Hall of Fame nod for Tompkins

Almost 30 years after captaining the Cork footballers in the historic 1990 All-Ireland double win on Leeside, Larry Tompkins has been inducted in to the GAA Hall of Fame.

A three-time All-Star winner, Tompkins enjoyed a nine-year senior intercounty career with the Cork footballers and won two All-Ireland titles, six Munster titles and a National League title.

On return from the United States in the mid-1980s, Larry, a Kildare native, settled in Cork and thus began his career for the Rebel county. In 1996 he succeeded Billy Morgan as Cork manager, and despite initial setbacks, he guided the county to a National League and two Munster championships.

Six players were inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2019 altogether at Croke Park this week, covering the period 1985 to 1989.

It brings the total number of inductees to 54 across hurling and football. As well as Tompkins, hurlers Nicky English (Tipperary), Conor Hayes (Galway) and Terence ‘Sambo’ McNaughton (Antrim) and footballers Denis ‘Ógie’ Moran (Kerry) and Colm O’Rourke were recognised.

Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, John Horan, said: “We cannot have great games without great players and today we get to pay due recognition to a group of footballers and hurlers who have a very special place in our history.

“The GAA Museum Hall of Fame initiative is an opportunity to honour three hurlers and three footballers - not just for their exploits for club and county and for the success they enjoyed, but to acknowledge the enormous impact they had on our games and the inspiration they were to a generation who were lucky enough to see them play. Thanks to our GAA Digital Archive, their exploits have been preserved for future generations to savour and I congratulate them all.”

Meanwhile the Cork football management ticket for next season has been completed with another Kildare man, Cian O’Neill, set to join the backroom team. O’Neill stepped away from his role as manager to the Lilywhites after four years this July and has been appointed as the Cork coach for the 2020 season.

O’Neill will work under manager Ronan McCarthy, alongside selectors Gary O’Halloran and Sean Hayes. The strength and conditioning coach has been announced as Kevin Smith who will work under newly appointed high performance manager Aidan O’Connell. Smith is a former head of S&C at Stade Français Rugby Club and is currently completing a PhD at CIT.