Fergal McCormack (born 17 December 1974) is an Irish

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 ...

coach and former hurler. He played for North Cork club Mallow and was a member of the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

for eight seasons, during which time he usually lined out at centre-forward. McCormack began his hurling career at club level with Mallow. He broke onto the club's top adult team as a 17-year-old in 1992 before later winning a Cork Under-21 Championship with the Mallow under-21 football team. McCormack made 57 championship appearances in three different grades of hurling for the club, while his early prowess also saw him selected for the Avondhu divisional team, with whom he won the Cork Senior Championship title in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. At inter-county level, Landers enjoyed an unsuccessful tenure with the Cork minor and under-21 teams before later winning an All-Ireland Championship with the junior team in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. He joined the Cork senior team in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. From his debut, McCormack was ever-present as a midfielder or centre-forward and made a combined total of 48 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. During that time he was part of the All-Ireland Championship-winning team in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. McCormack also secured two

Munster Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurlin ...

medals and a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. After leaving the Cork senior team in 2002 he returned to the inter-county scene as a member of the Kerry senior hurling team in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. At inter-provincial level, McCormack was selected to play in two championship campaigns with

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, however, his tenure with the team ended with a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal.

Playing career

St. Colman's College

McCormack played in all grades of hurling with St. Colman's College in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dái ...

before progressing onto the college's senior team. On 15 March 1992, he lined out at centre-back when St. Colman's College defeated

St. Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...

from

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

by 3-14 to 3-11 to win their first Harty Cup title in fifteen year. McCormack was again at centre-back when St. Colman's College faced St. Kieran's College from

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 ...

in the

All-Ireland final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

. Flanked by

Johnny Sheehan Johnny Sheehan (born 1975) is an Irish former hurler who played for East Cork club St Catherine's. He played for the Cork senior hurling team for two seasons, during which time he usually lined out at midfield. Sheehan began his hurling caree ...

and

Ian Lynch Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, the half-back line was described in the ''

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' as "very impressive", however, St. Colman's were defeated by 1-07 to 0-08.

Waterford Regional Technical College

On 13 March 1994, McCormack lined out at centre-back for Waterford Regional Technical College when they suffered a 2-12 to 1-11 defeat by the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. McCormack was selected for the Waterford RTC team again for the 1995 Fitzgibbon Cup campaign. On 5 March, he was at centre-back when the team defeated

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

by 3-15 to 1-04 to claim the title for the second time in three years.

Mallow

Minor and under-21

McCormack joined the Mallow club at a young age and played both hurling and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. On 18 October 1992, he scored two points from centre-back when the Mallow minor hurling team suffered a 2-13 to 0-11 defeat by St. Finbarr's in the final of the Cork Minor Championship. McCormack subsequently progressed onto the Mallow under-21 team as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

. On 13 November 1994, he lined out at centre-back with the Mallow under-21 hurling team when St. Finbarr's again defeated Mallow by 4-13 to 5-03 to win the Cork Under-21 Championship. On 22 October 1995, McCormack was at midfield when the Mallow under-21 football team faced Naomh Abán in the final of the Cork Under-21 Championship.

Intermediate

McCormack was still eligible for the minor grade when he was drafted onto the Mallow intermediate team for the 1992 Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 22 May in a 1-13 to 1-09 defeat of

Ballincollig Ballincollig () is a suburban town within the administrative area of Cork city in Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork city, beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2016 it was the largest town in County Cork, at whic ...

. On 21 October 2001, McCormack lined out at centre-forward when Mallow faced

Killeagh Killeagh () is a village in east County Cork, Ireland. It is approximately from Cork city, between Midleton and Youghal on the N25 national primary road. Demographics The population of Killeagh increased significantly between the 2002 census ...

in the final of the Cork Intermediate Championship. He scored two points from play in the 2-14 apiece draw. McCormack was again at centre-back for the replay on 4 November which Killeagh won by 3-09 to 2-08. McCormack played his last game for the Mallow intermediate team on 24 July 2010.

Junior

After stepping away from Mallow's top adult team, McCormack continued to line out with the club's junior team. On 17 November 2018, he scored six points after being introduced as a half-time substitute at full-forward when Mallow suffered a 2-16 to 3-11 defeat by

Watergrasshill Watergrasshill () is a village in north east County Cork in Ireland. Watergrasshill is within the Cork North-Central Dáil constituency. Bypassed in 2003, the village is situated on the R639 road and accessible via junction 17 of the M8 moto ...

in the final of the Cork Inter-Divisional Junior B Championship.

Avondhu

McCormack was added to the Avondhu divisional hurling team for the 1992 Championship. He made his first appearance on 21 June in a 2-11 to 0-06 defeat by

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. On 22 September 1996, McCormack was at midfield when Avondhu drew 1-12 apiece with

Imokilly Imokilly ( ga, Uí Mhic Coille) is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (wh ...

in the final of the Cork Senior Championship. He lined out in the same position for the replay on 6 October and collected a winners' medal following the 0-13 to 1-08 victory.

