CORK GOALKEEPER ALAN Quirke will be unavailable for the county’s senior football squad at the start of next season as he is to depart next Monday for the Lebanon as part of his job with the Defence Forces.
TheScore.ie has learned that the long-serving netminder will be based in the Middle Eastern country until next April.
But the 36 year-old will available for selection when he returns to Ireland as he is to continue an inter-county career which began in 1999 when he made his competitive debut against Donegal.
Quirke is to fly home for short trips in January and March but will not return to Ireland on a full-time basis until April. In recent years he has been based in the Collins Barracks in Cork City as an army officer. He previously went on a UN mission to Liberia in 2004 and was based there for six months.
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Quirke, who was part of the Cork panel that reached the 1999 All-Ireland final, returned after that stint in the West African country to make his mark for the Cork junior team that won the All-Ireland title in 2005.
Following the retirement of Kevin O’Dwyer, Quirke then graduated to the Cork senior side in 2006 and was then selected between the posts by then manager Billy Morgan for that year’s championship opener against Limerick.
Since then the Valley Rovers clubman has been a mainstay in the Cork side under first Morgan and then when current boss Conor Counihan took over in 2008. Quirke has amassed six Munster senior football titles and four National Football League titles (three Division 1 and one Division 2) while in 2010 he enjoyed the highlight of his career to date when Cork claimed All-Ireland senior glory against Down in Croke Park.
Quirke’s absence at the start of next season leaves Ken O’Halloran, an All-Ireland U21 football medal winners with Cork in 2007, as the front-runner for the number one jersey in the Rebels senior side in their Division 1 league campaign.
Cork goalkeeper Ken O’Halloran. Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
The Bishopstown goalkeeper has gained experience in recent seasons and was between the posts when Cork won the Division 1 league title last year against Dublin. However Quirke returned to start in each of Cork’s five championship games in 2011.
This spring the Cork management opted to alternate between O’Halloran and Quirke during Cork’s league campaign with both players starting four games apiece. But Quirke was between the posts for the Division 1 decider success against Mayo and again got the nod from Counihan for their four championship ties this summer.
Cork’s third-choice goalkeeper this year was David Lordan from the Ballincollig club while Carrigaline’s Sean Mellet is another prospect after he wore the number one jersey on the Cork team that won the last two Munster U21 titles and the UCC side that reached last December’s Munster club final.
Interestingly last Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh Paddy O’Shea, who won an All-Ireland medal with Cork in 2010 before opting out of the panel last year, helped guide his club St Vincent’s to the county premier intermediate football title and ensure they will be playing senior club football on Leeside next year.
This MUST Stop next season. Calling Shamrock, ‘Rovers’ gives the impression that De Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, are involved with fighting the Garda and burning, fireworks and generally interrupting games. Whether it be against Bohs, Rov-ers or any team in the league. On behalf of the real Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, please differentiate between the league champions and the other crowd intent on causing trouble. To ‘the Shams’ fans who came to cheer their team, see you next season, to the bowsies, stay away from the beloved Shogies
Nobody refers to Sligo as “Rovers”, except for Sligo fans of course.
When a League of Ireland fan references “Rovers”, they’re talking about Shamrock Rovers, not Sligo. That’s the way it’s always been and that won’t change. Sligo fans can say Shams in every sentence they want, it doesn’t matter.
Also, Sligo Rovers fans constantly referring to Shamrock Rovers as “Shams” (even club officials, embarrassing) is honestly one of the most cringeworthy things I’ve ever heard/read, it’s almost as odd as them calling Galway fans “crusties”, most of the dopes saying it are in Galway for College because you have to leave Sligo unless you’re content with doing a colourbook course in ITSligo.
the reason Shams fans get bad press is because a small minority of them ruin it for everybody else. At the showgeounds on Friday there were people there with their families to enjoy a very special moment in Sligo Rovers history and to be fair not one that happens to often and the so called “fans” ruined it with their behaviour so sad for all LOI fans
@Gary Mason, there’s a huge difference between a bit of atmosphere and some idiots throwing fireworks at stewards, at players and onto the pitch during the match, which is what happened on Friday night. I’ve been going to the Showgrounds for most of my life, have gone to loads of matches in both Carlisle & Newcastle in the UK, and last Friday night first time I felt genuinely worried that someone was going to get seriously injured on the pitch by supporters acting the way they did-before the match kicked off, there was at least one Sligo Rovers fan on his way to hospital to get glass removed from his eye because of *some* of the Shams supporters. Pretty much every club has some troublemakers, but there’s a huge difference between creating an atmosphere at a match and causing serious injury to someone. (Although in their defence, they did at one point throw a firework onto their own banner and nearly set that alight too….)
