Brian Cody

Stalwart manager will be regarded as 'the greatest manager in the history of hurling', according to Kilkenny County Board.

Appointed in November of 1998, when the only name put before the county board for ratification, Cody succeeded Kevin Fennelly and took charge of a team that had just lost the All-Ireland final. Speculation and rumour had swept Kilkenny over recent days that Cody was on the verge of stepping down. We wish Brian all the best in the future.”

Cody departs the Inter-County scene as the most decorated manager in the history of the game after leading his county to 11 All-Ireland titles, 18 Leinster ...

Wherever and whenever our games are discussed in the future, Brian Cody’s achievements will be the benchmark managers will be measured by. The Board would also like to acknowledge the bond Brian helped create between Team Management, Players, County Board, Clubs and Supporters Clubs as all worked seamlessly together in preparing our teams while organising and promoting our games. "Brian Cody has informed Kilkenny County Board that he is stepping down as Kilkenny Senior Hurling Team Manager. Appointed in November 1998 Brian has led the Kilkenny team to unprecedented provincial and national success and is regarded as the greatest manager in the history of hurling.

He guided the team for 24 seasons becoming not just the most successful ever manager in hurling, but in Irish sport. He coached the county to 11 All-Ireland ...

Wherever and whenever our games are discussed in the future, Brian Cody’s achievements will be the benchmark managers will be measured by. In achieving all of this success, Brian has created an unbreakable spirit among his players and teams which has come to define Kilkenny hurling. He coached the county to 11 All-Ireland wins, including the record equalling four-in-row wins between 2006 and 2009.

After 24 seasons at the helm and 11 All-Ireland wins, Brian Cody has stepped down as manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team.

Appointed in November of 1998, when the only name put before the county board for ratification, Cody succeeded Kevin Fennelly and took charge of a team that had just lost the All-Ireland final. Speculation and rumour had swept Kilkenny over recent days that Cody was on the verge of stepping down. We wish Brian all the best in the future.”

A year-by-year look at Brian Cody's time as Kilkenny senior hurling manager. 1998 - takes over as Kilkenny manager from Kevin Fennelly.

2022 - a 24th year takes him one beyond Sean Boylan's 23-year term in Meath and a third successive Leinster title after three years without one. 2004 - loses first Leinster Championship match to Wexford, denied All-Ireland three-in-a-row by Cork in the final. Cody also missed part of the season due to a cardiac issue but was back on the sideline for championship

Brian Cody has announced his retirement as manager of the Kilkenny senior hurling team, ending a 24-year reign of unprecedented success that featured 11 ...

Wherever and whenever our games are discussed in the future, Brian Cody's achievements will be the benchmark managers will be measured by. "On behalf of Kilkenny people everywhere, Kilkenny County Board extends sincere gratitude to Brian for his life time of contribution to the county and the commitment and passion he brought as a player and as manager, working tirelessly with a single aim, to do what was best for Kilkenny hurling. The news was confirmed in a statement released by Kilkenny GAA this afternoon, in which they described Cody as the "greatest manager in the history of hurling" and said he had created "an unbreakable spirit" within Kilkenny hurling.

After taking over from Kevin Fennelly following the 1998 season, the James Stephens club man was in charge for 24 seasons. During that time, he remarkably led ...

"It was just a great battle. During that time, he won 11 All-Ireland titles, 18 Leinster crowns, along with 10 National League triumphs. Brian Cody steps down as Kilkenny senior hurling manager after 24 years in charge of the Cats

The Kilkenny County Board called him the 'greatest manager in the history of hurling'

Wherever and whenever our games are discussed in the future, Brian Cody’s achievements will be the benchmark managers will be measured by. It added: "We are aware of the huge debt we owe Brian for the wonderful successes and occasions we have enjoyed as we watched the teams he created play and succeed. In a statement, the board said: "On behalf of Kilkenny people everywhere, Kilkenny County Board extends sincere gratitude to Brian for his lifetime of contribution to the county and the commitment and passion he brought as a player and as manager, working tirelessly with a single aim, to do what was best for Kilkenny hurling."

