McGrath Cup clashing with Sigerson defeats the purpose for Cork

Cork manager John Cleary believes the McGrath Cup should be a platform for developing players but it clashing with the Sigerson Cup inhibits his chances to introduce new blood

John Cleary said Cork's "sole focus" is their National League opening game against Cavan at the end of January. Pic: Tom Beary/Sportsfile

John Cleary couldn’t be more frank in his assessment of the returning McGrath Cup and its worth to the Cork set-up.

The revived pre-season competition is not a priority for the Cork football manager. The beginning of the Division 2 League at the end of this month is Cork’s focus, has been since they returned to collective training at the end of November.

Working with a panel of approximately 47 players, the one use Cleary had for the returning McGrath Cup was to give game-time and auditions to fringe members. That one use won’t now come to fruition, though, as most of his younger and more inexperienced players are involved with UCC and MTU Cork in the opening round of Wednesday’s Sigerson Cup.

First-year Cork panelist Ed Myers is a standout example of a newcomer Cleary would like to see in red during the McGrath Cup, but with MTU Cork hosting UL 24 hours after Cork travel to Tipp, the Naomh Abán forward won’t be seen in Cappawhite for this evening’s 7pm throw-in. There are many others in that same bracket.

Having the two competitions on top of each other, Cleary insisted, defeats the purpose of bringing back into the calendar the McGrath Cup, FBD League, McKenna Cup, and O’Byrne Cup.

“I think it does,” said the Cork manager. “This is the last year of the McGrath Cup, really. I think it was bulldozed through from the likes of Ulster and maybe Connacht to boost gate receipts. It gives a chance for development, but the very fact it clashes with the Sigerson now inhibits that.

“It is the one time you can give guys a chance because other years we found you wanted to blood a guy but the League is too serious for that, and it is maybe not fair to throw someone in at the deep end of the high, high pressure.

“The McGrath Cup should be the platform to do that, but at this stage, we physically can't because we are not going to pull them away from their colleges. They are playing Sigerson, so we have got to use other players.” 

Cleary’s first selection of the year confirms as much. With the youngsters college-tied, the tried and trusted have been reverted to.

The starting team contains seven players - Maurice Shanley, Brian O’Driscoll, Colm O’Callaghan, Seán Walsh, Seán McDonnell, Mark Cronin, and Chris Óg Jones - who began last summer’s All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final defeat to Dublin.

Add in Luke Fahy, Conor Cahalane, and Cathail O’Mahony, who all came on that day in Croker, and the number of players involved from Cork’s last championship game of 2025 climbs to 10.

The bench, meanwhile, is similarly stacked, containing as it does first-team regulars Daniel O’Mahony, Matty Taylor, and Brian Hurley. Also listed among the subs is Steven Sherlock, and was the returning Barrs forward to be sprung at Cappawhite, it would mark his first piece of game-time in red since the 2024 All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final defeat to Louth.

Under Cleary, Cork have never failed to claim the January silverware. In 2023 and ‘24, though, the manager felt there was an importance in accumulating pre-season victories and mining any benefits from such.

The “bigger picture” now occupies them.

“That is not our focus at the moment,” Cleary said of today’s Tipp trip and Sunday’s visit of Limerick to Páirc Uí Rinn.

“If we could blood two or three players and see where we are at, and look, the competitive nature in any person, we don't want to lose any game, but that is not where our focus is at.

“Our sole focus is on Cavan on the last weekend of January. The rest will be about getting ready for that.” 

CORK (McGrath Cup v Tipperary): P Doyle (Knocknagree); M Shanley (Clonakilty), S Meehan (Kiskeam), K O’Donovan (Nemo Rangers); B O’Driscoll (Carrigaline), R Maguire (Castlehaven), L Fahy (Ballincollig); C O’Callaghan (Éire Óg), S Walsh (Mitchelstown); R Deane (Bantry), S McDonnell (Mallow), C Cahalane (Castlehaven); M Cronin (Nemo Rangers), C Óg Jones (Uibh Laoire), C O’Mahony (Mitchelstown).

Subs: D Newman (St Finbarr’s), D O’Mahony (Knocknagree), C O’Shea (Kilshannig), M Taylor (Mallow), D Cashman (Millstreet), S Sherlock (St Finbarr’s), L Murphy (Cullen), B Hurley (Castlehaven), D O’Connor (Knocknagree).