Cork GAA has nothing that tells our young talents 'This is Cork'

In his first column for the Irish Examiner, Derek Kavanagh raises serious doubts about whether the redeveloped Páirc Uí Chaoimh is what Cork GAA needs to create a competitive culture for its teams. Surely a centre of excellence is preferable to a new stadium — with one training pitch?

The damning whispers surrounding the redevelopment of Páirc Ui Chaoimh are becoming more prevalent. Cheap talk but worryingly, I suspect, not far from the truth.

The recent drop in standards of the Cork senior football and hurling teams cannot be attributed to Páirc Ui Chaoimh’s destruction but they correlate to the substandard facilities accessible to our county teams.