It appears that Brian Lenihan has played his last game in the League of Ireland with Cork City. More than any other club in recent times Cork City have exported players out of the league. Here's how they've done.
Brian Barry-Murphy
Son of the legendary GAA duel star Jimmy, Barry-Murphy has had the longest career in England of all the Cork exports. After playing LOI for 3 seasons he joined Preston North End in 1999. Injuries limited his career there but after loan spells with Southend and Hartlepool he joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2003. A year later he signed for Bury and he’d go on to make over 200 appearances for them over 6 seasons. He’s with Bury since 2010 and helped them win promotion to League One last season.
Damien Delaney
Now 33, Damien Delaney has a long and undervalued career in football. Bursting onto the scene with Dave Barry’s Cork City in 1999, it wasn’t long before he had moved to Leicester City and made his first Premier League appearances. It was a move to Hull that saw him transformed into a centre half and his performances in the Championship were enough to earn several Ireland caps. Last year Delaney helped Crystal Palace avoid relegation in the EPL, memorably scoring against Liverpool in the final few games.
Joe Gamble
Joe Gamble twice moved from Cork City to the UK. After breaking into the Cork team in 2000, he quickly moved to Reading but spent most of his time there on loan to Barnet. He returned home in 2004 and established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the country (winning the league, FAI Cup and even international caps). As financial pressures caused Cork to collapse in 2010, Gamble moved to Hartlepool but stayed for only a year before returning to Ireland to play with Limerick. Gamble is currently playing with Brunei DPMM in Singapore’s S League.
Kevin Doyle
Doyle burst onto the LOI scene with St Patrick’s Athletic in 2001 but after 2 seasons he left with Pat Dolan who resigned the Pats managerial job to take over at Cork City. After 15 successful months there, Doyle was off to Reading where he made an immediate impact. Reading achieved promotion to the EPL in his first season with Doyle being voted Reading’s Player of the Year. He was nominated for PFA young player of the year in 2007. Since then Doyle has yo-yoed between fighting for promotion from Championship or fighting relegation from EPL with Reading, then Wolves and last year on loan to QPR. He’s currently looking for a move from Wolves. Doyle is the 2nd highest scoring Irish international amongst active players
Shane Long
Shane Long moved from Cork City to Reading on the same day as Kevin Doyle but without any fanfare. Long was just 18 and had less than a handful of appearances for a Cork side that would go on to win the league that year. Long took a little while to break into the Reading team but once there, he never looked back. In 2011 he left the Championship for the EPL with West Brom and continued to impress observers with his work rate. After a short spell with Hull last season he joined Southampton earlier this month for £12.5 million. Long is firmly established as a starter for the Republic of Ireland and is approaching 50 caps.
Alan Bennett
Bennett was an important cog in the Cork defence that helped win the 2005 league title. In January 2007 he followed Long and Doyle by signing for Reading. In May that year, and before he had played in England, Bennett made his Ireland debut on Steve Staunton's US tour. He'd never play for Reading but did appear for clubs like Southampton, Brentford, Wycombe and Cheltenham. He's currently captain of AFC Wimbledon in League 2.
George O'Callaghan
After beginning his career with Port Vale, George O’Callaghan was one of the most enigmatic players in the LOI between 2002 and 2006. Brilliantly skillful, he was the archetypal flawed genius. In July 2006 he was suspended by Cork manager Damian Richardson for “behavioural” issues. That led to Georgie heading back to England with Ipswich Town (where he was sent off on his debut). He rejoined Cork in 2008 but stayed less than 6 months before joining Tranmere Rovers. Short stays became a pattern for George as he joined Dundalk, Yeovil, Waterford, Cork, Cambridge United and the Brunie DPMM all within the space of 2 years. He’s now retired from professional football.
Roy O'Donovan
Lightning quick O’Donovan burst onto the LOI scene in 2005 and, as with many on this list, won the league title that season. After exit of Kevin Doyle, and with John O’Flynn struggling with injury, he became Cork’s main goal scoring threat and became the LOI’s hottest property. Roy Keane’s Sunderland won a bidding war with an initial fee of €500k (with more to add on) in July 2007. After making his Premier League debut, he failed to score for Sunderland and was loaned out 4 times before transferring permantly to Coventry in 2010. Injuries killed his career there and after another loan spell (with Hibs) he joined Northampton Town in 2013 having played only 17 times for the Sky Blues. Earlier this year he joined Joe Gamble at Brunie DPMM but has been linked with a move to Birmingham City this week.
John O'Flynn
For 6 years John O’Flynn was one of the best strikers in Ireland. There’s no doubt that if hadn’t have been so injury prone, his talents (and speed!) would have brought him to a higher level than he managed. He eventually moved to England in 2008 with Barnet. He spent 2 years there before joining Exeter where he stayed for 4 seasons before re-joining Cork in July this year. He scored his first LOI goal since his return last week.
David Meyler
Meyler only played for Cork City twice in 2008 but he had already been earmarked for a career at the top level. He signed for Sunderland but didn’t make his debut until a year later. He was hust establishing himself as first choice midfielder when he damaged his ACL against Manchester United effectively missing 10 months of football. He followed manager Steve Bruce to Hull City during the 2012/14 season and he’s been a regular ever since (including starting the 2014 FA Cup final). He’s now a regular ROI squad member.
Dave Mooney
Having started his career with Shamrock Rovers, Dubliner Mooney had a successful stint with Longford Town ending up as LOI top scorer in 2007 despite their relegation. He continued his great form with Cork City and was again the league's top scorer before his move to Reading in August of 2008. The move was hastened by a financial crisis in Cork. He failed to establish himself at Reading and loan moves to Norwich, Charlton and Colchester followed. He joined Leyton Orient in 2011 and excelled last season including a run of 8 goals to start the season.
Graham Cummins
Cummins had been superb for Cobh Ramblers and Waterford United in the first division of the LOI since 2006 so it was no surprise that when zombie Cork City/Foras entered the 2010 season, they would look to him to spearhead their revival. It took 2 years to earn promotion but Cummins was voted the division's POTY for both seasons. Before he could play for them in the Premier Division, Cummins was signed by Preston North End. He spent last season on loan to Rochdale with the only notable event being interviewed as part of a match fixing probe. Having been cleared of all charges, Cummins signed for Exeter last week.
Brian Lenihan
The 20 year old midfielder (who can also play in defence) made his debut for City in 2012 having signed from College Corinthians in the Munster Senior League. His all action displays have earned high praise this season and Hull City have seemingly won the race for his signature despite the interest of several other clubs. He suffered a horrific fall against Bohemians in July but thankfully the injury was not serious.
Others like Leon McSweeney and Colin Healy had established themselves in the UK before coming home for a spell before returning to England. Alan Browne played for Cork's Under 19 side before signing for Preston late last year.
