Dónal Óg Cusack (born 16 March 1977) is an Irish hurling coach and hurler who plays for Cork Premier Championship club Cloyne.

Cusack eventually succeeded Ger Cunningham as first-choice goalkeeper and made a combined total of 137 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in 2012.

At inter-provincial level, Cusack was selected to play in six championship campaigns with Munster, with Railway Cup medals being won in 2000 and 2005.

Cusack became the first openly gay elite Irish sportsman in 2009, entering into a relationship with Galway-based recruitment consultant Dean Flynn.

On 27 March 1994, he lined out in goal when Midleton CBS suffered a 1–09 to 0–04 defeat by the North Monastery in the Harty Cup final.

[4] While the 1994 Harty Cup final was supposed to be his last game, Cusack was one of 11 Midleton CBS players who repeated the Leaving Cert in an effort to claim the title.

He joined the club's top adult team as a 17-year-old during the 1994 Cork Intermediate Championship and made his first appearance at left corner-forward on 10 July in a 1–12 to 0–10 defeat of Bishopstown.

A 1–12 to 1–07 defeat of Delanys secured the title, promotion to the top flight and a Cork Intermediate Championship medal for Cusack.

[10] On 31 October 2004, Cusack was captain and coach of the team when Cloyne qualified to face Na Piarsaigh in the final of the Cork Senior Championship.

[11] Cloyne qualified for a second successive Cork Senior Championship final with Newtownshandrum providing the opposition on 16 October 2005.

Cusack was retained as first-choice goalkeeper the following season and won a second consecutive Munster Championship medal on 30 July following a 1–11 to 0–13 defeat of Tipperary in the final.

Cusack progressed onto the Cork intermediate team in 1997 and succeeded Fergal O'Mahony as first-choice goalkeeper when he made his first appearance in a 1–19 to 1–04 defeat of Kerry on 25 June.

Following the announcement of Ger Cunningham's retirement from inter-county hurling on 14 January 1999, Cusack was promoted to Cork's first-choice goalkeeper.

[20] He lined out in all six of Cork's National League games that season before making his championship debut on 13 June in a 0–24 to 1–15 defeat of Waterford.

He alleged: "Younger players got calls informing them that joining the GPA would jeopardise their chances of playing with the senior team.

Publicly, the county board stated they had no problem with us joining the GPA but that was not the case, and behind the scenes other forces were at work.

In spite of conceding three goals Cork won the game by 3–16 to 3–12 with Cusack winning his third Munster Championship medal.

[34] Cusack won his fourth Munster Championship medal on 26 June 2005 after a 1–21 to 1–16 defeat of Tipperary in the final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

[38] Cork subsequently qualified for a fourth successive All-Ireland final, with Kilkenny providing the opposition for the third time.

[41] At a subsequent meeting of the GAA's Central Hearings Committee, Cork players Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Cusack were served with a month-long suspension for their participation in the melee.

[42] The three players were later restored to the starting fifteen, however, Cork's championship campaign ended with an All-Ireland quarter-final replay defeat by Waterford.

On 19 July, Cusack was red carded for the only time in his inter-county career after dragging Galway's Alan Kerins to the ground in an All-Ireland Qualifier.

[49] The players on the 2008 panel, with Cusack taking a more low-key role than in previous strikes, refused to play or train under McCarthy.

[56] His captaincy was short-lived due to a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in a National League game against Tipperary on 22 April 2012.

On 12 November, he won a Railway Cup medal as a non-playing substitute following Munster's 3–15 to 2–15 defeat of Leinster in the final.

After a two-year absence, Cusack was named on the bench when Munster faced Leinster in the Railway Cup final on 1 November 2008.

The eldest son of Donal and Bonnie Cusack, he is related to eight-time All-Ireland medal-winner Christy Ring.

He went for a walk with then captain Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, whom Cusack had known since they were boys, and told him "the whole story, stuff that I thought he would have guessed", had "a deep and complex conversation from both sides and we came out of it like brothers.

[73] Cusack confirmed in October 2017 that he was the sportsman who gave sports journalist Tom Humphries a character reference during his trial after being charged with child molestation.

[citation needed] Partial Reference: Cork GAA website Inter-County SHC Results and Teams.