John Cleary is widely expected to continue as manager of the Cork senior footballers for a fourth full season in 2026.
The Cork County Board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday night, and this meeting could provide further clarity regarding Cleary’s future in the role. He is a Castlehaven man.
While there have been suggestions of potential changes within Cleary’s management team, current indications strongly suggest he will remain at the helm. He initially took over from Keith Ricken on a temporary basis in 2022.
Over the past three seasons, Cleary’s management team has included coach Kevin Walsh, selectors Micheál Ó Croinín, James Loughrey, and Barry Corkery, as well as performance coach Rob Heffernan.
For the second consecutive year, Cork’s campaign ended in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final, with a loss to Dublin.
They reached the knockout stages by defeating Roscommon, following an earlier victory over Donegal in the 2024 group phase. Their championship run concluded with a defeat to Louth.
Speaking to last month, Cork chairman Pat Horgan stated the ambition to confirm their senior management team this week.
“We hope to be in a position by August 5, at our next county board meeting, to have sorted the senior football. We will be speaking to John and hopefully we will have that sorted by then.”
Cork won’t face Kerry in a third straight Munster semi-final in 2026, due to the provincial council’s decision on Thursday to seed their top two league finishers from 2024 in separate semi-finals.
Horgan has emphasized the importance of Cork’s return to Division 1. This year, they narrowly missed out on a top-two finish in Division 2, being one win short. They benefitted from four home games. The same scenario is possible again in 2026, marking the start of a new two-year cycle.
Similar to Cleary, Pat Ryan’s initial three-year term as senior hurling manager has ended. There are strong hopes that he will also agree to stay on. Despite another All-Ireland final defeat, Cork secured both the Division 1 title and the Munster title this year.
Meanwhile, Davy Fitzgerald is expected to continue for a second season as manager of Antrim. The Saffrons secured their Division 1B status in 2025 but were relegated from the Leinster championship and will now participate in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
It is also anticipated that Pádraic Joyce will remain in charge of Galway for a seventh season. The two-time All-Ireland SFC winner’s most recent three-year period concluded with an All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Meath.
