Con O’Callaghan late show gives Cuala win over Tullamore

Leinster SFC quarter-final: Cuala 0-16 Tullamore 1-11

On the morning of the Dublin SFC final, Cuala were already favourites to win the Leinster club title.

Expectation comes with the territory for the big Dublin clubs, of course, but Tullamore served a not so gentle reminder in this Round 1 tie that nothing will be won easily.

In fact, had the four-in-a-row Offaly champions hung on for victory and posted what would have been the club’s greatest triumph in the province, it wouldn’t have been any act of larceny.

That it took an intervention from one of the greatest that Cuala and Dublin have produced, Con O’Callaghan, who won it with a late two-pointer, underlined just what a close encounter this was.

Level on seven occasions, O’Callaghan, realising that he was playing on an advantage call from the referee, took a potshot at glory from the edge of the arc, just as the hour was up, and wheeled away in trademark fashion as the ball split the uprights.

Two years ago, Peter Duffy’s goal separated the teams when Cuala beat Tullamore on their way to a maiden Leinster title and an eventual All-Ireland success.

The margin was even more slender this time as Cuala advanced to a quarter-final tie against the freshly minted Kildare champions Sarsfields, back at Parnell Park next Saturday week.

Asked if this close call and intense battle will stand to his team, Cuala manager Derek Dunne nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh absolutely, from our point of view, this idea that the Dublin teams are going to saunter through Leinster is absolute rubbish,” said Dunne. “You saw the quality of that Tullamore team. We’re playing Sarsfields next, another very good team that we played in a challenge match earlier this year.

“These are really good teams, and I think the standard right across Leinster has increased over the last couple of years.

“It’s very, very hard to win Leinster. It’s a very, very competitive championship as far as I’m concerned.”

Tullamore were desperate to push on in the province and to finally make a real mark in 2026. They lead the roll of honour in Offaly with 32 titles but have only won three games in Leinster, two of those coming across 2024 and 2025. They gave it a good rattle but slumped to a 10th loss from 14 outings in the club’s history.

They will look back on that period during the second half and regret how Cuala took over, dominating both kickouts to gorge themselves on possession.

“We were struggling in the first half (on kickouts) and we said we really had to change that,” said Dunne. “And we very much did so, I think we got 70 per cent of the kickouts in the second half. While we might have lost a few, we turned the ball over. I think we’d 85 per cent retention on our own kickouts, and then we went after their kickouts big time.

“That’s the modern game, if you can get your kickouts away, you’re in a great position. It really is a momentum swinger.”

Luke Plunkett struck Tullamore’s goal just before the interval and as Cuala struggled to get their hands on Darragh O’Dowd’s kicks from the tee, so the underdogs capitalised, leading 1-4 to 0-6 at the break.

Tullamore restarted with three more points from the excellent Harry Plunkett, a two-pointer and a single, to lead 1-7 to 0-6.

But they relied a little too heavily on their number 14 with just 1-1 coming from elsewhere on the day.

Cuala were waiting for Con to kick into life and it was his first point from play in the 39th minute that sparked their best form, outscoring Tullamore by 0-8 to 0-1 over the following 15 minutes.

The Dalkey side reeled off five points without reply, then three more after a Harry Plunkett point in between.

Now it was time for Tullamore to dig in and they did just that, stopping the rot and drawing level for the seventh time at 1-11 to 0-14.

It was down to the brilliance of Plunkett again who took his takings to 0-10 with a 59th-minute point that tied proceedings.

Then came O’Callaghan’s bullet from just beyond the arc, which paid off.

“I was so happy with the way we dug deep in the last four or five minutes,” said Dunne.

Cuala: Darragh O’Dowd; D Conroy, M Fitzsimons, E O’Callaghan (0-0-1); E Kennedy (0-0-1), C McMorrow (0-0-1), David O’Dowd (0-0-2); P Ó Cofaigh Byrne (0-0-2), P Duffy; D O’Sullivan, C Doran, C Groarke; N O’Callaghan (0-0-3), C O’Callaghan (0-1-4, 2f, 1 45), C O’Brien. Subs: J Conroy for O’Sullivan (46 mins).

Tullamore: A Hensey; J Maher, D Hogan, P Kenna; C Egan, J Furlong, D McDaid; A Leavy, D Keegan; L Egan, N Furlong, D Egan (0-0-1); M Fox, H Plunkett (0-2-6, 4f, 1 45), L Plunkett (1-0-0). Subs: M Brazil for Keegan & L Dillane for L Plunkett (53 mins), L Bourke for N Furlong (54).

Referee: P Coyle (Meath).