Cork GAA managerial tickets taking shape — with key policy change

The monthly Cork county board meeting takes place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday night, with inter-county management teams on the agenda

The success of the Cork minor footballers has informed a change in policy. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Kieran Morrison and Seánie McGrath are set to lead the Cork minor hurling management for 2027, with a possibility that the county may opt for a change regarding the recent practice of one-year terms.

Of late, management teams have come up through the Rebel Óg development squad age-grades with each group of players, bringing them through to minor/U17 level. However, the knock-on effect of that has been that each minor set-up has had just a single year before moving on.

St Catherine’s clubman Morrison and McGrath of Glen Rovers – both of whom won All-Ireland medals with Cork in 1999 – have helped to nurture the players born in 2010. Having had them at U16 this year, they will bring them through to minor next year – it is believed, though, that they will remain in charge for the 2028 season as well.

The monthly county board meeting takes place at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday night, with inter-county management teams on the agenda – while the two senior managers, Ben O’Connor and John Cleary, and U20 football boss Ray Keane had already been confirmed as remaining in charge of their respective sides, both minor roles and the U20 hurling job must be filled.

If the move to a longer term for minor hurling materialises, it is likely that the success enjoyed by the minor football team in 2026 will have played a part. Keith Ricken was appointed in late 2024 on a two-year term, culminating with All-Ireland success this year. Indeed, it is expected that the St Vincent’s man and his backroom team will be returned for a third season in charge.

The question of who succeeds Noel Furlong as U20 hurling manager is less clear. The Carrigtwohill man had been installed on a two-year term, with former Cork goalkeeper Dónal Óg Cusack as his coach – in both seasons, the Rebels performed well in securing second-placed finishes in the Munster championship round-robin but each campaign ended with a home semi-final defeat against Clare.

Cusack’s former Cloyne and Cork team-mate Diarmuid O’Sullivan is among those thought to be among the contenders for the job. O’Sullivan, a three-time All-Ireland medallist and four-time All-Star, was in the running four years ago – as was Furlong – when Ben O’Connor got the nod to lead the U20 side, going on to secure the All-Ireland title in 2023 before losing the Munster final the following year.

Having been part of Kieran Kingston’s management during the Tracton man’s two stints as Cork senior manager, O’Sullivan had enjoyed coaching success with Ballygiblin before taking up a similar role with Sarsfields upon Johnny Crowley’s return as manager of the Riverstown club for the 2023 season.

Since then, Sars have won two Cork premier senior hurling titles, in 2023 and 2025, as well as four consecutive league titles. While they were beaten by Imokilly in the 2024 county final, they were Cork’s representatives in the Munster club championship and won that – the county’s first victory since 2009 – before making it to the All-Ireland final.

O’Sullivan is currently fully focused on Sars – he and Crowley are also in charge of the club’s second team, which secured a direct passage to the intermediate A semi-finals – and so would not be able to commit to another role until the 2026 championships end.

Also in the mix to succeed Furlong is another member of the Cork 1999 panel, Fergal McCormack. The Mallow man was the minor manager in 2025, leading the Rebels to the Munster title.

A county SHC winner with Avondhu in 1996, McCormack was a minor selector under Paudie Murray in 2022 while he also had experience coaching Charleville CBS in the Dr Harty Cup prior to taking the minor job.