Cork midfielder Colm O'Callaghan: We are delighted that John Cleary is staying on, we back him all the way

While it was another season full of ups and downs for the Cork senior footballers, it was another strong campaign from one of their consistent performers.

Colm O’Callaghan was ever-present in the middle of the field as he underlined why he’s one of the most important players for the Rebels.

The Éire Óg star did have mixed emotions when reflecting on the 2025 campaign for the Leesiders.

“If you’re enjoying playing football naturally you’re going to perform better,” he says to The Echo after picking up an EPH Controls Muskerry GAA award recently.

“I suppose looking at this year as a whole, maybe it didn’t go as well as we might have liked it really. The most satisfying thing was bringing the eventual All-Ireland champions Kerry to extra time in the Munster semi-final. The shot efficiency wasn’t up to scratch and it kind of caught us in the end really.

“From a team perspective, we would have liked to have got some bit of silverware out of the year. But look, we can be happy with some big performances most notably against Roscommon in the All-Ireland group stage. It gave us a bit of a boost.” 

But there has been one word that has been associated with the Cork senior footballers for some time and it’s something the current manager John Cleary has and still is working on.

“Consistency is a big thing and it has to start in the league next year,” O’Callaghan said.

“You’re up against top teams. It’s a very tough division to get out of is Division 2. Every game is very, very competitive. There are a lot of away trips up north. Every game is so important. I know at the moment we are being seeded in the Munster championship next year. I suppose it would be nice, it might take the pressure off for the league season.

“You can be a bit more flexible with the team and stuff and try more players. So it’ll definitely be a boost if we were to be seeded for the Munster championship.” 

There were plenty of positives for the Leesiders this season. They showed their bouncebackability once more and there were a number of players that made their debuts. The campaign did end at the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final stage for a second successive season.

There’s one big regret for O’Callaghan and it’s something he touched on earlier.

“Losing to Kerry in the Munster semi-final was disappointing,” the midfielder states.

“The game was there to be won and unfortunately it just didn’t happen. You can look at it two ways. You can look at it as being a positive but to be honest for all of us, it was devastating really.

“Darragh Ó Sé’s article and also there was something in the Independent, not that we needed the motivation, but those articles were the cherry on top.

“The fact that it was there for the taking, that was the killer. That was a real punch in the stomach.

“It was a pretty good team performance and it did show what we are capable of on our day.” 

John Cleary agreed a fresh two-year term with the Cork County Board last month having been at the helm on a full-time basis since July 2022. 

The Rebels have continuity on the sideline with more or less the same management ticket as the last few years with Kevin Walsh, Barry Corkery, Micheál Ó Cróinín and Jim O’Donoghue staying put for 2026 with Kevin Murray a new face replacing James Loughrey.

“John [Cleary] is on for another two years, it’s great,” the teacher in Ovens National School says.

“We’re delighted with that because we 100 per cent back John all the way and even the management team he has behind him. If you’re starting pre-season from scratch again, you don’t know if you’re coming or going. So it’s great to have the same lads in again and hopefully we can just really build on the last three years.

“We know hitting the ground running will be crucial next year. The first goal of every year really is going to be the league because that’s the first step.

“Promotion has to be a priority as it has been in the last two or three years. But we need to push on next year because you can only be the best if you’re playing against the best and that comes from playing games in Division 1.

“You saw how good Division 1 was this year. I think the new rules have definitely opened that up a bit as well. So yeah, just getting out of Division 2 is definitely a priority in 2026.” 

O’Callaghan was picked as the latest EPH Controls Muskerry GAA award winner for his displays for the Cork senior footballers this year. He didn’t have to go too far to collect the award as it took place pretty much in his back garden, the Lee Valley Golf and Country Club.

“It’s always great to get recognised on an individual level. I actually really enjoyed playing football with Cork this year. I think the game is a lot more open now with the new rules and I suppose the kickouts especially, from my own point of view, I enjoy.

“Nearly every kickout is going long these days so it makes the midfield battle a lot more enjoyable and a lot more open.

“It took a bit of time to get a handle on certain things. Probably the one for me at the start was maybe not handing the ball back. I was getting caught for that.

“But I adapted anyway as the year went on. The new rules have been brilliant.”