CORK BOSS RONAN McCarthy has departed his position after four seasons in charge.
The news was confirmed this afternoon by the Cork county board after being earlier reported today by the Irish Examiner.
McCarthy took over the Cork footballers in August 2017 with his tenure bookended by two heavy Munster final losses to Kerry in 2018 and 2021.
In between his team suffered league relegation to Division 3 in the spring of 2019 but bounced back to enjoy their best spell under his tutelage. Cork qualified for the Super 8s in 2019, claimed Division 3 promotion in 2020 and then toppled Kerry at the Munster semi-final stage last November. Their hopes of Munster glory were thwarted at the final hurdle by Tipperary.
Attention will now turn to his successor with Cork joining Down, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Kildare, Laois, Longford and Wicklow in the search for a senior football boss for 2022.
Recent Cork All-Ireland underage winning bossess Keith Ricken (U20) and Bobbie O’Dwyer (minor) will be touted as contenders to take over. O’Dwyer, who served as a senior selector this year alongside McCarthy, is regarded as the more likely of the two to become a candidate for the post.
The board’s full statement this afternoon reads:
“The Cork GAA Executive has today confirmed that Ronan McCarthy has stepped down as Cork Senior Football manager following recent discussions with board officers.
“All in Cork GAA wish to thank Ronan sincerely for his decades of service to GAA at all levels in the county, as player, coach and manager.
“In more recent times, this has included a four-year term as Cork Senior Football manager, having previously served as selector and coach for a total of three years.
County Chairperson Marc Sheehan said “Ronan has been an outstanding servant to Cork GAA over many years, and I would like to thank him both personally and on behalf of Cork for all that he has done. We wish Ronan, his selectors and backroom team all the best in their future endeavours and thank all involved for an immeasurable contribution over a number of years.”
“A process will now be put in place for the appointment of a new manager.”
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