Kilkenny's 2011 All-Ireland winning captain Brian Hogan has paid tribute to the "phenomenal" Brian Cody who has announced his departure from the Cats after ...

Hurling has changed, the fundamentals have always stayed the same and that is something Brian would very much drive home with the current group." Players would have come and gone and his ability to continuously evolve, develop that group and move guys on and keep things fresh is incredible. "I was on a crest of a wave and then got dropped and it took me two years to get back in. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. "It doesn’t take away from the shock when it does become official. There mightn't have been too much of an arm around of the shoulder job, that was the nature of the environment in there. "The nature of the game at that level, it is pretty ruthless and there is a kind of individual element to it as well. "The thing is, it worked. He’d really make you believe you could go through a wall or take on anyone," the O’Loughlin Gaels man told RTÉ’s Saturday Sport. A tough taskmaster as well." "Brian would have his leadership group and that group would have evolved over the years, over the 20-odd years. "I think one of his skills was allowing the players to have that freedom to make decisions on the field and the dressing room was very much player driven, albeit they would have been on message.

Brian Cody became part of hurling's Mount Rushmore over a 24-year stint in one of the code's most demanding jobs.

There was a lot of work to do, and he went about doing it. For 1982, Cody slotted in as Kilkenny’s full back and captain for victory against Cork. A second All-Star recognised the tremendous job done as Jimmy Barry Murphy’s marker. But he had no fear of this challenge, because above all he is a person of clear convictions. Ditto for his handling of the tragedy that befell James McGarry and family during the summer of 2007. A willowy graceful stickman, he captained St Kieran’s College to a Schools All-Ireland (1971) and Kilkenny to a Minor All-Ireland (1972). Then he starred for two U21 All-Irelands (1974-75). The hurling seen between Galway and Kilkenny in that All-Ireland quarter-final unspooled into a sensational standard. I thought the manner in which Brian Cody steered the people and the players involved over those awful weeks his finest moment. The only experience harder to manage than failure is success ― and Kilkenny quickly stepped into a position of vertiginous success, when the initial five seasons yielded three triumphs. Taking on Waterford in 2008, Kilkenny produced a performance of transfixing brilliance. And he would talk about leadership and about hurling for 30 minutes or 40 minutes, without pausing, no humming or hawing, and he would have everyone in the palm of his hand. The sweep and sheer majesty of the drawn day’s exchanges enthralled watchers. Quite simply, Brian Cody became part of hurling’s Mount Rushmore over a 24-year stint in one of the code’s most demanding jobs.

The 68-year-old who had been in charge of the Cats since 1998, led his county to 11 All-Ireland titles, 18 Leinster championship titles, and ten National League ...

The 'Village' added their voice to the chorus praising Cody for his 'remarkable and unparalleled career' in a statement released today. Honoured to have been managed by the greatest Manager ever— Jackie Tyrrell (@MrJackieTee) #BC July 23, 2022 One of the very very lucky ones to have witnessed Brian Cody up close in action.

Brian Cody has left the building after an extraordinary 24-year reign as Kilkenny manager.

In his later years, he became a symbol as much as anything, a permanent fixture on the Kilkenny sideline, peering out from under his peaked cap. An inescapable part of the hurling landscape, the archetypal hurling authority figure. Richie Hogan and TJ Reid had now emerged as the leaders of the team. The win ushered in a fresh period of dominance, a more complete one. Kilkenny continually out-worked and out-hassled the opposition. It was a second All-Ireland defeat in a row for Kilkenny and the scar tissue was accumulating. During the glory years, the success was so sustained and so relentless that Kilkenny's rivals and the media assumed there must be some secret formula they'd hit upon. A number of his players - Shefflin, Tommy Walsh, JJ Delaney - would be added to the pantheon of all-time greats. The manager celebrated the victory with almost childlike glee in the aftermath. While they were blindsided in the 2001 semi-final loss to a viciously physical Galway side - after which Cody vowed that his team would never be "bullied" again - they recovered to claim back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. Kilkenny would go on to win seven titles in the first decade of the 21st century. It was Cody's type of the game - a bracing physical battle which Kilkenny won on a relatively low scoreline by three points.

