Dubs ace Cian O'Sullivan tired of theory he gets his hurling from Cork

All-Star Cian O'Sullivan's dad is from Cork but the topic is beginning to grate.

Tue, 14 Apr, 2026 - 07:11

Paul Keane

A chat with a Dublin hurler ahead of their Championship opener but with a decidedly Cork theme.

All-Star Cian O'Sullivan has barely sat down for a round of interviews organised by All-Ireland SHC sponsor Bord Gáis Energy when the issue of his Cork background is raised.

His father, Traolach Terry O'Sullivan is from Garnish, in Cork, and moved up to Dublin in the early 1990s.

So that is where the hurling pedigree comes from? Truth be told, that's a query that is starting to grate on the Dublin forward.

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"One of the cousins was on to me there after the League final saying that the Cork roots got a mention again," said O'Sullivan, who scored 1-10 in the Division 1B League final against Clare. "But I've no idea where that came from because there was no hurling on that side of the family."

Cian's father acknowledged in an interview ahead of last year's All-Ireland semi-final between Dublin and Cork that his speedy son came 'from a family with no hurling pedigree' to speak of.

"There's absolutely no correlation between my Cork roots and my sporting ability," clarified Cian. "It kind of goes against everything in the sense of people saying I'm a decent hurler because I've got Cork roots. If anything, it's starting to rub me up the wrong way a small bit."

The St Brigid's man certainly had no problem putting up a big score against Cork in that game at Croke Park last summer. Cork won comprehensively but O'Sullivan still scored 2-5 from play, securing his All-Star award.

"A bit of a double-edged sword," said O'Sullivan of the game. "It was probably my best game in a Dublin jersey but we didn't perform as a team in any capacity, conceding seven goals and losing in the manner that we did."

Despite the disappointment of defeat, it was a strong season overall for player and team, and O'Sullivan has kicked on in 2026 so far, scoring 2-20 in their journey to promotion from Division 1B.

Dublin will travel to play Offaly in the Leinster SHC this Sunday and O'Sullivan will surely be a marked man as an All-Star.

"It's not that you feel like a bit of an imposter up on the stage with the lads from Tipp and Cork, but it was probably a bit of a weird one," said O'Sullivan of receiving the All-Star despite how the season ended for Dublin.

"It almost felt like the All-Star was a bit of a sympathy vote towards Dublin and the season we had. We know we can be there in amongst the best of them so the aim for this year is to have three or four lads up on that stage. But that will be reflected by where we get to in the All-Ireland series."

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Asked if he really believed his All-Star award was some sort of token gesture, O'Sullivan shrugged.

"Well, I knew I'd played well," he said. "When you looked back on it, yeah, that was decent scoring from play, for myself, and I was consistent throughout every game in the Championship, more or less."

O'Sullivan is hopeful that Dublin fans will get behind the team in greater numbers this summer, starting on Sunday in Tullamore. He was envious of the Cork support at Croke Park last season.

"It was my first time experiencing the full house, the 82-and-a-half-thousand," said O'Sullivan. "But I was halfway around in the parade when I realised that these are all cheering for Cork!

"Throughout the last decade or so, Dublin fans have been mainly football fans but getting a full house at hurling games now in Parnell Park will be the next thing for us, particularly against Kildare in two weeks. And hopefully we get a good following down in Offaly."