Colin Corkery

Colin Corkery (born 5 January 1971^[1]) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for his local club Nemo Rangers and at senior level for the Cork county team from 1993 until 2004.

Playing career

Club

Corkery played his club football with the Nemo Rangers club on the south side of Cork city, with whom he has had a number of successes. He first came to prominence as a player on the club's minor team that captured the Cork Minor Football Championship title in 1989.

Corkery subsequently joined the Nemo Rangers senior team. He secured a

2002 saw Nemo becoming the first team in nearly sixty years to win three county championship titles in-a-row. A third consecutive Munster club title quickly followed for Corkery, as Nemo trounced Monaleen of Limerick by 4–15 to 0–6. For the third successive year Corkery subsequently lined out in the All-Ireland club final, however, Nemo faced the prospect of becoming three-in-a-row losers. Crossmolina provided the opposition for the second time in three years and the game was a close affair. Corkery scored six points to give Nemo a 0–14 to 1–9 victory.^[4] At the third time of asking Corkery had finally captured a second All-Ireland club winners' medal.

Inter-county

Corkery first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the

Corkery added a second Munster winners' medal to his collection in 1994 following another victory over Tipperary. Cork, however, were later defeated by eventual champions Down in the All-Ireland semi-final.

In 1995 Corkery won a third consecutive Munster title as Kerry fell in the provincial decider. Once again Cork were subsequently defeated by eventual All-Ireland champions Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Cork lost their provincial crown for the next few seasons, however, in 2002 Corkery, who returned to football after a heart condition, tasted success once again. Tipperary provided the opposition in the provincial decider, however, the game ended in a draw. After a thrilling draw Cork trounced Tipperary by 1–23 to 0–7 in the subsequent replay. It was Corkery's fourth Munster winners' medal and his first as captain. The subsequent All-Ireland semi-final pitted Cork against Kerry. It was an historic occasion as it was the first time that these rival teams had met in Croke Park. However Cork were trounced on a score line of 3–19 to 2–7. The year ended with the Cork hurling team going on strike. In turn, the football team joined in a sympathy strike. The players, who had been seeking better conditions, refused to play or train with the county again until the dispute with the county board was resolved.

Following the strike the fortunes of the Cork football team took a turn for the worse. A series of defeats in 2003 and 2004 saw the Cork football team reach an all-time low. Corkery retired from inter-county football following the 2004 championship.

Inter-provincial

Corkery also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial football competition. He played with his province in 1995, 1996 and 1997, however, Munster were defeated on all three occasions.^[8]

Career statistics

Club

References