Mick McCarthy (Gaelic footballer)

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Mick McCarthy
Personal information
Irish name Mícheál Mac Cárthaigh
Sport Gaelic football
Position Left corner-forward
Born 8 May 1965
Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland
Died 5 February 1998(1998-02-05) (aged 32)
Wilton, Cork, Ireland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nickname Small Mick
Occupation Oil company area manager
Club(s)
Years Club Apps (scores)
1982-1998
1983-1985
 O'Donovan Rossa
→ Carbery		 36 (15-170)
5 (1-10)
Club titles
Cork titles 1
Munster titles 1
All-Ireland Titles 1
Inter-county(ies)
Years County Apps (scores)
1985-1993
 Cork 17 (3-22)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 4
All-Irelands 2
NFL 1
All Stars 0

Michael McCarthy (8 May 1965 – 5 February 1998) was an Irish Gaelic footballer. At club level he played with O'Donovan Rossa and divisional side Carbery and was also a member of the Cork senior football team.

Early life[edit]

Born and raised in Skibbereen, County Cork, Mick first played as a schoolboy in various juvenile competitions at St. Patrick's Boys' National School before later lining out as a student at St. Fachtna's De La Salle College in Cork. He was a member of the first St. Fachtna's team to win the Simcox Cup in 1981 before claiming the Corn Uí Mhuirí title in 1982.[1]

Club career[edit]

McCarthy began his club career during a four-year tenure with the O'Donovan Rossa under-12 team. After winning every available divisional title during that time, he also claimed a Cork U14FC title in 1977. McCarthy progressed through the various underage grades before winning a South West JAFC title in his first year at adult level in 1982.[2] His performances in this grade earned selection to the Carbery divisional team from 1983 to 1985. McCarthy enjoyed further success with O'Donovan Rossa when he won a Cork U21FC title after a one-point defeat of St. Finbarr's in 1984.

After losing consecutive Cork IFC finals in 1983 and 1984, McCarthy was on the winning side when O'Donovan Rossa beat Glanmire by 3-11 to 0-08 in the 1985 final.[3] He also ended the championship as top scorer with 0-30. After seven years in the senior grade, McCarthy was team captain when O'Donovan Rossa beat Nemo Rangers by five points to win the 1992 Cork SFC final.[4] After securing the Munster Club Championship title after a defeat of St. Senan's, he guided O'Donovan Rossa to a defeat of Éire Óg in the 1993 All-Ireland club final replay.[5] McCarthy was top scorer at county, provincial and national level throughout the 1992-93 season after scoring 6-60 across all three competitions.[6]

McCarthy was top scorer for the 1994 Cork SFC campaign which eventually ended with O'Donovan Rossa being beaten by Castlehaven in the final.[7][8] His last championship game for the club was an 11-point defeat by University College Cork in the 1997 second round.

Inter-county career[edit]

McCarthy began a two-year association with the Cork minor football team in 1982. After little success in his first year on the team, he won a Munster MFC medal the following year before losing the 1983 All-Ireland minor final to Derry.[9][10] After leaving the minor grade, McCarthy was immediately drafted onto the under-21 team. He never lost a game during his three-year tenure with the team and won three consecutive All-Ireland U21FC medals from 1984 to 1986.[11][12] During this time, McCarthy was also drafted onto the Cork junior football team and he claimed a winners' medal in that grade after a 22-point defeat of Warwickshire in the 1984 All-Ireland junior final.[13]

McCarthy earned a call-up to the Cork senior football team while he was still in the under-21 grade when he was listed as a substitute for Cork's 1985 Munster semi-final game against Tipperary. He played in a number of National League games over the following few seasons before soon making the championship starting fifteen. McCarthy scored two points from left corner-forward in the 1988 Munster final defeat of Kerry, but was held scoreless in the 1988 All-Ireland final replay defeat by Meath.[14][15][16]

McCarthy lost his place on the starting fifteen the following year, but won a National League title and a second consecutive Munster SFC medal as a non-playing substitute. He was again listed as a substitute for the 1989 All-Ireland final against Mayo, but collected a winners' medal after coming on as a substitute for Shea Fahy in the 0-17 to 1-11 victory.[17][18] McCarthy was back on the starting fifteen a year later and won a third consecutive Munster SFC medal. He scored two points from left corner-forward as Cork retained the All-Ireland SFC title following an 0-11 to 0-09 win over Meath in the 1989 All-Ireland final.[19][20][21]

O'Donovan Rossa's 1992 county final triumph paved the way for McCarthy to take over the Cork captaincy for the 1993 season. He won a fourth Munster SFC medal after a defeat of Tipperary before leading Cork to a defeat by Derry in the 1993 All-Ireland final.[22]

Death[edit]

McCarthy was returning from a hare coursing meeting in Clonmel when he was involved in a road traffic accident at the then-unfinished Dunkettle Interchange in Cork on 4 February 1998.[23][24] He suffered extensive injuries and died at Cork University Hospital on 5 February 1998, aged 33.[25] McCarthy was the first member of Cork's 1989-1990 All-Ireland-winning teams to die.

Honours[edit]

St. Fachtna's College
O'Donovan Rossa
Cork

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Football heroes who put St Fachtna's de la Salle Skibbereen on the map". The Southern Star. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  2. ^ "One of Rossa's great players for over a decade". O'Donovan Rossa GAA website. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Success at many levels". O'Donovan Rossa GAA website. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Cork football rewatch: Skibb's win in the 1992 county final had a huge impact". Echo Live. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Superb Éire Óg won admirers during glory years". The Nationalist. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Skibb plan was simple: get the ball to Mick as fast as possible". The Southern Star. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  7. ^ "How West was won in '94". Irish Examiner. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Castlehaven v O'Donovan Rossa in 1994 was the game that nobody wanted to lose". The Southern Star. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Minor football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Derry GAA in the 1980s: Laying the building blocks". Derry Now. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Under 21 football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Magnificent 7: A look back at the most memorable U21 finals". Irish Times. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Junior football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Senior football". Munster GAA website. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ "No love lost in 1988". Irish Times. 21 September 1996. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  16. ^ "What previous drawn finals tell us where the advantage lies". Irish Examiner. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Flashback: 1989 SFC Final – Mayo v Cork". GAA website. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Down memory lane: A potted history of Cork v Mayo". The 42. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Flashback: 1990 All-Ireland SFC Final - Cork v Meath". GAA website. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Cork football rewatch: The chaos and carnage of the 1990 final against Meath". Echo Live. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  21. ^ "The Double 30 years on: 'If we kept 15 on the field we would have tarred them'". Irish Examiner. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  22. ^ "That was our year: Derry's 1993 All-Ireland triumph". The Irish News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Cork football tributes paid to accident victim Mick McCarthy". Irish Times. 6 February 1998. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  24. ^ "CORK DOUBLE 1990: Remembering football stars John Kerins and Michael McCarthy". Irish Examiner. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Horror crash after U-turn on new dual carriageway". Irish Independent. 1 July 1998. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
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