Mark Landers (born 13 July 1972) is an Irish

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

coach and former hurler. He is the coach of Cork Senior Championship club Bride Rovers. Landers played for

East Cork East Cork lies in south-west Ireland, in Ireland's largest county, County Cork. The term "East Cork" is used in tourism, sporting and other contexts, and is the name given to one of eight municipal districts of Cork County Council. East Cork c ...

club

Killeagh Killeagh () is a village in east County Cork, Ireland. It is approximately from Cork (city), Cork city, between Midleton and Youghal on the N25 road (Ireland), N25 national primary road. The village is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil par ...

and was a member of the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions: the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Cha ...

for six seasons, during which time he usually lined out at midfield. Landers began his hurling career at club level with Killeagh. He broke onto the club's top adult team as a 15 year-old in 1988 and enjoyed his first success in 1995 when the club won the Cork Junior Championship title. He later won a Cork Intermediate Championship title in 2001 and promotion to the top flight of Cork hurling. Landers made 50 championship appearances in three different grades of hurling for the club, while his early prowess also saw him selected for the

Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

divisional team, with whom he won back-to-back Cork Senior Championship titles in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. At inter-county level, Landers was part of the successful Cork minor team that won the Munster Championship in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

before later winning an All-Ireland Championship with the intermediate team in

. He joined the Cork senior team for a series of challenge games in early 1992, however, an injury ended his progression on the team until making his competitive debut in

. From his debut, Landers became known as a midfielder and made a combined total of 29 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in 2003. During that time he was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of Cork's All-Ireland Championship-winning team in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Landers also secured two Munster Championship medals and a

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. Landers has previously served as either a manager, coach or selector with

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, club side Killeagh and at inter-county level with both the Cork minor and senior hurling teams.

Playing career

Killeagh

Landers joined the

club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels, enjoying county championship success in the under-12 grade. He was just 15-years-old when he was added to Killeagh's top adult team. On 28 August 1988, Landers was at right wing-forward when Killeagh faced

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...

in the final of the East Cork Junior Championship. In what was described in the ''

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' as "one of the worst finals in the annals of the division", Landers was held scoreless and replaced by his brother Richard in the 1-05 to 0-08 draw. He remained on the bench for the replay on 17 September, however, he collected a winners' medal following the 1-10 to 1-08 victory. After losing back-to-back East Cork Championship finals in 1993 and 1994, Killeagh qualified for a third successive decider on 10 September 1995. Landers was at left wing-back and collected a second winners' medal following the 1-09 to 1-08 defeat of

Watergrasshill Watergrasshill () is a village in north-east County Cork in Ireland to the north of Cork city. It is within the Cork North-Central Dáil constituency. Bypassed in 2003, the village is situated on the R639 road and accessible via junction 17 o ...

. On 22 October, he scored a point from centre-forward when Killeagh defeated

Ballinhassig Ballinhassig () is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated south of Cork City just off the N71 Bandon road and near the source of the River Owenabue (''Abhainn Bui'', meaning "Yellow River"). Traditionally an agricultural area, Ballinha ...

by 3-09 to 0-08 to win the Cork Junior Championship and secure promotion for the first time in the club's history. On 21 October 2001, Landers lined out at centre-back when Killeagh faced Mallow in the final of the Cork Intermediate Championship. He scored 1-01, including a goal from a 20-metre free, in the 2-14 apiece draw. Landers was again at centre-back for the replay on 4 November and collected a winners' medal following the 3-09 to 2-08 victory.

Imokilly

Landers was selected for the

divisional team for the first time during the 1994 Cork Championship. He made his first appearance for the team in a 1-07 to 0-10 first round draw with

Bishopstown Bishopstown () is a suburb of Cork, located in the south west of the city. It is made-up of the townlands of Ballineaspigbeg and Ballineaspigmore (sometimes spelled Ballinaspigmore), and is located in the civil parish of St. Finbar's in the hi ...

on 12 June 1994. Landers was appointed captain of the Imokilly team for the 1996 Cork Championship. On 22 September he scored a point from midfield in a 1-12 apiece draw with Avondhu in the final at

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. Often referred to simply as "The Park", it is the home of Cork GAA and is located in Ballintemple, near the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. In February 2024, follo ...

. Landers again captained the team from midfield for the replay on 6 October, which Imokilly lost by 0-13 to 1-08. On 5 October 1997, Landers was at right wing-back when Imokilly reached a second successive final. He scored a point from play and collected his first winners' medal following the 1-18 to 2-12 defeat of Sarsfields. Imokilly qualified for a third successive final on 1 November 1998. Landers was selected at centre-back and scored three points, including two frees, in the 1-10 to 1-05 defeat of

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

. Landers was appointed captain of the Imokilly team for the second time in his career for the 2001 Cork Championship. On 6 October, he captained the team from left wing-back when they faced Blackrock in the final. In spite of playing in defence, Landers top scored for Imokilly with 2-02 in the 4-08 to 2-07 defeat.

