Kevin Walsh to remain as Cork football coach 

KEVIN WALSH will continue as Cork football coach for a second season.

The Galway native joined manager John Cleary’s backroom team last November, which was a real coup, and made a big impression this campaign as the Rebels made positive steps in the right direction. Cork finished mid-table in Division 2 of the Allianz football league, and even though the Munster championship ended abruptly when defeated by a point away to Clare in the quarter-final, the Rebels made significant progress in the All-Ireland series with Walsh’s fingerprints all over the team.

In the group-stages, Cork defeated Louth by two points in Navan and then were unlucky to lose by two points at home to Kerry, maybe on another day the result may have been different. The three-point success over Mayo in Limerick in the last group match was a huge moment in Cork football’s recent history, not only did they turn around a six-point deficit but it was a first win over a Division 1 team since beating Kerry in the Munster championship semi-final in 2020.

That set up an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final against Roscommon in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the one-point win on the banks of the Lee was further vindication of the upward trajectory of the Rebels footballers under Cleary, Walsh and co. While the season did end in disappointment above in Croke Park against Derry, losing in the end by four points in the quarter-final, 1-12 to 1-8, it was a positive season overall with the Cork supporters excited for what 2024 might bring.

Gaining promotion from Division 2, having a right crack at the Munster championship and progressing to the business end of the All-Ireland series are realistic targets for the footballers next season. Cork have after all reached the last eight of the All-Ireland in the last two seasons, albeit well beaten by Dublin in 2022 before performing well in patches against Derry in 2023.

Securing Walsh for a second consecutive season is a major positive. The Galway native is highly regarded as a technical coach whose work on structure has been occasionally misinterpreted as overly-defensive. Having Walsh’s expertise and charisma was hugely beneficial this season and with a campaign under his belt, he would have learnt an awful lot about the players that he can bring into play for the 2024 campaign.

Cleary will be thrilled to have received confirmation from the Galway man that he is committed to the project going forward. The management left the dust settle after defeat to Derry in the All-Ireland quarter-final on Sunday, July 2 before discussing plans for the 2024 season which won’t be long coming around and with Walsh now giving his approval it is all systems go now in preparation for the new season.

Confirmed fixture details for next year’s Allianz Leagues are due out in late November at the earliest with teams expected to be permitted to return to collective training at the end of November, as was the case for the inter-county season just completed. The McGrath Cup will take place in early January with the official date for the start of that competition yet to be announced as Cork aim to defend their title and win the trophy for an eleventh time.

The Allianz Division 2 football league will consist of Cork, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Kildare, Louth and Meath. Cork played four of their seven league outings at home in 2023 and that could be the case again next year which would be a positive given the nearest county in the league is Kildare.

The draws for the Munster championship will be made in the next month or so with fixtures details expected shortly after. Cork faced Clare in that disappointing Munster quarter-final opener on Easter Sunday this season which was April 2 with the semi-finals taking place two weeks later with the 2024 schedule expected to follow similar lines.

There is a buzz back again in Cork football, with Cleary at the helm and with Walsh on board for another season, the Rebel supporters have a right to dare to dream after a challenging decade.