Cusack blasts Cork County Board for €70m 'centre of mediocrity'
By Peter O’Dwyer
The Cork underage hurling set-up is riddled with serious structural deficiencies that the proposed €70m renovation of Páirc Uí Chaoimh will do nothing to rectify, according to former Cork goalkeeper Donal Óg Cusack.
The former All-Star believes that Cork clubs have been “sold a pup” with plans to establish a centre of excellence that he referred to as “a monument”.
According to Cusack, Cork’s lack of success at underage is of serious concern and needs to be addressed with investment in coaching, proper facilities and the introduction of more games-development officers in the county.
The Cloyne man illustrated his point by questioning where the success of the county’s U-21, minor and school teams has been of late.
“There’s serious structural problems exist within Cork and you can talk about whatever you want, but the reality is that Cork haven’t won an U-21 All-Ireland since 1998,” he said.
"They won two in a row, 1997 and 1998. In fact they hadn’t won an U-21 before that [since] 1988.
“They haven’t won a minor All-Ireland since 2001. All of our colleges are after losing their strength, where’s the North Mon gone, where’s Coleman’s gone, where are all these squads?
“To be fair to Jimmy and the management, you could say that they’ve been turning wine into water [sic] because… you look at all the other teams that are there, they’re all winning underage,” said Cusack on RTÉ’s The Sunday Game.
Cusack also mentioned Cork’s U-21’s crushing defeat to reigning champions Clare in Cusack Park last month when the Banner ran out winners on a scoreline of 1-28 to 1-13, saying it was embarrassing.
In doing so he also took a swipe at the Cork newspaper The Evening Echo saying that the argument that Clare were exceptional is typical of the type of propaganda that is used to deflect criticism.
“That’s the propaganda that’ll be put out in the Cork Evening Echo on a Monday night but has every team since 1998 been an exceptional team? I doubt it,” he said in response to an argument put forward by presenter, Des Cahill.
Cusack also posed the question as to why some of the city teams who traditionally have provided a lot of players to the Cork set-up but are not doing so at present, aren’t questioning the County Board more on the use of the €70m investment that he said will end up being a centre of mediocrity rather than excellence.
“Cork are investing €70m in a stadium… a centre of excellence? There’s two fields there how could that be a centre of excellence? If I was a club person I’d be looking to review that, that’s going to turn out to be a centre of mediocrity,” he said.
“I actually think it’s a monument that’s being built rather than a centre of excellence.”
