Cork boss Healy calls for club games to be put back

By Tony Leen

Cork football manager Peadar Healy is on a collision course with County Board officials over club championship games next weekend that he believes will disrupt preparations for a Munster final on July 2.

Healy (pictured) revealed in the wake of Saturday’s one-point Munster SFC semi-final win over Tipperary that he has mailed Board chairman Ger Lane requesting that four of the football fixtures be postponed until after the provincial decider against Clare or Kerry.

However, initial indications are that his pleas will be rejected, with the four games set to go ahead next Saturday night. Healy claimed on Saturday night that 18 of his panel are involved across the four fixtures, which would limit Cork to as little as three full-panel training sessions before July 2.

Two of the Cork defenders on duty against Tipp, James Loughrey and Tomas Clancy, are due to line out for the Avondhu division on this Monday, June 12 against UCC, but as many as six panellists will be involved in the Nemo Rangers v Bishopstown SFC clash next Saturday.

On the same day, Clonakilty play Peter Kelleher’s Muskerry, Donncha O’Connor’s Duhallow meet Seandun and Clyda Rovers play Skibbereen. Healy is said to be okay with the Clyda-Skibb game going ahead, but in the wake of the slender Tipperary victory, he added: “We have flagged this to the county board, I have emailed them ten days ago to have those games put back. If they proceed we would probably have only about three training sessions together before the Munster final. It’s not good enough.

“Hopefully I will be talking to (Board chair) Ger Lane over the next few days and we will be able to put those games back. We need to do that.”