Cork

Minor

Landers first lined out for

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

as a member of the minor team during the 1990 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 16 May and scored 1-02 from right corner-forward in an 8-22 to 1-02 defeat of Kerry. Landers was switched to full-forward for the

Munster final Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

again

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

on 15 July. He was held scoreless but collected a winners' medal following the 1-09 to 0-09 victory. On 2 September, Landers lined out at left corner-forward in Cork's 3-14 apiece draw with

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

in the All-Ireland final. He was switched to full-forward for the replay on 30 September but was held scoreless in the 3-16 to 0-11 defeat.

Junior and intermediate

Landers was selected for the Cork junior team for the first time during the 1995 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance on 4 June and scored four points from centre-forward in a 3-08 to 1-12 defeat by Clare. Landers was selected for the junior team again the following year, however, he failed to secure a place on the starting fifteen for the opening rounds. On 25 June 1996, he was introduced as a substitute at full-forward and collected a Munster Championship medal following a 2-15 to 2-10 defeat of Tipperary in the final. On 8 June 1997, Landers made his first appearance for the Cork intermediate team. He was at centre-back for the 0-14 to 1-10 defeat of Clare in the opening round of the Munster Championship. Landers was dropped from the starting fifteen for the rest of the provincial campaign, however, he won a Munster Championship medal on 23 July when he was introduced as a substitute in the 1-15 to 1-12 defeat of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in the final. He was restored to the starting fifteen for the subsequent All-Ireland Championship. On 11 October he won an All-Ireland medal after scoring a point from centre-back in the 2-11 to 1-12 defeat of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the final.

Senior

Landers first played for the Cork senior team in a series of challenge games during the winter break of the 1991-92 National League. He later suffered an injury by tearing his cruciate ligament which ruled him out of a call-up to the team for the 1992 Munster Championship. On 8 March 1998, Landers made his first appearance for the Cork senior team in a competitive game. He was selected at right wing-back when Cork defeated Kilkenny by 0-16 to 1-08 in the opening round of the 1998 National League. Landers lined out in all seven of Cork's league games and claimed a winners' medal on 17 May after a 2-14 to 0-13 defeat of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in the final. He made his championship debut on 31 May when Cork defeated Limerick by 1-20 to 3-11 in the opening round of the Munster Championship. Landers was appointed

of the Cork senior team for the 1999 season. On 4 July, he captained the team from midfield to their first Munster Championship title since 1992 after a 1-15 to 0-14 defeat of reigning champions Clare in the final. On 16 August, Landers underwent micro-surgery at Tralee General Hospital to remove damaged cartilage from his knee after injuring himself in a club game two days earlier. While it was initially feared that the injury could end his season, Landers recovered to captain Cork against Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final on 12 September. He scored a point from midfield in the 0-12 to 0-11 victory and had the honour of becoming the first Cork player since

Tomás Mulcahy Tomás Mulcahy (born 26 June 1963) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a right corner-forward at senior level for the Cork county team. Born in Blackpool, Cork, Mulcahy first played competitive Gaelic games during hi ...

of accepting the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup () is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Based on the design of a medieval drinking vessel, the trophy was first awarded i ...

. Landers made four appearances for Cork during the 2000 National League, however, he failed to secure a place on the starting fifteen. On 3 July, he won a second successive Munster Championship medal, albeit as a non-playing substitute, when Cork defeated Tipperary by 0-23 to 3-12 in the final. Cork qualified for the 2002 National League final on 5 May, with Landers starting on the bench after making only a handful of cameo appearances throughout the campaign. In the week leading up to the game there had been speculation that

Gaelic Players Association The Gaelic Players Association (), or GPA, is the officially recognised player representative body for inter county Gaelic footballers and Hurling, hurlers in Ireland. The GPA's aim is to promote and protect all aspects of player welfare and to ...

members from both teams would stage a protest during the parade before the match with their socks down and jerseys out - offences punishable by fine under the GAA's match regulations. At the last training session before the final, Cork selector

John Meyler John Meyler (born 1956) is an Irish hurling manager and former selector, association footballer, Gaelic footballer and hurler who is currently the manager of kilmoyley. He has formerly managed the Kerry, Wexford, Carlow and Cork senior hurling ...

is alleged to have told Landers, a prominent GPA member and one of the Cork players in favour of the protest, to " take a good look around

because he'd never see it again." Meyler dismissed this comment as "banter." The Cork players went ahead with their pre-match protest before losing the final by 2-15 to 2-14. On 29 November, Landers and six of his teammates from the Cork hurling panel held a press conference at the Imperial Hotel to announce that all 30 members of the panel were withdrawing their services from the county in the hope of better treatment from the county board. He remained a high-profile representative at the negotiations over the following two weeks and was one of five Cork hurling representatives who agreed to a settlement with the county board on 13 December. Landers played his last game for Cork on 7 January 2003 in a 4-12 to 1-07 defeat of Blackrock in a challenge match at

Páirc Uí Rinn Páirc Uí Rinn (), also known as Páirc Chríostóir Uí Rinn, is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium located between Ballinlough and Ballintemple in Cork. It was previously known as Flower Lodge and was used as an association football ...

