Cork teen: 'I'm working towards my dream of going to the Paralympics'

Every sportsperson needs a dream, a vision, something to push them closer to their goal.

For North Cork teenager Kevin O’Callaghan, his dream is to sing the national anthem of Ireland on the podium at the next Paralympic Games in 2028.

If the 15-year-old achieves it, it would be the high point of a remarkable journey, a story of sporting triumph over adversity.

Four years ago, while on holiday in France, Kevin had an accident which led to nine months of treatment and rehabilitation before he could go home to Dromahane, near Mallow, which has left him needing a wheelchair.

During his rehabilitation, the sports-mad teen discovered a passion and talent for table tennis, and he has gone on to win many medals.

Now he wants to represent Ireland in the sport in the Paralympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Kevin, who attends the Patrician Academy in Mallow, said: “You don’t genuinely appreciate your life until something changes it. Through table tennis I found part of myself again and it helped me rebuild my confidence, strength, and resilience.

“Don’t get me wrong - some days are tough, but you must keep pushing forward.

“I’m proud to be an Irish Para table tennis player and I’m working every day towards my dream of the Paralympics in 2028. I look forward to singing the Irish national anthem if I get the opportunity to take the podium.”

To help fulfil this dream, Kevin is looking for a sponsor. If you or your company can help with this, contact him through email at kevinsroadtoparalympics@gmail.com

Four years ago, Kevin was living his best life, always active and very sporty, playing soccer, hurling and football.

However, while on the family holiday to France, he suffered a life-changing accident. He was playing at a play centre when he hit his head after a fall.

His sister Ciara explained: “The fall wasn’t from a height and when he was transferred to hospital by ambulance, they initially thought he wasn’t moving due to being in shock.”

Despite the language barrier, his mum, Eilís, explained to the medical staff that her son was normally very active and if he could move, he would. A CT scan revealed that his condition was much more serious than initially thought and he was airlifted to a specialist hospital in Paris for life-saving surgery.

Afterwards, his prognosis was not good. His parents were told Kevin, who could talk but not move at the time, would be quadriplegic.

In the days following the surgery, Kevin was fully aware of what was happening around him, yet unable to respond physically - one of the most frightening aspects of his condition.

Listening to doctors discuss his future while lying still, he began to realise how much his life had changed in a matter of moments.

The young patient spent 19 days in the French hospital and was then transferred to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin by air ambulance. The medical team there carried out a number of surgeries where they removed bone marrow and bones from Kevin’s hip to create bones in his neck in the hope that it would facilitate movement.

The family were informed Kevin would be incredibly lucky to get any movement back, and after spending four months being treated for his injury, he was transferred to The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire.

The teenager was compromised in his neck and hands, but through intensive physiotherapy he got some feeling back, although it was made clear that he would be wheelchair-bound.

Kevin’s routine in the rehabilitation hospital was very busy in the day, but there was little to do in the evenings. As a result, his mood was very low and he became quite down. He found his new circumstances difficult to cope with.

His mother saw that there were table tennis facilities there and encouraged her son to play. At the time, just holding the table tennis bat was difficult for him.

However, he began playing every evening and over a period of time Kevin recognised small improvements in his movement. As a result, he became determined to keep getting better and his positivity grew. The hospital team recognised this and incorporated table tennis into his rehabilitation programme.

Tibor Pofok, the table tennis coach in the hospital, saw how interested Kevin was in the game and began training with him.

After a further four months of rehabilitation, Kevin finally got to go home to Dromahane to his seven brothers and sisters.

Table tennis gave him a new sense of life, and when he was settled back at home, he joined a few table tennis clubs and eventually settled in a club in Cork city.

At his first competition, he achieved great results and this experience increased his ambition to succeed in the sport.

As Tibor saw how resilient and determined Kevin was, he put his name forward for the Irish Para development team, which caters for wheelchair participants. Members of the team met Kevin, and saw he had immense potential.

The teenager was compared to Colin Judge, who was born without both legs and one arm, and resiliently overcame these challenges to represent Ireland in the table tennis Paralympian team in Tokyo in 2020 and in Paris in 2024.

Seeing Colin’s success allowed Kevin to believe he could also achieve this.

He practices table tennis every evening and trains with the Paralympic development squad in Dublin once a month. His performance and skills have increased over time, earning him many medals and achievements in national and international competitions. These include being second in the International Table Tennis Federation world rankings for U23, European Youth Double Mixed Champion in U23 , Malmo Open junior champion, U15 and U19 Munster champion, as well as being 36th in the world overall para ranking.

So far, in 2026, Kevin has competed in Sweden, Poland, Spain and Turkey.