NEW Cork manager John Cleary will take the reins of the senior footballers in 2023. Here are some things you need to know about the Castlehaven man.
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1. He won four All-Ireland medals with Cork as a player – one minor in 1981, one U21 in 1984 and two seniors in 1989 and 1990.
2. Cleary also won six Munster senior football titles as a player (1983, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90 and ’93).
3. His last game playing for the Rebels was an All-Ireland final loss to Derry in 1993.
4. He won two Cork SFC titles with Castlehaven, both as a player (1989 and ’94) and then as a selector (2012 and ’13).
5. Added to that, the Haven legend won three Munster club championships as a player (1989, ’94 and ’97)
6. He was U21 selector between 2004 and 2007, winning an All-Ireland in 07.
7. Cleary then stepped up as U21 manager in 2008 and won four Munster titles (2009, ’11, ’12 and ’13) and also won the All-Ireland in 2009.
8. He masterminded four All-Ireland triumphs in just five seasons, 2015 and 2019, when he was Cork minor ladies football manager.
9. Famously, he scored two penalties when Cork beat Dublin in the 1989 All-Ireland SFC semi-final in Croke Park. Cork went on to beat Mayo in the final.
10. Cleary is from a famous footballing family as his sister Nollaig Cleary and brother-in-law Niall Cahalane also won All-Ireland football medals with Cork.
