Gardiner glad that Cork are back to action

It's back to action for the Cork hurlers and footballers following a resolution of the protracted 97-day dispute tonight.

Cork County Board delegates overwhelmingly voted in favour of sacking Teddy Holland and his selectors on a vote of 89-19.

Senior hurler John Gardiner is delighted that a resolution to the impasse has been found and that it is back to action for the Rebels.

"Obviously we are happy to get it over with, get back on the field playing. The last couple of months haven't been pretty for anybody I suppose and we're just happy to get back on the field again and thankful that it's all over," Gardiner said tonight at the launch of the Ulster Bank Fitzgibbon Cup at Cork I.T.

Gardiner also believes that player input into the selection of the next Cork manager, while crucial, isn't the be all and end all of the situation.

Gardiner was speaking tonight at the launch of the Ulster Bank Fitzgibbon Cup at Cork I.T.

"We never wanted to pick a manager, we believe that the players shouldn't pick a manager but we also believe that the player should have an input in it and that we should have a say in the next manager and obviously this was put in place so that's something like this would never happen again," Gardiner exclaimed.

The Na Piarsaigh player believes that although the dispute has become a protracted one over the last 97-days, he feels that the players and the county board can move on from this dispute and put their differences behind them.

Gardiner points to the good relations between the sides following the 2002 strike, and believes that both sides can have a positive relationship moving forward.

"I would certainly hope so, after the strike in 2002, things were fine in the next couple of years so hopefully it will be the same after this, we can put it behind us and move on together.

"That's what we are hopeful of," he added.

GAA President Nickey Brennan understands the frustrations of both Meath and Dublin over the mess surrounding their games.

"I can of course. We're all frustrated. If you've been living with it for the last God knows how long it's been since it started. A lot of us involved in this level of the GAA are frustrated that it has gone on so long but it has taken… you know the reasons it has taken all this long."

Brennan last week spoke of how he spent six hours on Sunday afternoon last week trying to help resolve the dispute, and believes that it has been unfair to suggest that he hasn't been working hard to find a resolution.

"We're all trying to do the best we can to try and resolve the matter and hopefully between tonight in Cork and tomorrow at CCCC (Central Competitions Control Committee) we'll have a set of solutions that will keep everybody happy."

"We can't work miracles. The one thing that is certain is that the deadline for concluding the league is not going to be changed. Those dates are set in stone so whatever accommodation has to take place has to be under the context of that time."

Brennan is also angry that lost in the negatives of this dispute are the positive things which have been happening in the GAA at present.

"There's plenty of challenges. I wouldn't consider this any worse or any smaller than anything else," he said.

"It's just indicative of life in the GAA that we move from one situation to another, but the big disappointment to me during all of this is there's so many other very positive things taken place, and I have really no gripes with the facts that these very negative issues take prominence in the whole media things, that's just the life we live in.

"A lot of the positives that take place are almost completely forgotten about and that's annoying, I have to say. Positives like the Sigerson and the Fitzgibbon and all the great games that have taken place in the last couple of weeks in those competitions and the efforts of the colleges. That's forgotten about in all of this and gets a small bit of publicity and not the level it's entitled to expect."

The Central Competitions Control Committee of the GAA will meet tomorrow to discuss the next action to take, and whether or not the Cork hurlers and footballers will continue to play a part in this season's leagues.