Cuala's O Cofaigh Byrne keen to nail down Dublin midfield jersey

Peadar Ó’Cofaigh Byrne (Cuala), pictured ahead of the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship final. Pic: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne says he can hear opportunity knocking with Dublin following the retirements of midfield greats Brian Fenton and James McCarthy.

Fenton and McCarthy both lined out at midfield last June when Dublin's Championship campaign ended with an All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Galway.

They then dropped the bombshell retirement news leaving boss Dessie Farrell to come up with alternative midfield arrangements for 2025.

Brian Howard, a midfield All-Star in 2018, is one obvious option though AIB All-Ireland club finalist O Cofaigh Byrne is a specialist midfielder who has already put in six years of inter-county service.

He made five league appearances last season, starting against Roscommon, Kerry and Derry and played twice in the championship before powering Cuala to Dublin and Leinster club honours.

Asked if nailing down a Dublin jersey is the target now, the 25-year-old nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Definitely for the lads in the squad, myself included, it was a massive target anyway. Now that there is a hole there, it is an opportunity, definitely. They are 100% tough boots to fill, James and Brian, and playing with them was an absolute pleasure.

"There are a lot of lads there, Ethan Dunne is a young fella coming up, Tom Lahiff, myself, there are a lot of lads champing at the bit there, trying to get those jerseys off the lads. We were all trying to compete with them and if that made us better as a team, that was great, but now they are gone, 100%.

"But I haven't been involved with Dublin this year so I don't know who is even there at the moment, who is looking for that spot."

O Cofaigh Byrne made his Dublin senior debut as a sub in the 2019 Super 8s game against Tyrone. But his county career has been a slow burner so far, partly because of Fenton and McCarthy ahead of him but also because of serious hamstring and groin problems which affected him in 2020 and 2022.

The current run with Cuala has undoubtedly been a shop window for the six-foot-six inch powerhouse to make his case for more regular inclusion alongside clubmate Con O'Callaghan with Dublin.

"He's already played on stages that all of us had only ever hoped to get to, or already missed out on if you consider the likes of the Sigerson Cup that he won," said O Cofaigh Byrne of King Con. "He's played in all these different games and finals and that experience is massive."

Cuala have another Dublin legend in their ranks too, Michael Fitzsimons.

"It's the exact same with him, he offers a piece of advice but he's also very open to anyone coming up to him with advice," said O Cofaigh Byrne.