Vinny, Vinny, Vinny,We don’t call our team ‘Rovers’ we say…De Rov-ers! and as for the moniker ‘Shams’ it refers to Shamrock Rovers pretending, that the L.O.I. shines from their ass holes, with the help of the powers that be that is. We in the North West like to call our team De Rov-ers with a hyphen, to distinguish one set of football supporters i.e. De Rov-ers from the so called ‘Fans’ that follow Shams. Your real supporters are salt of the earth, which is why I, along with many others, sat in protest in the midfield of Glenmalure Park, Miltown, fadó, fadó, in solidarity with them. Did you hear and see the applause for Twigs? that my friend is what REAL fans do. You wouldn’t be expected to know this, but hitch your mules to our wagon train next season and experience how De Diehards, Forza Rov-ers and ancillary fans enjoy a game. Bring the family, Grannies, Granddads, Women and Children, they’ll be very safe and enjoy the football. Derry City for the cup!!!
While compiling the piece, I looked through all the LOI-related pics available on INPHO, which were taken over the course of the season, and the 53 you see above were the best/most striking, in my view.
I also really like those linesman pics, and particularly the way the sky looks in them, which is why I used more than one of them. I’m sorry if they weren’t to your taste.
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Out of 53 photos only 1 of trouble. Well done Shamrock Rovers, and ya wonder why you get bad press!
This MUST Stop next season. Calling Shamrock, ‘Rovers’ gives the impression that De Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, are involved with fighting the Garda and burning, fireworks and generally interrupting games. Whether it be against Bohs, Rov-ers or any team in the league. On behalf of the real Rov-ers i.e. Sligo Rovers, please differentiate between the league champions and the other crowd intent on causing trouble. To ‘the Shams’ fans who came to cheer their team, see you next season, to the bowsies, stay away from the beloved Shogies
Nobody refers to Sligo as “Rovers”, except for Sligo fans of course.
When a League of Ireland fan references “Rovers”, they’re talking about Shamrock Rovers, not Sligo. That’s the way it’s always been and that won’t change. Sligo fans can say Shams in every sentence they want, it doesn’t matter.
Also, Sligo Rovers fans constantly referring to Shamrock Rovers as “Shams” (even club officials, embarrassing) is honestly one of the most cringeworthy things I’ve ever heard/read, it’s almost as odd as them calling Galway fans “crusties”, most of the dopes saying it are in Galway for College because you have to leave Sligo unless you’re content with doing a colourbook course in ITSligo.
36 people from Sligo dislike this
the reason Shams fans get bad press is because a small minority of them ruin it for everybody else. At the showgeounds on Friday there were people there with their families to enjoy a very special moment in Sligo Rovers history and to be fair not one that happens to often and the so called “fans” ruined it with their behaviour so sad for all LOI fans
go sit on a barstool if you can’t take a game with a bit of atmosphere, less than half those sligo fans will be there next year anyway
@Gary Mason, there’s a huge difference between a bit of atmosphere and some idiots throwing fireworks at stewards, at players and onto the pitch during the match, which is what happened on Friday night. I’ve been going to the Showgrounds for most of my life, have gone to loads of matches in both Carlisle & Newcastle in the UK, and last Friday night first time I felt genuinely worried that someone was going to get seriously injured on the pitch by supporters acting the way they did-before the match kicked off, there was at least one Sligo Rovers fan on his way to hospital to get glass removed from his eye because of *some* of the Shams supporters. Pretty much every club has some troublemakers, but there’s a huge difference between creating an atmosphere at a match and causing serious injury to someone. (Although in their defence, they did at one point throw a firework onto their own banner and nearly set that alight too….)
Is it march yet ?
Where’s the flair from UCD / Cork first game of the season?
Vinny, Vinny, Vinny,We don’t call our team ‘Rovers’ we say…De Rov-ers! and as for the moniker ‘Shams’ it refers to Shamrock Rovers pretending, that the L.O.I. shines from their ass holes, with the help of the powers that be that is. We in the North West like to call our team De Rov-ers with a hyphen, to distinguish one set of football supporters i.e. De Rov-ers from the so called ‘Fans’ that follow Shams. Your real supporters are salt of the earth, which is why I, along with many others, sat in protest in the midfield of Glenmalure Park, Miltown, fadó, fadó, in solidarity with them. Did you hear and see the applause for Twigs? that my friend is what REAL fans do. You wouldn’t be expected to know this, but hitch your mules to our wagon train next season and experience how De Diehards, Forza Rov-ers and ancillary fans enjoy a game. Bring the family, Grannies, Granddads, Women and Children, they’ll be very safe and enjoy the football. Derry City for the cup!!!
Hard to believe somebody can conjure up 53 images of league of Ireland football.
Always the one knocker.
Go sit on your bar stool derek!
Shamrock are Shelbourne (ask Brian Laws) and Sligo are Sligo. Nobody is Rovers. Simples.
if they bothered to look they’d find more and better pictures, instead we have ‘general view of a linesman’ more than once
Hi Gary,
While compiling the piece, I looked through all the LOI-related pics available on INPHO, which were taken over the course of the season, and the 53 you see above were the best/most striking, in my view.
I also really like those linesman pics, and particularly the way the sky looks in them, which is why I used more than one of them. I’m sorry if they weren’t to your taste.