Hidden gem set to finally burst into the limelight

THE OLD Rustic Bridge By The Mill is one of Ireland’s lesser-known beautiful ballads; the location in question is also one of Ireland’s lesser-known beauty spots.

Spanning the trout-rich Awbeg, it's on the Fermoy road at the bottom of Castletownroche.

Also less known in an Allstar-riddled Cork forward line-up that trounced Kerry in the first round of the Munster SHC a couple of weeks ago is one Jonathon O'Callaghan, a native of the scenic North Cork village.

This year, starting at the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday in the Munster semi-final against Limerick, his star may finally be about to shine.

He's been around a while, a free-scoring wing-forward, bubbling away just below the top grade. At 26, he already has two All-Ireland intermediate medals with Cork, the second of those won last year, denying Kilkenny the hurling Grand Slam.

In each of those campaigns he led the line in scoring and looked the player most likely to succeed at a higher grade. He got a couple of half-opportunities, but not until this year has he really been given a chance to show his potential at the highest level.

So far, with a fine League campaign in which he ended as Cork's top scorer (including ten points in the 0-14 to 2-5 win over Antrim), it's an opportunity he has grasped with eager hands.

"I've been trying and trying and trying. I got a couple of practice games a few years ago, but that was in the rain, early in the year. I knew before I went out, it wouldn't suit me.

"I got a game last year, in training and Donal [O'Grady, senior manager] wanted me to try a few things. I got a lucky goal and hit 1-4. I did well on Sean Óg Ó hAilpín, and I was fairly hopeful afterwards but then you'd hate to take the place of someone who'd been training hard all year long.

"I was happy enough with the intermediate, especially when we beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final and then I got my chance in the League."

"I try my very best, and sometimes that means that I'm trying too hard. I end up giving out to myself. Donal is trying to get me to relax but maybe it's just being around Joe [Deane] and Ben [O'Connor] and all those lads, who are household names.

"Everything is still very new to me, it'll take a bit of time, that's all."

It is a tough one alright, for the talented O'Callaghan. Not alone is he attempting to fill the considerable boots of the explosive Setanta Ó hAilpín but the shy Castletownroche lad is also operating in a very unfamiliar position. Wing-forward was his position all his hurling life, the spot from which he notched 20 points in a North Cork championship game last year ("against Kildorrery, but I was upset for weeks after, still ended up on the losing team," he recalls).

Nevertheless, given the wide open spaces now at the top hurling venues, and his pace, touch, and accuracy, O'Callaghan will adapt well.

The one big worry, however, is weight, or rather, the lack of it.

"Just over six foot, just under eleven and a half stone," he says, a little ruefully. "My weight is probably my biggest problem, if I had an extra stone it would make a difference, but no matter what I eat, I just can't put on a pound. Then when you're training hard you're taking it off anyway."

Can't fatten a thoroughbred, can you? Jonathon is built like the O'Connors, Jerry and Ben, both of whom played in that Kerry win, and, like the twins, there's a steel core built into that slight frame. Up to recently, his work was in shuttering carpentry, a heavyweight occupation. He'll be able to take the hits that will surely be dealt out by Limerick or anyone else.

He's waited a while, bided his time, made the sacrifices. Also a talented footballer, he has quit it this year for the duration of the hurling championship; he is also in the process of changing jobs, too worn out at the end of a hard day shuttering to enjoy the full benefits of training sessions.

Such dedication on its own deserves recognition and reward, but that's not the way it works. At this level, the business end of the Munster SHC, it is only the start. Anything Jonathan O'Callaghan gets from here on in, will be hard-earned. He's ready.

"Hopefully I can hold my place against Limerick, but the team hasn't been announced yet. They're going to be tough, that's for sure, two very fast corner-backs, TJ Ryan, a fine full-back. They really want this one to put a few bad years behind them."