| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cathal O'Sullivan | ||
| Date of birth | 5 March 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cork City | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Leeside United | ||
| 2020–2024 | Cork City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Cork City | 49 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 3 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2024– | Republic of Ireland U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 09:32, 29 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:29, 12 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Cathal O'Sullivan (born 5 March 2007) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Cork City.
Cork man O'Sullivan attended Glanmire Community College [2] and began playing his schoolboy football with local club Leeside United, [3] before joining the academy of Cork City in 2020, progressing up through their under-14, under-15, under-17 and under-19 teams over the following years. [4] [5]
On 25 July 2023, he signed his first professional contract with the club. [6] O'Sullivan made his senior debut for Cork City on 14 August 2023, in a 3–1 loss to Cobh Ramblers in the Munster Senior Cup Final at Turners Cross. [7] On 15 March 2024, he scored his first senior goal in a 2–0 win at home to Bray Wanderers. [8] [9] He scored twice in a 4–1 in away to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park. [10] [11] On 12 July 2024, he scored the only goal of the game in a narrow victory over Finn Harps. [12] [13] In September 2024, he drew praise from manager Tim Clancy for being "technically streets ahead of any other young lad in the country. It will be very difficult to keep hold of Cathal O'Sullivan. I do believe that he is the standout kid in the country.". [14] On 18 October 2024, O'Sullivan scored twice in a 6–0 win at home to Wexford before his side lifted the 2024 League of Ireland First Division title, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. [15] [16] [17] In November 2024, O'Sullivan was named in the 2024 PFAI First Division Team of the Year by his fellow professionals in the league after scoring 7 goals in 28 league appearances in his first full season in senior football. [18] In May 2025, he travelled to Crystal Palace to be shown around their facilities amidst interest in his signature from the Premier League club. [19] A month later, reports emerged that Palace were joined by Brentford, Celtic and Preston North End in the race for O'Sullivan's signature. [20] On 25 July 2025, O'Sullivan suffered an Anterior cruciate ligament injury in a 3–2 defeat at home to Sligo Rovers, with the result leaving Cork 11 points adrift at the bottom of the table as his season ended with the recovery period set to rule him out for the long term. [21] [22]
O'Sullivan made his first appearance in international football on 21 September 2021, captaining the Republic of Ireland U15 side in a 2–0 win over Montenegro U15, in which he scored the first goal and assisted the second. [23] He made his Republic of Ireland U17 debut on 9 September 2023, replacing Aarón Ochoa Moloney from the bench in the 71st minute of a 0–0 draw with Belgium U17. [24] On 5 September 2024, he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 squad in a 2–1 defeat to France U19. [25] On 21 May 2025, he received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 side for their June friendly fixtures against Croatia U21 and Qatar U23 in Croatia. [26] He made his debut for the U21s in a 1–0 loss to Croatia U21 on 6 June 2025. [27]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup [a] | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cork City | 2023 | LOI Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | LOI First Division | 28 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 31 | 7 | |
| 2025 | LOI Premier Division | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 55 | 7 | ||
| Career Total | 49 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 55 | 7 | ||