Cork County board lash into executive over controversial statement criticising referee

The humble club delegate.

The clubs of Cork got their chance to take aim and fire at the county's top brass last night at the first county board meeting and some of them came prepared. Cork's exit to Kildare in the football championship prompted the executive to blame the weather, the referee and global warming for their failure in the 2015 championship in a bizarre statement earlier this month. Ok, so not global warming, but they may as well have. There was a huge backlash for the comments, and last night delegates to the county board also took an opportunity to kick the top table executive according to reports in today's Irish Examiner. Chairman Ger Lane did apologise for the confusion the statement caused, but it was probably a little bit too late to undo the damage done to the board in many eyes.

"The board issued a statement to thank Brian for his tenure as manager. Some parts of that were interpreted as criticism of the referee, that was never the intention.”

But delegates were not happy and Patrick Andrews of Shamrocks won the prize for quote of the night

 "I know you made an apology but, at the time, that statement was an embarrassment to Cork GAA, you wouldn’t see it in Father Ted."

Frank McCarthy of Ballincollig was also unhappy with the statement that was initially meant to thank the departing Brian Cuthbert

"All of you on the executive must realise it was an appalling blunder, there was no other way of describing it. It was eight days later, it wasn’t compiled overnight, no reporter put a microphone in front of anybody unexpectedly." “You have embarrassed the county, you let us down deplorably, and no apology this late will excuse what you did."

Donal Og Cusack also took a few verbal hits last night as delegates reacted to his broadside at the Cork County board from the Sunday Game. The former goalkeeper hit out at secretary Frank Murphy and so called 'stooges' on the board. However one delegate felt the former all-Ireland winner was too harsh in his criticism. Patrick Murphy, representing the Lyre club, was offended by Cusack's characterisation of club delegates

"I had a problem with the Sunday Game, an analyst paid by the taxpayer, calling the likes of ourselves names. I have never been a yes-man and, if people like them or not, that’s it. “Everyone who comes here does so for the good of Cork GAA, they get into their cars and make the effort.”

The reaction on social media was mixed to the delegates comments however, https://twitter.com/JT_92/status/633736354279505920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/seamusocon/status/633738487921946624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/field1985/status/633743570399162368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw