Corcoran accentuates positives of relegation
Corcoran played in Division 2 for Cork in the mid-1990s, shortly before winning the All-Ireland under Barry-Murphy, and feels that, having been unlucky to go down, Cork could possibly benefit.
“To be honest, I’m not a fan of the league system,” he said.
“Cork didn’t have that bad a league this year, they had two draws and in the games they lost they were pretty close. It’s hard to know if being in Division 1B will make a big difference, because a lot of the time the league is about trying out new players.
“I remember back in the ’90s we were down in a lower division and, while not saying the teams are easier down there, winning games can help to build up a bit of confidence.
“You can try out younger players too without throwing them in at the deep end, it’s very hard to give a young fella his league debut in somewhere like Nowlan Park, for example.
“I tend to look at things positively, as a whole you’d prefer they stayed up but at the same time there’s a good opportunity to get a few wins under the belt and end up in a play-off situation.”
A lack of underage success has led to a knock-on senior effect. While the advent of county development squads has sought to redress this, Corcoran admits the process cannot be rushed.
“It takes time,” he said.
“When we won the county in 1992 with Erin’s Own, there was a big initiative in the club to get the juvenile section really going and that group of players won minor and U21 titles and a lot of them were the backbone of the teams which won the county in 2006 and ’07.
“There were some exceptional players that came through together, but is that luck or is it because of the structure that you put in place for them? Without the concentrated effort, you’re not going to have the success, it goes in cycles.
“You go back through the history books, Cork have 30 All-Irelands but they went from 1954-’66 without winning one, and again from 1990-’99, even ’99-2004 was five years. Obviously now we’ve gone seven years and people are getting itchy feet, Kilkenny have got very strong but they’re not going to be on top forever.”
Corcoran was speaking at the launch of a new fundraising initiative by his club Erin’s Own.
Operated in conjunction with the Jameson Distillery in Midleton, the club are running a lottery — with a worldwide campaign being run to entice entries — whereby the winners will become life members of the club and be able to name the club’s new floodlit pitch at Caherlag.
Tying in with The Gathering and the club’s 50th anniversary, the winners will be flown to Ireland for the pitch’s official opening, as well as receiving a personalised bottle of Jameson Distillery Reserve 12-year-old whiskey.
“It’s definitely thinking outside the box,” said Corcoran, “it’s a unique approach.
“It’s a challenge for clubs to raise money, running a GAA club these days is not a cheap exercise.”
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