Ronan McCarthy: Cork’s young brigade filling void left by veteran exits

Cork manager Ronan McCarthy: ‘We had Ciarán, James Loughrey, Tom Clancy of Fermoy, and Paul Kerrigan, that type of player, stepping away, but I don’t think it’s had the impact it might have had previously.’ Picture: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Prioritising the development of the panel’s younger members means Cork football has been able to deal with the loss of so many experienced players over the past seven months, manager Ronan McCarthy has said.

Ciarán Sheehan’s injury-enforced retirement last month saw him become the fourth Cork footballer to step away from McCarthy’s panel since the close of the 2020 season.