Conor Cusack (born 16 January 1979) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

sportsperson. He played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

with the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

senior inter-county team in 2006. Known nationally in Ireland for his

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

advocacy, Cusack continues to play hurling with his local

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Cath ...

club. Conor is a former Cork Hurler and a Cork Legend.

Early life

Cusack was born in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

in 1979. He was educated locally and currently works as an apprentice electrician. His brother, Donal Óg, is also a hurler as was a cousin,

Christy Ring Nicholas Christopher Michael Ring (30 October 1920 – 2 March 1979) was an Irish hurling, hurler whose National Hurling League, league and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, championship career at senior level with the Cork county hurling ...

Sporting career

Cusack was noted as a good hurler from an early age. He plays with his local

Cloyne GAA Cloyne GAA club is located in the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The club plays in the Imokilly GAA, Imokilly division of Cork GAA. Founded in 1887 they have yet to win a Cork Senior Hurling Championship title ...

club and was a member of the

senior

panel for several years. His brother, Donal Óg, was the

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

on the team. Cusack made his debut in the 2006 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final against

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, coming on as a substitute in the closing minutes.

Personal life

Cusack devotes much of his time to highlighting mental health and articulating his own experiences of depression. He has spoken about this on national television, on ''

Prime Time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

''. In January 2014, Cusack for the first time publicly discussed his attraction to men. Ahead of the 2015 Marriage Equality referendum, he spoke on ''

The Saturday Night Show ''The Saturday Night Show'' is a talk show hosted by Brendan O'Connor broadcast on RTÉ One between 2010 and 2015. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music. ''The Saturday Night Show'' is broadcast every Saturday ...

'' in favour of the proposition and challenged those who opposed it.

References

External links

Cusack's writings
1979 births Living people Cloyne hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Gay sportsmen Irish electricians Irish LGBT sportspeople Irish gay men Mental health activists LGBT hurlers Irish male bloggers 21st-century Irish LGBT people {{Cork-hurling-bio-stub