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Shane O'Neill INPHO/Cathal Noonan 

Two former captains omitted as Cork hurlers cull big names from championship panel

Shane O’Neill and Patrick Cronin are among those who won’t feature again for the Rebels in 2016.

SOME NOTABLE NAMES will be absent from the Cork senior hurling panel for the 2016 championship, which begins for the Rebels with a Munster quarter-final against Tipperary on 22 May.

Reports indicate that former captains Shane O’Neill and Patrick Cronin will be left out of the panel, which manager Kieran Kingston is expected to announce this evening.

It’s also understood that Paudie O’Sullivan, Cian McCarthy and Stephen Moylan have been omitted, as Kingston prepares his side for his first championship campaign in charge since taking over from Jimmy Barry-Murphy.

Cork will go into next month’s game at Semple Stadium on the back of a disappointing Allianz League campaign, but they did manage to avoid relegation from Division 1A by overcoming Galway in Sunday’s play-off. None of the aforementioned quintet featured in the game at Pearse Stadium.

However, it’s believed that O’Sullivan — whose older brother Diarmuid is a selector — has decided to take a hiatus from inter-county hurling, while McCarthy — who returned to the panel this year after opting out in 2015 — has made himself unavailable due to work commitments.

Captain in 2011, O’Neill has been involved since 2005, when he was part of the last Cork panel to win the All-Ireland. The 30-year-old started in Cork’s Allianz League games against Tipperary, Waterford and Galway earlier this season.

Cronin, his 28-year-old Bishopstown team-mate, captained Cork to the Munster title in 2014. Moylan made his Cork debut in 2012 and came off the bench to score 1-1 in the defeat to Clare in the 2013 All-Ireland final replay.

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8 Comments
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    Mute Kirk Van Houten
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    Apr 5th 2016, 6:31 PM

    Can’t believe they’re dropping Shane o neill there has to be more to that situation. Cronin was never great to be fair he’s not a huge surprise.

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    Mute Chocolatito
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    Apr 5th 2016, 8:03 PM

    Pa Cronin finally dropped? Jesus this is like Christmas.

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    Mute Kieran
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    Apr 5th 2016, 8:12 PM

    Shane O Neill a bit of a surprise. Very hard to make any case for any of the rest of them to be kept on. Not nice for anyone to be dropped but this is the way forward

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    Mute Adrian Harpur
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    Apr 5th 2016, 6:28 PM

    I feel a strike coming on…..

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    Mute Michael Cunningham
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    Apr 5th 2016, 6:58 PM

    Big vote of confidence in young lads. Still I’d like to see cronin and O’Neil come back later in the summer if there going well.

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    Mute Paul O Sullivan
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    Apr 5th 2016, 7:48 PM

    Very strange. They played one new player during the league (Spillane) and he got injured and is out for the year. The 2 lads have given great service to cork and it is prob time for them to go but this seems like a spur of the moment decision new players should of been played during the league.

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    Mute GAA LAD
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    Apr 5th 2016, 10:09 PM

    Good from Kingston. These players have been there a while now and aren’t performing well. Time to give preference to new fresh hurlers.

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    Mute John Carroll
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    Apr 5th 2016, 11:14 PM

    Shane o Neill definitely and maybe cronin are a surprise but Moylan was never good enough. Paudie sullivan and Cian Mac would still have something to offer as subs.

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