Donal Óg Cusack Gaelic games player
Donal Óg Cusack (born 1 March 1977) is an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Cork senior team. He is current Chairman of the Gaelic Players Association.Born in Cloyne, County Cork, Cusack first excelled at hurling whilst at school in Midleton CBS. He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of eighteen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team, before later lining out with the under-21 side. He made his senior debut in the 1996 Oireachtas Tournament. Cusack went on to play a key role for Cork, on and off the field, and has won three All-Ireland medals, five Munster medals and two All-Star awards. His brother, Conor Cusack, was an All-Ireland runner-up with Cork.Cusack represented the Munster inter-provincial team on a number of occasions in the early part of his career, winning one Inter-provincial medal on the field of play in 2005. At club level he won one championship medal with divisional side Imokilly, while he also plays with Cloyne.Cited by many as one of the most influential inter-county players of his generation, through his championing of the cause of player welfare with the Gaelic Players Association and his innovation as a goalkeeper, Cusack became the first openly gay elite Irish sportsman in 2009.Cusack has made 54 championship appearances for Cork, more than any other goalkeeper in the county's history. He announced his retirement from inter-county hurling in March 2013 after effectively being dropped from the team.