Former Cork hurler Chris O'Leary back in Dublin fold for 2025

Paddy Burke of Antrim in action against Chris O'Leary of Dublin. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Former Cork senior hurler Chris O'Leary has returned for a second stint with Dublin and is part of Niall O Ceallachain's National League panel.

O'Leary first joined the Dubs in 2023 and started all 12 of their League and Championship games that season but was away for the entirety of the 2024 campaign.

He was previously part of Cork panels during the Munster SHC winning seasons of 2017 and 2018 and featured again for the Rebels in 2020.

The former Valley Rovers club man, a 2019 Fitzgibbon Cup-winning defender with UCC, eventually transferred to the Lucan Sarsfields club in Dublin and joined Micheal Donoghue's county setup two years ago.

He isn't the only former Dublin senior to return to the group this year with O Ceallachain confirming that attacker AJ Murphy, an All-Ireland club medal winner with Na Fianna last month, is back too after a year out.

Chris O'Leary, formerly of Valley Rovers, in action against Inniscarra. Pic: Larry Cummins.

O Ceallachain managed that Na Fianna team and has already said that he will be bringing in the club's full-back Conor McHugh who previously won four All-Ireland football medals with Dublin.

Another player returning to the Dublin panel is Rian McBride from St Vincent's who last featured for the county team in 2022.

O Ceallachain's 43-man panel, which will be cut back further ahead of the Leinster championship, has also been boosted by the availability of former All-Star Danny Sutcliffe, 33 next month, for another season.

"We'll have Rian McBride back, we'll have the likes of Danny Sutcliffe coming in, a couple of Na Fianna lads, AJ Murphy and a couple more, we have Chris O'Leary back as well," O Ceallachain told Dublin GAA.

"We have the likes of Paddy Doyle who hasn't been on the pitch at all in the last couple of months. So lads who have been unavailable for different reasons will be coming back in during these weeks, as we're speaking now. We're at 43, we'll be narrowing things further at the end of March for the start of the Leinster championship."

Dublin beat Antrim by 1-25 to 0-14 in their opening Division 1B NHL game last month and will travel to Mullingar on Sunday to play Westmeath.

"We need to keep on winning but we also need to blood new players," said O Ceallachain. "The Leinster championship is going to need a full panel. Because it's week on week when that comes around."