Conor Counihan to leave Cork football project co-ordinator role later this month

Conor Counihan will depart his position as project co-ordinator for football on Leeside.

As first reported by The Echo in June, the Aghada club man will retire from the role in the coming weeks. At Tuesday's monthly Cork County Board meeting at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan paid a fulsome tribute to Counihan recognising his decades of involvement in Cork GAA across several levels.

Counihan, who guided the Rebels to their last All-Ireland SFC success in 2010, left that position in August 2013, but stayed involved within Cork's underage structures before taking up the project co-ordinator job in May 2019 with the primary role being the implementation of the 2024 five-year plan for Cork football which he helped create with his successor as Cork manager Brian Cuthbert, All-Ireland winning captain in 2010 Graham Canty, and the then county chairperson Tracey Kennedy.

The five-year plan aimed to return Cork football sides to the top tier of the game in all grades, increase support, develop player pathways and reimagine the county championship and how the game is administered on Leeside.

Also at the monthly meeting, it was announced that there was a change in Ray O’Mahony’s Cork U20 football management team for the 2025 season. St Mary’s club man Daniel Cronin has been replaced by Morgan O’Sullivan of Castletownbere. O'Sullivan is currently manager of Cill na Martra. The other selectors are the same as this year. Michael O’Brien, Eamon O’Connor and James Condon are all staying put.

Finally, an application from Glanmire Football Club to join the City Division was noted. The views of the various stakeholders have been sought ahead of a County Committee decision on the matter.