IN CONTROL

O’callaghan and Dubs in dominant mood again

IF you were picking the Footballer of the Year based on the League to date, two Dubs would be in the frame – Brian Fenton and Con O’callaghan.

Fenton has already won the gong twice, and there are plenty who think he should have got the hat-trick in 2023.

Fenton is rightly regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He’s no Hollywood footballer, but he’s done plenty of media gigs over the years.

O’callaghan is very different. It was striking to see a photograph of him with some former Dublin greats on a recent march in support of Palestine (below) as he has kept such a low profile away from the pitch in recent times.

In the past four years, O’callaghan has done just two Dublin media days, way below the norm for a player of his stature.

Maybe it’s a reaction against his early days in sky blue – and in the red of the Cuala hurlers.

Remember the hype about King Con, the hurler? Former Kilkenny great Tommy Walsh was so blown away that he declared that O’callaghan was the best hurler in Ireland – even though he has never played a senior county game.

Seven years ago, it was impossible to get away from talk of O’callaghan.

He won Leinster titles and Sam Maguire with Dublin, an All-ireland Under-21 football title with the Dubs, and an All-ireland club hurling crown.

O’callaghan won his first All Star and was Young Footballer of the Year. He scored a stunning 22 goals in 24 matches for club and country in 2017. Remarkable.

Dublin boss Dessie

Farrell worked with

O’callaghan at underage level too and has talked of how the talk that it all came to him naturally doesn’t entirely stack up.

“He definitely wasn’t the finished article,” he said. “He was a potent forward but you can see since he’s spent time on becoming more proficient in his kicking. He always had that ruthless streak to take on defenders, where other lads would kick the handy point, Con is very quick to assess there’s something more there, to drive hard and create a goalscoring opportunity. He has that killer instinct and now his finishing is more polished.”

Paul Flynn remembers when he first took note of him and figured O’callaghan was the real deal.

“It was probably his first or second training session. I had just seen him playing under-age and I didn’t know a lot about him. But I definitely didn’t think he was a hardy boy,’’ he said.

“We were doing a tackle box drill and I was in it with him. He hit me a dunt and I was winded for about 30 minutes. I couldn’t train. I was running around, pretending to train. Con is as hard as nails. He has that inner strength. Not just the strength you get from doing weights.”

In the last couple of seasons, O’callaghan was often more of a provider, but it is notable that he’s wreaking havoc as a scorer again.

There are days when he has fisted points, days when he has passed to a teammate in a better position, but O’callaghan has that habit of the greats. Think green flag first, and then make the call.

“I was always told to go for goal, whenever I got the chance,” he explained once. “If it is on, go for it. If it is not, take your point. That’s what you should do as a forward.

“My first instinct is to go for goal. That’s the way I always have been.’’ He turns 28 this month and is just getting into his prime years.

Plenty think nobody will touch Dublin this summer. Derry may expose a few flaws on Sunday to make us think again. We’ll see.

To beat Dublin, you have to keep O’callaghan quiet. He loves the big days. Derry will have their hands full.

GOALDEN MOMENTS

Con O’callaghan buries a goal against Kerry at Croke Park last month