WHAT’S better than one Haulie? The answer: two Haulies.
Carbery Rangers clubman Micheál ‘Haulie’ O’Sullivan was confirmed as the new Cork minor football manager, and his backroom team includes Clonakilty football guru Haulie O’Neill, adding a distinct West Cork flavour to the inter-county set-up.
For new minor boss O’Sullivan, this is the latest step in his inter-county managerial career, having worked with the Cork U15 footballers in 2022 and the U16s this season. His impressive coaching CV also includes two spells with his home club Carbery Rangers, who he led to one county senior final and two semi-finals. He was also brought on board as a coach for the Carbery’s senior footballers for the past two seasons. In his playing days, he won national league and Munster championship medals with Cork, as well as lining out in the 1999 All-Ireland SFC final.
His Cork minor management team includes Haulie O’Neill (Clonakilty), Pat Mackey (Youghal), Jimmy Thompson (Aghabullogue), and Michael Shields (St Finbarr’s) as coach. The inclusion of Haulie O’Neill is notable, as the former Cork senior football selector – he worked with Conor Counihan and Larry Tompkins – is held in high regard.
‘I had the pleasure of working with him at schools’ level in Clonakilty where I got a real feel for the aura surrounding his coaching style,’ Haulie O'Sullivan, in his weekly column in this paper, wrote of O’Neill in the past, and now the two will work together in the Cork minor football set-up.
