Cairde Chorcaí determined to get Cork GAA teams back up the steps of the Hogan Stand

‘WORKING with the County Board on facilities, coaching structures and High Performance needs to ensure that Cork are contenders for All-Ireland honours every year.’

Log in to the new Cairde Chorcaí website and in a nutshell, the above paragraph explains the very existence of the body that has tasked itself with generating finances that will assist the county in its bid for honours across the national landscape.

The time is fast approaching and, in fact, it has arrived already when a county board is no longer in a position to finance the ever-growing needs of its teams by itself and assistance is now required from legitimate quarters that have nothing but the interests of the association in that county at heart.

Cairde Chorcaí is a limited company founded independently of the Cork County Board, and will donate funds to the board as it “sees fit for the betterment of Cork GAA.

The primary objective for Cairde Chorcaí is the building of a global network of supporters to boost investment in Cork GAA at elite and grassroots level.

Among the former players and managers in attendance at the launch were Ger Cunningham, Tom Kenny, Ephie Fitzgerald, Tomás Mulcahy, Noel O’Leary, Niall Cahalane, and Billy Morgan alongside current bosses Kieran Kingston and Ronan McCarthy.

Speaking at an event early this year to honour long-serving Cork GAA medic Dr Con Murphy, group chairman Ted Owens emphasised Cairde Chorcaí’s ambition to provide “Cork teams with the extra spurt needed to get these teams winning All-Irelands”.

The vision of Cairde Chorcaí, at its inaugural launch last year, is that all Cork inter-county GAA teams will be provided for regarding their training, facilities and equipment needs, which will include support for underage coaching structures. Cairde Chorcaí will provide support, supplementary to the County to try and achieve those objectives.

Short-term goals:

 To assist in the provision of training facilities for Cork Teams.

To assist in the support of underage coaching in Cork.

To provide additional support for all Cork teams, including underage and ladies’ teams.

Medium- to long-term goals:

To support the county board in establishing longer-term underage coaching structures in Cork.

To support the county board in establishing further high-performance training facilities for all Cork teams.

To promote further support for Cork County GAA teams, ie. exploring a supporters’ club membership structure.

Cairde Chorcaí launched its membership options and new website at an event held in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last Monday night.

At the launch event attended by Cairde Chorcaí directors, former players and managers from both ladies and men’s teams and Cork County Board officials; details were given of the membership options available to Cork GAA supporters at home and abroad.

Cairde Chorcaí was launched last year and its aim is to support Cork teams to succeed at the highest level. The board is comprised of passionate Cork supporters, a number of whom have represented Cork successfully in the past.

Speaking at the event, Chairperson of Cairde Chorcaí Ted Owens said: “A question I am regularly asked by supporters is ‘how do we join up’. They now have this facility.

“Cork supporters crave success. They know that by supporting Cairde Chorcaí they are helping Cork teams in a practical way to compete at the highest level.”

He added that all monies raised by Cairde Chorcaí goes directly to help Cork teams or to provide coaches to clubs and schools.

“Our teams deserve the best, they must have access to the best training facilities on a year-round basis. The monies raised are ring-fenced for teams, facilities and underage coaching.

Cairde Chorcaí hope that Cork GAA supporters at home and across the world will support the membership drive. With options from individual membership up to corporate gold membership, check out www.cairdechorcai.ie for more details.

Monday night’s launch was supported by County Board chair Tracey Kennedy, Secretary Kevin O’Donovan and Board officers Pat Horgan, Joe Blake.