Cian O’Callaghan slams ‘crazy, bonkers’ GAA calendar

In that ideal GAA world, Cian O’Callaghan would this week be preparing for Dublin’s relegation stand-off against Clare on Sunday – the game which may ultimately decide which team stays in Division 1A of the Allianz Hurling League.

He’d have wrapped up his club hurling campaign with Cuala for as long or glorious as that turned out and likewise served as captain of the UCD hurling team during what is O’Callaghan’s last year in the college.

Instead, all three directly overlapped, and given the club is the heart and soul of the GAA, first call has naturally been with Cuala. So Dublin and UCD have had to do without him, while Cuala await their All-Ireland club showdown against Ballyea on St Patrick’s Day – 15 weeks since they won the their provincial title.

No wonder O’Callaghan describes the situation as “absolutely bonkers”, which is being rather polite about it. That ideal GAA world may never exist.

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“That’s the nature of the GAA calendar,” says O’Callaghan, diplomatically but not without a derisory tone. “It’s crazy, absolutely bonkers, and everyone can see that. We had a 13-week gap, between the Leinster final and the semi-final, which I suppose is unheard of in any other sport. But the lads managed it very well.

“It just seems crazy that you can’t play for the teams that you should be playing for. Moving forward, everyone knows it’s flawed, and everyone knows it has to be addressed. It’s brilliant to be preparing for a club final, but it does seem crazy the way it is currently.

“This was my also my last year in UCD and I wasn’t able to play Fitzgibbon because it clashed [with Cuala]. I played the first two matches, but that was it, and after that had to hand over the captaincy too.”

At 23, O’Callaghan has already established himself as one of the central defenders on the senior Dublin team, and there’s no doubt Dublin manager Ger Cunningham would welcome his presence in Ennis on Sunday. O’Callaghan makes it clear he’d like to be there too, especially given Dublin’s 1A status may well hinge on the result.

Real chance

Cuala, however, are on the verge of history, not just the first Dublin club to make the All-Ireland hurling final on St Patrick’s Day, but given a real chance of winning it. O’Callaghan sounds a little tired of the question about what sets this Cuala team apart, especially given the club is set amongst some of the most expensive real estate in the country and an area of south Dublin more readily associated with rugby.

“I think sometimes there is a big deal made about this sort of stuff, when realistically, soccer clubs are a bigger threat than rugby clubs in the GAA.

“And I suppose at the same time you play whatever you want. For a young lad, going out, there’s no point in me saying he should play GAA, because Cuala are going well. You play what you want. You play what you like playing.

“Dalkey is quite a strong rugby area, it’s a strong soccer area, you have Joeys, [St Joseph’s Boys soccer club] you have the private schools where you have rugby so I suppose this is good run is for the club in general, you get lads interested.”

O’Callaghan sounds even more tired of the question about what his younger brother, Con, will do post-St Patrick’s Day. The 20-year-old, who was part of Jim Gavin’s All-Ireland-winning football panel last year, has definitely committed to Dublin’s under-21 campaign next. Despite his obvious hurling talents (he has hit 6-10 in Cuala’s Leinster campaign), it’s unlikely he’ll do any hurling with Dublin.

“He is committed to the football for the moment, no doubt about that,” O’ Callaghan explains. “I suppose Con has been a footballer all his life. Anyone who would have coached him underage would have seen that.

“I remember when he was a bit younger, he’d play full forward on the football team, and he ended up being moved to full back, he was being fouled so much, he was only a small lad back then. Then he’d go and foul the lads, so a bit of a role reversal there.

Different stratosphere

“But he has been a footballer his whole life, but a pretty good hurler at the same time. I haven’t talked to him about his plans going forward. He’s the younger brother, it’s not up to me to make his decisions. He’s old enough at this stage.

What he will say is that nothing about Con’s success, in either code, has surprised him.

“Operating with the Dublin football team, you’re at a different stratosphere, in terms of physical preparation. Con is not that long out of minor, was a dual player for two years at minor, and wouldn’t really have had a preference then.

“He’s only a year, two years, out of that. So it’s not a case of flicking a switch, and losing all the hurling built up over the years. His Leaving Cert year, he was injured the whole year, and came in and did a few sessions with the hurlers. But the footballers came in fairly quick. But no, the management have never been on to me. As I say, just because I’m his brother doesn’t mean it’s up to me to make decisions for him.”

No doubt, however, about the desired ideal result in Ennis on Sunday.

“It’s another great opportunity, in what is another must-win game for Dublin. We went down there two years ago and lost a close game, by two points. And for these young lads, you couldn’t give them 10 training sessions that would be worth one match against Clare down in Ennis. It just brings them on so quickly.”