Colin Healy drawing from experience to nurture young players from Cork City Academy to first team

THE rain lashes against the grass at Bishopstown Stadium, with its one concrete stand overlooking Curaheen.

It is here, in the training ground of Cork City FC, that some of the best and brightest young Irish footballers have learned their trade before graduating to the biggest leagues in Europe.

Their long list of alumni includes AC Milan’s Cathal Heffernan, Burnley’s Alex Healy Byrne, Crystal Palace’s Jake O’Brien, and Preston North End’s Harry Nevin. The most recent name to come out of this ground is Mark O’Mahony, who just put pen to paper on a deal with Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

They emerged in a three-year spell that coincided with two other academy graduates, Alan Browne and Chiedozie Ogbene, cementing their place as regular starters with the Republic of Ireland national team. They play alongside fellow Cork footballers Caoimhín Kelleher and John Egan, who took a different path to the professional game. The true success story here is how a concrete and tin structure beside the N40 became one of the most fertile grounds for producing young Irish footballers.

There’s no single moment that says the club changed its fortunes, they’ve always had a strong track record with developing footballers, with players like Birmingham’s Kevin Long and Reading’s Shane Long proof of that. What’s happening now is that there is a regular stream going from Bishopstown to clubs that can boast honours like seven European Cups or a place in the wealthiest league in world football.

Head Coach Colin Healy, who once ran the academy before taking over the first team, says that this shows there’s a genuine pathway to the big leagues from City.

“It’s great, I did it about five years ago” he reflected on his time as Head of Academy. The first group would have been the likes of Cathal Heffernan, Joe O’Brien Whitmarsh, Franco Umeh and Mark O’Mahony.

“I did it for a few years there. Jake O’Brien was another one and David Harrington. They’ve all come through the academy which is great. Liam Kearney is going a fantastic job at the moment and it shows that there is opportunities for the younger players who come here.

There is a pathway to go on and play at a higher level. They are showing that at the moment.” 

It was Healy who integrated Heffernan into the first team after he impressed with the Republic of Ireland U17s at a qualifying tournament in Cork. The coach also promoted O’Mahony to the senior squad during their run to the 2022 First Division title. 

CONDITIONS

Healy also created the conditions in his role as Head of Academy that allowed Healy Byrne and Nevin to blossom. He knows he is doing something right, his smile gives it away, and Healy thinks it comes from his own experience in the professional game.

The retired midfielder is a former Irish international with 13 senior caps and one goal to his name. Healy also came through the academy at Celtic and learned from two-time European Cup winner Martin O’Neill. It was a football education that saw him develop alongside serial winners, a group that would make history by qualifying for the 2003 UEFA Cup final against Porto.

Healy wholeheartedly believes that he is a product of his own experiences and that has shaped how he works with young players.

“I don’t have a philosophy, I have my experience really,” he explained, “I’ve played the game, I’ve been involved in professional football for over 20 years and I know how it works.

It’s not just me, there are some very good coaches in the academy. When the kids come in, they are taught very well. 

"That’s great to have and to see when they come in. There are opportunities and it shows with all the players going to England.” 

Healy doesn’t want to rest on his laurels, he wants to stick to what works and that includes staying close to the current Head of Academy, Liam Kearney.

“I see Kearns every day and he is an excellent coach,” Healy said, “He is very good and puts in an awful lot of work and you can see it with all the players that do go. Like the players we had, going back to Jake O’Brien. He went to Crystal Palace, David Harrington is with Fleetwood and he was brought through the academy, and it is just great. They go on to play a higher level and make a career for themselves.”