Jamie O’Sullivan: 'There needs to be consistency so the lows aren’t as low'

Recently retired Cork footballer Jamie O’Sullivan is confident things will “click” for Cork football in the near future.

O’Sullivan, part of the Cork football set-up since 2010, retired last month. The 30-year old, who was at full-back for all three of the county’s 2018 championship outings, is frustrated at the low base to which Cork have sunk.

Having narrowly avoided relegation to Division 3 last spring, Cork endured another miserable summer, losing to Kerry and Tyrone by 17 and 16 points respectively. The Bishopstown clubman accepts that results have been “nowhere near good enough” but is convinced the tide will turn in Cork’s favour sooner rather than later.

“It is just frustrating because of the effort that is being put in at training and then the output — matches and results — hasn’t been good enough, nowhere near good enough. Everyone that has been involved for the last couple of years knows that. Lads aren’t slacking or hiding, it just hasn’t clicked. That is frustrating,” said O’Sullivan.

I believe it will click in the near future. It is personally frustrating that I won’t be there when it does turn. Ronan [McCarthy] and the rest of his management are 100% focused on getting to that point as quick as possible. Everyone in Cork football is. That’s something I had to consider when making my decision; whether I wanted to hang around because I know that point will come.

With Nemo Rangers’ Eddie Kirwan and former Wexford and Kildare boss Jason Ryan joining McCarthy’s backroom team for the season, O’Sullivan believes the set-up is “even better” than 2018.

“If you look back at last year, people thought we were coming good after the Tipperary match in the Munster semi-final and that there would be an upturn, but we got a reality check [against Kerry and Tyrone]. Ronan and the lads learned from that. It is just about putting the system in place that brings a level of consistency. There needs to be consistency so the lows aren’t as low [as they were in 2018]. It will happen soon.”

Part of the Cork panel which won an All-Ireland U21 title in 2009, Conor Counihan drafted O’Sullivan into the senior set-up the following year. Winning a Celtic Cross in his first season at senior level led to the natural assumption that more would follow.

“If you had told me back then where Cork would be now, I would have been very very shocked,” says O’Sullivan.

A project engineer with DePuy, O’Sullivan started the first six games of the 2010 championship but was an unused substitute on the afternoon of Cork’s All-Ireland semi-final and final victories. That summer began with him having to pick up Colm Cooper at Fitzgerald Stadium for his championship debut.

“There was a buzz that day in Killarney, a buzz that I am going to miss. I don’t think there are many things on the pitch you can get to rival that. Even just pulling into Killarney on the team bus, walking behind the band — that raw emotion before battle.”

During O’Sullivan’s time in red, he’d also win three Allianz League Division 1 medals and a Munster championship in 2012.

Of the few Cork football retirements during the off- season, his was the least expected.

“I went away to China during the autumn and was thinking about retiring while I was away. I went back training with Cork for a couple of weeks in late November/early December. I decided last month, then, that I wanted to stop. If I had quit before pre-season began, I think there would have been uncertainty in my head as to whether it was the right decision, but having gone back in, I’m happy with my decision. I didn’t have the appetite to do it for another year. It’ll be strange not being involved in the league or championship.”