Great news announced today, as former blues senior footballers to take up position as Head of Games Development with Cork County Board. Niall a member of the 95 & 98 Co Senior Championship winning team will commence his role on the 24th of July

ECHO LIVE 3/7/23 DENIS HURLEY

Cork appoint Niall Twomey as head of games development and hope to add more coaches

Eight new games development co-ordinators (GDCs) will be appointed while six existing games development administrators will have opportunity to become GDCs

AA coaching resources in Cork are set to be significantly boosted with a number of key appointments.

The county board hopes to appoint eight new games development co-ordinators (GDCs), while Niall Twomey has been announced as Cork’s new head of games development.

Currently, there are six games development administrators in the county and these will be offered the opportunity to migrate to GDC roles. In total, it would result in 14 coaching staff in Cork, tasked with improving participation and playing standards at ground level.

Niall Twomey will begin his role as head of games development on Monday, July 24.

A member of the Bantry Blues teams that won the county SFC in 1995 and 1998, Twomey has served as a Cork minor football selector, U21 football trainer and senior football development squad manager. With his adopted club Ballinascarthy, he has held the roles of coaching officer and underage chairperson and recently acted as a facilitator for Cork’s urban club review pilot.

A former member of the Irish Defence Forces, Twomey was involved in overseas missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Kosovo and East Timor. Since 2012, he has worked as the Civil Defence Officer for Cork West, responsible for the management, training and deployment of personnel to respond effectively to emergency situations at local and regional level.

Cork County Board chairperson Marc Sheehan welcomed the appointment of Twomey.

“We are delighted to have someone of Niall's calibre to lead our games development department at a time of such growth,” he said.

“We have no doubt that he has the leadership and organisational skills to manage what will be a key pillar in the development of our games and we look forward to supporting his role.”

Those views were echoed by Cork secretary/CEO Kevin O’Donovan.

“The appointment of additional coaching officers on the ground has been a long-held ambition and we are excited to see our plans finally come to fruition with thanks to Central Council, Munster Council and our own county committee for the increased funding allocation.

“Niall's appointment, followed by the increased staffing levels, will be organised in parallel with a full review of all areas of games development within the county across clubs, schools and county development squads.”