GAA STATEMENT ON CORK CRISIS:LAST NIGHT the Cork county board held an extraordinary meeting in order to brief delegates on Thursday night's failed attempt by Croke Park to broker a deal between last year's county hurling panel and the county executive over the re-appointment of manager Gerald McCarthy.

LAST NIGHT the Cork county board held an extraordinary meeting in order to brief delegates on Thursday night’s failed attempt by Croke Park to broker a deal between last year’s county hurling panel and the county executive over the re-appointment of manager Gerald McCarthy.

One delegate, Alan White from Blarney, informed the meeting that it was his information that the players would be prepared to play under McCarthy were his backroom team to be replaced. The county executive said that it was unaware of this.

It has been confirmed that this proposal was not on the table on Thursday night and whereas one players’ source was non-committal about the proposal he added that he felt it was “unlikely” that it would be accepted.

Before the county board meeting was a document, released to the public yesterday, in which the GAA nationally set out its proposals for resolving the impasse. But despite lengthy talks between the GAA’s director general Páraic Duffy and president-elect Christy Cooney and the parties in Cork, the proposed resolution was not accepted by the players.

That was no surprise given that the document included the proposal to keep McCarthy as manager until the end of the year albeit with the addition of another selector and another coach to the management team. The players had made it clear that they wouldn’t return while McCarthy is manager and that position didn’t change during eight hours of proximity talks.

Tomorrow evening in Cork the 2008 players are due to meet with club representatives including chairpersons in order to present their side of the argument with a view to persuading the clubs to exert pressure on the county board to review the decision to re-appoint McCarthy.

This was postponed from last weekend because of the passing of Gerald McCarthy’s mother.

County chair Jerry O’Sullivan has, however, already said that he will not allow the matter to be revisited but already there has been movement within the clubs. Carrigtwohill will be holding an extraordinary meeting in response to a petition of members requesting a meeting to discuss the crisis.

In the document containing the Croke Park proposal – presented as an “indivisible” set of recommendations – there are some eye-catching details, committing the county board to accepting a number of interventions in the affairs of Cork by outside agencies.

Someone would be appointed to review best practice in relation to inter-county management and present recommendations for implementation.

There would also be a “review (to be carried out by an independent body appointed by Croke Park) of all aspects of the relationships between, on the one hand, players at senior inter-county level in both hurling and football and, on the other, the management teams and the county board” at the end of this season.

This would recommend a system for appointing a manager for 2010.

There would also be a strategic plan for the promotion of Gaelic Games within Cork, based on a thorough review of the county’s activities – a process to be facilitated by Croke Park. Had it been accepted the agreement would have superseded the agreement reached a year ago through the mediation of LRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey.

Offaly County Board last night ratified 45-year-old Kildare man Tom Cribbin as their new senior football manager.

Cribbin will take over with immediate effect but will retain the services of the interim management of Tom Coffey, Phil OReilly and Vinny Claffey while he sources selectors over the next few weeks.

Cribbin, from the Clane club in Kildare, previously managed Laois senior footballers from 1998 to 2000. As a player he won five senior football titles with Clane.

Read the GAA’s statement in full after delegates held lengthy meetings with both sides in the Cork hurling dispute, but ultimately failed to find a resolution.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/gaa/2009/0220/1224241568093.html