Eight years ago this month, to mark Brian Cody's 60th birthday, the Irish Examiner presented his 60 greatest victories as Kilkenny manager.

The most complete performance by a Kilkenny team in the final quarter of his 24-season managerial career. Bossed in the Leinster final by Galway, they returned to winning ways in style. A win never in doubt. Clare, after a run of wins, were stopped firmly in their tracks to the tune of 14 points. Willie O'Dwyer's 2-3 was the story of the day in a comfortable win. Those who said DJ Carey never played well in an All-Ireland final should review this game. A game remembered for a Canning goal for the ages but it belonged to The Cats. Having been put to the pin of their collar by Wexford in the semi-final, there were question marks over Kilkenny but they answered them here. Without the Bob O’Keeffe Cup for four years, this was a much-needed win in a time of such pandemic uncertainty in the middle of November of all months. A mini-collapse at the end of normal time was rectified in extra-time in an absorbing affair. A phenomenal start to the game by the underdogs Kilkenny stunned the defending All-Ireland champions and they couldn’t claw their way back. Defeat to Galway in 2001 was firmly put in the past.

Former star Kilkenny player Henry Shefflin has led tributes to Brian Cody after he stepped down as Kilkenny senior hurling manager this afternoon.

Honoured to have been managed by the greatest manager ever.” “One of the very very lucky ones to have witnessed Brian Cody up close in action,” Tyrrell tweeted. “An outstanding player and manager with @KilkennyCLG. You brought hurling to new heights, great joy and happiness to many, as well as some heartbreak to others!” “Best wishes Brian Cody on your retirement, and thanks for your incredible contribution to hurling," he tweeted. “An iconic figure in Gaelic Games for the last quarter of a century in his role as manager and before that as a player as well, so he has had unprecedented success, unparalleled and probably never to be equalled,” he told Newstalk radio. Current Galway manager Shefflin, whose relationship with Cody has come in for scrutiny in recent times with on-pitch handshakes between the pair perceived as “frosty”, nonetheless offered his “best wishes” to Cody on his retirement.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON MARKED the end of an era as Brian Cody lowered the curtain on his remarkable 24-season spell at the helm of the Kilkenny senior hurlers. The ...

One of the very very lucky ones to have witnessed Brian Cody up close in action. Honoured to have been managed by the greatest Manager ever— Jackie Tyrrell (@MrJackieTee) #BC July 23, 2022 Lucky enough to have hurled for him for a decade and learned so much. Hard to believe that Brian won’t be managing the— Brian Hogan (@hogie81) @KilkennyCLGteam next year. To have seen that turnover and to have kept Kilkenny successful for that 24-year period is a massive, massive testament to the man.” Captures level of talent Kilkenny had and how Cody’s teams kept evolving.— Fintan O'Toole (@fotoole13) July 23, 2022 “What he’s done for Kilkenny hurling, he’s revitalised the team time and time again. I’m sure his wife will probably be unhappy, now, at this stage because she’ll probably see more of him!” The one thing that impressed me the whole time — be it in a league match, a challenge match or a championship match: he’s spitting in the hands. Every team that he has put out played with that real Cody desire. The fire has always been there. “What manager is going to put 24 years into senior inter-county management these days?” she asked.

Just six days after watching his Kilkenny hurlers mount heroic resistance before losing an epic All-Ireland final against holders Limerick, the 68-year-old ...

He later coached Kilkenny intermediate club Thomastown before his shock move to Galway last October. They were beaten by Limerick in their semi-final. Kilkenny’s heroic performance against Limerick last Sunday will increase the pressure on Cody’s successor.