county board to follow the Cork GAA lead by issuing a commemorative jersey marking one of the most high profile victims of the War of Independence in the Banner County.

“An ultimate cost of €96m is reliably projected”, says GAA director general Tom Ryan, almost €20m more than originally envisaged and €10m more than suggested by Cork officials in 2018.

At tonight’s Cork County Board meeting, secretary Kevin O’Donovan informed delegates that the executive has agreed repayments to Central Council for money that should have been handed over three years ago.

Eleven months ago, over 7,000 people descended upon Páirc Uí Rinn for the Dr Harty Cup decider between Midleton CBS and Christian Brothers College.

Some tasty club rivalries are set to ignite this April as Cork released a master fixture plan for 2020.

Your columnist’s phone was pretty busy last week after this paper published the story of Cork GAA’s fluctuating deficit.

Cork hurler Tim O’Mahony says the appointment of a new management team has made it easier to park what was a disappointing 2019 season.

The executive of the Cork County Board met yesterday last evening, and the story in these pages earlier in the week surely figured in their discussions.

What a difference a year makes.

The Cork County Board’s audit and risk sub-committee has threatened to resign after advising the board executive to inform last week’s annual convention that the board’s deficit is more than €2.4m — and not the €560,000 figure given to delegates.

Imokilly and Duhallow have voiced strong opposition to suggestions from Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan to address the dominance of “juggernaut” divisional teams in Cork.

The level of debt facing Cork GAA as a result of the Páirc Uí Chaoimh redevelopment will be €30m, Freemount delegate John O’Flynn has claimed.

Former GAA president Christy Cooney is in favour of the minor age-grade at inter-county level returning to U18.

Cork GAA chairperson Tracey Kennedy is confident the county board can drag itself out of the financial hole in which it currently resides.

The Douglas GAA chairman and secretary are to contest the proposed 48-week suspensions they were slapped with last week

IF Cork GAA fans voted with their feet to the tune of a €200,000 drop in local gate receipts this year, little wonder that injecting life into the 2020 county championships is keeping Cork CEO Kevin O’Donovan awake until the small hours.

In the difficult matter of serving up bad news, those PR execs in sharp suits like to talk of getting out in front of the story. Beating the naysayers to the punch and controlling the narrative insofar as that’s possible and plausible.

The “legal fees” referred to in Cork GAA’s annual report relate to the controversial High Court case involving the Board and former administrator Diarmuid O’Donovan, which was resolved with a confidential settlement earlier this year.

Cork GAA chair Tracey Kennedy has insisted that clubs in the county will not be levied to help ease the financial debt hanging over the Board — but she said that everyone must chip in in some way.

The Cork County Board recognises the need for a commercial manager to drive other revenue streams, with an appointment expected in the “medium term”.