Killian O'Hanlon opens up on his decision to retire from the Cork footballers

Killian O’Hanlon says injuries were the main reason why he retired from the Cork senior football team.

The Kilshannig player hung up the Rebel geansaí last November after a long period of considering his future. Having been a Cork minor and U21, O’Hanlon joined the Cork senior panel before the 2016 season, but didn’t make his championship debut until 2018 in a heavy All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Tyrone.

He spent eight seasons part of the squad, with 2017 being the exception when he wasn't on the panel for that campaign.

After a very successful club season last year when Kilshannig won the Cork PIFC title, it was clear that O’Hanlon still had something to offer the Cork senior footballers, but injuries and one specific one was catching up with him.

“It’s never an easy decision walking away from Cork,” O’Hanlon said.

“I had been part of the panel for a number of years and built up friendships with lads. It had been a frustrating period though in terms of injuries, so I kind of knew 12 months ago that my time was coming to an end with Cork. I had a hip problem that I knew I had to go under the knife to get sorted.

“So, at the start of last season, I said I would give it everything and if I couldn’t stay fit, then the decision would be made for me basically. I came on against Armagh in the last league game and I picked up a hamstring injury having just come onto the pitch. Walking off was one of the lowest points of my career. I knew that night that I had enough of the heartache with injuries and was ready to call it a day with Cork.

“In saying that, it’s never easy to walk away from something you love doing. Even when the Cork season finished, I gave myself time to see how I got on with Kilshannig. It was a battle to stay on the field with the club towards the end of last year. I was pretty happy with the decision I made given I had to go for a hip operation.” 

How does O'Hanlon look back on his career overall with Cork?

“A lot of disappointments along the way, but I am proud of the journey,” he says.

“It took a lot to play for Cork and joining the senior panel was huge. My club, Kilshannig, were struggling at the time. We weren’t making Avondhu Junior A finals or anything like that. With the structure of the championships back then, it was hard to get noticed. I knew if I wanted to make a breakthrough, it was to play for the Cork Juniors.

“I had a couple of years on that squad and also played with Avondhu where there was a lot of buy-in and we made a county semi-final. It took a lot to get on the Cork squad. A couple of highlights like beating Kerry in 2020 and Mayo in 2023, but a lot of frustration too.

“Looking back, during my time with Cork, I gave it my best shot and have absolutely no regrets. I have disappointments of course, but no regrets.” 

O’Hanlon is now a supporter in the stands cheering on the Rebels. As he departed, his younger brother, Éanna, joined John Cleary’s squad. 

Cork have started the Allianz Division 2 football league campaign with a win over Meath followed by a loss to Down. They meet Westmeath on Saturday at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh with throw-in at 5pm.

“It feels weird now talking about the team from outside of the camp,” the Kilshannig player said.

“I do think despite the eight departures, there’s a very good group of players there. I know there has been a bit of doom and gloom with a lot of players leaving at the same time, but that’s just part of inter-county at the moment. With the split season now, it will shorten inter-county careers.

“There’s a very settled backroom team now over Cork, same manager, coach and strength and conditioning coach and so on. There’s continuity, something that probably wasn’t there when I started off with Cork. I do think promotion is a realistic aim this year and see what happens after that. Hopefully they can get into the last eight of the All-Ireland.”