. He was subsequently dropped from the panel by new manager Donal O'Grady, a move which effectively ending his inter-county career.

Coaching career

University College Cork

Landers was appointed coach of the

senior hurling team for the 2007 season. His sole season in charge saw the team enjoy some early victories before making their exit from the

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

Cork

Minor

On 22 October 2013, Landers was confirmed as coach of the Cork minor hurling team. During his sole season as coach, Cork enjoyed a 5-26 to 0-09 opening round defeat of Kerry in the Munster Championship before exiting at the semi-final stage following a 0-23 to 2-15 defeat by Limerick.

Senior

On 19 November 2014, Landers joined

Jimmy Barry-Murphy James Barry-Murphy (; born 22 August 1954) is an Irish hurling manager and former hurler and Gaelic footballer. He was the manager of the senior Cork county hurling team from 2011 to 2015, returning a decade after his first tenure as manager. ...

's Cork senior management team as coach following the departure of

Kieran Kingston Kieran Kingston (born 9 September 1964) is an Irish hurling manager and former player who managed the Cork senior hurling team between 2015 and 2022 (with a hiatus between 2017 and 2019), for which he previously lined out as a player. He spent ...

. On 3 May 2015, he guided Cork to the National League final where the team suffered a 1-24 to 0-17 defeat by Waterford. Cork later exited the Munster Championship following a five-point defeat by Waterford before being beaten by

in the All-Ireland quarter-final. The management team subsequently stepped down following this defeat, with Landers touted as a possible successor to Jimmy Barry-Murphy as manager.

Killeagh

Landers had been involved as a coach and selector at all different levels with Killeagh before being appointed manager of the club's senior team prior to the start of the 2016 Cork Senior Championship. His first championship season as manager saw Killeagh record victories over

Muskerry Muskerry () is a central region of County Cork, Ireland which incorporates the baronies of Muskerry West Imokilly Imokilly () is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Youghal. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. Other neighbouring baronies include Barrymore to the west (whose chief town is ...

. Landers and his management team returned for a second championship season in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. After an opening round defeat by Erin's Own, Killeagh later recorded wins over

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and

Carbery Carbery or Carbury may refer to: ;People: * Brian Carbury (1918–1961), New Zealand fighter ace * Douglas Carbery (1894–1959), British soldier and airman * Ethna Carbery (1864–1902), Irish writer * James Joseph Carbery (1823–1887), Irish ...

before a Round 4 defeat by Sarsfields. For the third year in succession, Landers took charge of the Killeagh senior hurling team. Opening round defeats by Douglas and St. Finbarr's sent Killeagh into the relegation play-offs where the club suffered defeats by Ballyhea and

Kanturk Kanturk () is a town in the north west of County Cork, Ireland. It is situated at the confluence of the Allua (Allow) and Dallow (Dalua) rivers, which stream further on as tributaries to the River Blackwater. It is about from Cork and Limeric ...

. In spite of these defeats Killeagh were not relegated and retained their senior status for

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. Landers subsequently stepped down as manager.

Bride Rovers

Landers was confirmed as the new coach of the Bride Rovers senior hurling team in December 2018.

Career statistics

Club

Division

Inter-county

Honours

;Killeagh *

Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship The Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Intermediate A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork IAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board ...

(1):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Cork Junior Hurling Championship The Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork GAA, Cork County Board of ...

(1):

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship The East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Michael O'Connor Motor Factors East Cork Junior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Imokilly Board of the Gaelic Athletic Ass ...

(2): 1988, 1995 ;Imokilly *

Cork Senior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PSHC) is an annual club hurling competition organised by the Cork County B ...

(2):

;Cork *

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for ...

(1):

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

(1):

All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Intermediate All-Ireland Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Effectively contested by the second ...

(1):

Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship The Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between 1961 and 2017. Teams consisted of senior, intermediate and junior club ...

(1):

Munster Minor Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland Munster GAA Hurling Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of ...

(1):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, Mark 1972 births Living people Killeagh hurlers Imokilly hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners Hurling managers People educated at St Colman's College, Fermoy