Bid to twin Cork with Sunderland gets red card

ATTEMPTS to twin Cork with Sunderland and capitalise on Roy Keane’s managerial success were given the red card last night.

Following a debate that went in to extra time, Cork’s city councillors voted 22 to five against the proposal.

The motion was kicked onto the field by former Fianna Fáil and now Independent northsider Cllr Dave McCarthy.

He urged fellow councillors to consider the twinning proposal to strengthen the close ties and friendship established between Cork and Sunderland since fellow northsider Roy Keane took over as manager of the Black Cats.

Sinn Féin Cllr Jonathan O’Brien, who plays wide on the left, branded the motion “naive, opportunistic and downright silly”.

“What are the close ties and where is the friendship?” he asked.

“We’ve already recognised Roy’s contribution to sport by giving him the Freedom of Cork. If we went ahead with this, it would devalue the twinning mechanism,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Terry Shannon, who picked up the ball just on the right side of midfield, said “this motion is making a mockery of twinning”.

“It’s an absolute nonsense. Did anyone ask Sunderland? I call for this motion to be withdrawn. It’s a farce.”

Socialist Party Cllr Mick Barry described the motion as “an own goal” on Mr McCarthy’s part.

However, Labour’s Joe O’Callaghan rushed to bolster Mr McCarthy’s struggling defence and backed his twinning motion.

He accused Mr McCarthy’s former colleagues in Fianna Fáil of kicking a man when he was down.

“You’re offside,” he roared, before accusing other councillors of tackling the man before the ball.

The motion fell in favour of a proposal to see local soccer clubs being encouraged to undertake their own twinning arrangements with football clubs in Sunderland.