Cork

Minor and under-21

McCormack first lined out for

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 ...

as a member of the minor team during the 1991 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team as a 16-year-old on 16 April when he lined out at centre-back in a 6-19 to 0-15 defeat of

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

. McCormack was eligible for the minor grade again the following year and retained his place on the starting fifteen, however, he was switched from centre-back to centre-forward. He played his last game in the minor grade on 1 May 1992 when he scored two points in a 1-11 to 0-11 defeat by

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

. In spite of being still eligible for the minor grade, McCormack was also added to the Cork under-21 team for the 1992 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 17 June and scored a point from centre-forward in a 1-10 to 0-11 defeat by

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. On 23 July 1993, McCormack was selected to play in the Munster final. He lined out at centre-back and ended the game with a winners' medal following the 1-18 to 3-09 defeat of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Junior

McCormack was called up to the Cork junior team for the 1994 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 18 May and scored 1-01 from centre-forward in a 2-17 to 3-09 defeat of Limerick. McCormack was again at centre-forward for the Munster final on 19 June and scored a point from play in the 1-10 to 1-09 defeat of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. He was switched to left wing-forward for the

against

on 17 August. He scored a point from play and collected a winners' medal following the 2-13 to 2-11 victory.

Senior

McCormack made his first appearance for the Cork senior team on 26 February 1995. He was selected at right wing-forward in the 1-12 to 1-07 defeat of

in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. McCormack was later included on the Cork panel for the

and made his debut on 20 May when he came on as a 59th-minute substitute for the injured Kevin Murray in a 1-22 to 0-12 defeat of Kerry. On 17 May 1998, McCormack lined out at centre-forward when Cork faced Waterford in the National League final. He scored a point from play and collected his first silverware at senior level following the 2-14 to 0-13 victory. On 4 July 1999, McCormack was at centre-forward when Cork qualified for the Munster final against reigning champions Clare. He scored a point from play and claimed a winners' medal following the 1-15 to 0-14 victory. McCormack retained his position on the starting fifteen at centre-forward when Cork faced Kilkenny in the

on 12 September. He was held scoreless over the course of the game but collected an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal following the 0-12 to 0-11 victory. McCormack won a second successive Munster Championship medal on 3 July 2000 after lining out at centre-forward but being held scoreless in Cork's 0-23 to 3-12 defeat of Tipperary in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. McCormack's appearance for Cork were limited to just two during the 2001 National League. He was ruled out of Cork's subsequent

campaign due to a leg injury. Cork qualified for the 2002 National League final on 5 May, with McCormack starting on the bench as he had done for all of Cork's league games that season. In the week leading up to the game there had been speculation that

Gaelic Players Association The Gaelic Players Association ( ga, Cumann na n-Imreoirí Gaelacha), or GPA, is the officially recognised player representative body for inter county Gaelic footballers and Hurling, hurlers in Ireland. The GPA's aim is to promote and protect all ...

members from both teams would stage a protest during the parade before the match with their socks down and jerseys out - offences punishable by fine under the GAA's match regulations. The Cork players went ahead with their pre-match protest before losing the final by 2-15 to 2-14. McCormack played his last game for Cork on 26 May when he lined out at centre-forward in Cork's 1-16 to 1-15 defeat by Waterford in the

. He was an unused substitute for the rest of Cork's unsuccessful championship campaign. On 21 August, McCormack gave an interview on 96FM in which he stated that the players were treated as "second-class citizens." He went on to say: "There is almost a them and us attitude between players and officials and the perception that we are only players. I have been involved in the panel since 1995 and that problem has always been there. Players of the past have, I know from talking to them, felt the same way but did not really come out and said anything about it." The dissatisfaction between the players and the Cork County Board culminated with all 30 members of the Cork panel were withdrawing their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board on 29 November. McCormack played a low-key role during the negotiations over the following two weeks before a settlement was reached on 13 December. While the player's demands were met, McCormack never played for Cork again.

Kerry

On 12 April 2008, it was announced that McCormack declared for

_McCormack_was_an_unused_substitute_throughout_Kerry's_unsuccessful_ _McCormack_was_an_unused_substitute_throughout_Kerry's_unsuccessful_2008_Christy_Ring_Cup">Christy_Ring_Cup_ The_Christy_Ring_Cup_()_is_an_annual_hurling_competition_organised_by_the_Gaelic_Athletic_Association._Originally_introduced_as_a_second-tier_competition,_it_is_currently_the_third_tier_overall_in_the_inter-county_hurling_championship_system._Eac_...

_campaign_and_left_the_panel_at_the_end_of_the_season.

_Munster

McCormack_was_selected_for_the_Munster_ Munster_(_gle,_an_Mhumhain__or__)_is_one_of_the_provinces_of_Ireland,_in_the_south_of_Ireland._In_early_Ireland,_the_Kingdom_of_Munster_was_one_of_the_kingdoms_of_Gaelic_Ireland_ruled_by_a_"king_of_over-kings"_(_ga,_rí_ruirech)._Following_the__...

Playing career

St. Colman's College

Waterford Regional Technical College

Mallow

Minor and under-21

Intermediate

Junior

Avondhu

Cork

Minor and under-21

Junior

Senior

Kerry

_Munster

_Munster

_Munster

Munster

Career statistics

Club

Division

Inter-county

Honours

References