Conor Counihan
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Aghada, County Cork, Ireland
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Conchur Ó Cuanacháin | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Born |
28 September 1959 Aghada, County Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Nickname | Miley | ||
| Occupation | CEO of St. Joseph's Foundation | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
|
Aghada Imokilly | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 2 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1980–1993 | Cork | 26 (0-00) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 4 | ||
| All-Irelands | 2 | ||
| NFL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 2 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 16:48, 6 August 2013. | |||
Conor Counihan (born 28 September 1959) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-back for the Cork senior team.[1]
Born in Aghada, County Cork, Counihan first played competitive football during his youth. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of twenty when he first linked up with the Cork under-21 team, before later lining out with the junior side. He made his senior debut in the 1980–81 National Football League. Counihan went on to win two All-Ireland medals, four Munster medals and three National Football League medals. He was an All-Ireland runner-up on three occasions.
Counihan was a member of the Munster inter-provincial team for six consecutive years. At club level he won two Cork Senior Football Championship medals with divisional side Imokilly, while he also won intermediate and junior championship medals with Aghada.
Throughout his career Counihan made 26 championship appearances for Cork. His retirement came following Cork's defeat by Derry in the 1993 All-Ireland final.
In retirement from playing, Counihan became involved in team management and coaching. He served as a selector and as a backs' coach on the Cork senior football team under both Billy Morgan and Larry Tompkins, while he also led the Aghada senior team. As manager of the Cork senior team for six seasons, he guided the team to the All-Ireland title in 2010.
During his playing days, Counihan won two All-Star awards. In 2009, he was chosen at centre-back on a special Munster football team of the quarter century.[2]
Club
Counihan played club football with Aghada GAA club.
In 1984, Counihan was captain of divisional side Imolkilly as the team reached the final of the county senior championship for the first time ever. Dual kingpins St. Finbarr's provided the opposition, with Imokilly claiming their first ever title with a 2–14 to 2–7 score line.[3]
After surrendering their title the following year, Imokilly were back in the championship decider again in 1986. Once again it was St. Finbarr's who provided the opposition, however, on this occasion the Barr's were the reigning county champions. Imokilly triumphed by 2–4 to 0–9 and Counihan picked up a second championship medal.[4]
In 1989 Counihan won a fourth divisional junior medal of the decade with Aghada. The club later reached the final of the county championship. Knocknagree were the opponents and, after a draw and a replay, Counihan's side won by 0–8 to 0–4, giving him a Cork Junior Football Championship medal.
After just two years at intermediate level, Aghada reached the championship final with Ballincollig providing the opposition. A narrow 0–9 to 0–8 victory gave Counihan an Cork Intermediate Football Championship medal.
Under-21 and junior
Counihan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork under-21 football team in 1980. He won a Munster Under-21 Football Championship medal that year following a 3–15 to 0–4 win over Clare. Cork later qualified for the All-Ireland final. Dublin were beaten by Cork on a 2–8 to 1–5 scoreline, giving Counihan an All-Ireland medal.
In 1984 Counihan was a member of the Cork junior football team. That he won a Munster medal following a 1–12 to 0–9 defeat of Kerry. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Cork against English side Warwickshire. Cork won easily by 3–20 to 0–7, giving Counihan an All-Ireland medal.
Senior
Counihan made his senior debut for Cork during the autumn games of the 1980–81 National Football League. He made his championship debut against Waterford in 1981, but was back on the substitutes' bench for the subsequent Munster final defeat by Kerry.
Over the next few years Counihan was on and off the senior panel. He returned to the starting fifteen as captain for Cork's championship campaign in 1985.
Two years later in 1987, Counihan was captain of Cork for a second time. After a 1–10 to 2–7 Munster final draw with four-in-a-row contenders Kerry, Cork won the replay by 0–13 to 1–5, giving him a first Munster medal. Counihan lined out in his first All-Ireland final on 20 September 1987, with Meath providing the opposition. Meath led by 1–6 to 0–8 at half-time, courtesy of a Colm O'Rourke goal. At the full-time whistle Meath were the winners by 1–14 to 0–11.[5]
Cork retained the provincial title for the first time in fourteen years in 1988, following a narrow 1–14 to 0–16 defeat of Kerry. The game was noted for an incident in which Counihan grabbed Jack O'Shea by the testicles.[6] It was his second consecutive Munster medal. Counihan later lined out in a second All-Ireland final against Meath on 18 September 1988. After a 0–12 to 1–9 draw, the subsequent replay on 9 October 1988 saw Meath's Gerry McEntee being sent-off after just seven minutes. In spite of being reduced to fourteen men, Meath hung on for a narrow 0–13 to 0–12 victory.[7]
In 1989, Cork faced New York in the final of the National League at Gaelic Park. An aggregate score of 3–21 to 2–14 in favour of Cork gave Counihan a National League medal. Cork later made history by securing a third successive Munster title following a 1–12 to 1–9 defeat of Kerry. Mayo faced Cork in the subsequent All-Ireland final on 16 September 1989, as Counihan's side aimed to put an end to their losing streak in All-Ireland finals. The game was a close affair for much of the opening half. An Anthony Finnerty goal after thirty-eight minutes gave Mayo a brief lead, however, the Connacht champions failed to score for the last nineteen minutes. Teddy McCarthy took control and Cork secured victory by 0–17 to 1–11.[8][9] It was Counihan's first All-Ireland medal and Cork's first championship title since 1973. At the end of the year Counihan was presented with his first All-Star award.
Cork dominated the provincial championship again in 1990. A 2–23 to 1–11 defeat of old rivals Kerry gave Counihan a fourth successive Munster medal. On 16 September 1990 Cork had the chance to retain their All-Ireland title when they faced Meath in the All-Ireland decider. Cork suffered a blow in the first-half when Colm O'Neill was sent off; however, Shay Fahy was playing a blinder at midfield. In spite of only having fourteen men Cork won the game by 0–11 to 0–9.[10] It was a second consecutive All-Ireland medal for Counihan and it was the first time that Cork had achieved back-to-back championships. This victory was all the more special as the Cork hurling team had already won their respective All-Ireland title a fortnight earlier. It was the first time in the modern era that a county had won the hurling and football double. A second consecutive All-Star award quickly followed for Counihan.
Three All-Ireland titles in-a-row proved beyond Cork and Counihan was later confined to the substitutes' bench.
In 1993 Cork regained the Munster title, however, Counihan was an unused sub in the 1–16 to 1–8 defeat of Tipperary. He was later named in the substitutes for the All-Ireland final showdown with Derry on 19 September 1993. Things did not go to plan as "the Rebels" were reduced to fourteen men when Tony Davis was harshly red-carded. Counihan was introduced as a substitute, however, Séamus Downey scored the winning goal as Derry secured their first All-Ireland with a 1–14 to 2–8 victory.[11] Counihan retired from inter-county activity following this defeat.
Inter-provincial
Counihan also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial football competition. He played with Munster for six seasons between 1986 and 1992, however, he ended up on the losing side on each occasion and finished his career without a Railway Cup title.[12]