| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Páidí Ó Súilleabháin | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-forward | ||
| Born | Cloyne, County Cork | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 2004-present | Cloyne | ||
| Club Titles | |||
| Cork titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
| 2008-present | Cork | 11 (4-10) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 0 | ||
| All Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
Paudie O'Sullivan (born 1988 in Cloyne, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Cloyne and has been a member of the Cork senior inter-county team since 2008. He is the brother of long-time full-back on the team Diarmuid O'Sullivan.
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O’Sullivan plays his club hurling with his local club in Cloyne. After enjoying much success at underage levels, he was a key member of the team in 2004 when Cloyne consolidated their position in the senior ranks of the county championship and even reached the final. Na Piarsaigh provided the opposition, however, O'Sullivan's side were no match for the city side. A great second-half display saw O'Sullivan end up on the wrong side of a 0-17 to 0-10 defeat.[1]
In 2005 Cloyne set out to avenge the previous year's defeat and reached the county final again. Newtownshandrum were the opponents on that occasion, however, Cloyne were still off the pace. A 0-15 to 0-9 defeat saw 'Newtown' take their third county title of the decade, while O'Sullivan ended up on the losing side for a second year in-a-row.[2] With a tally of 3-19 O'Sullivan finished the championship as the top scorer.
2006 saw Cloyne reach a third successive county final. Erin's Own were the opponents and an exciting game ensued. A thrilling game produced a score line of 2-19 to 3-14, however, for the third year in-a-row O'Sullivan ended up on the losing side.[3] O'Sullivan's tally of 5-25 marked him out as the championship's top scorer once again.
In 2007 O'Sullivan's club career came to an abrupt halt when he suffered a cruciate injury. This ruled him out of the entire championship campaign. Since then Cloyne have failed to reach the championship decider of the county championship.
O’Sullivan first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in the early 2000s. He captured a Munster title in this grade in 2005, following a 2-18 to 1-12 trouncing of Limerick.[4] Cork, however, were thrashed to the tune of 4-13 to 1-9 by a superior Galway side in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final.[5]
In 2006 O’Sullivan captured a second consecutive Munster minor medal, following a thrilling victory over Tipperary.[6] Once again, O'Sullivan's side were subsequently defeated by Galway in an All-Ireland semi-final.
O'Sullivan later joined the Cork under-21 hurling team; however, injury meant that he missed out on Cork's triumph in Munster in 2007 and their subsequent All-Ireland final defeat by Galway. He was still a member of the under-21 team again in 2008, however, Clare were victorious over Cork in the Munster semi-final.
O’Sullivan's hurling performances in the 2008 National Hurling League impressed the senior manager and the selectors. The Munster semi-final against Tipperary was a date that all hurling fans were looking forward to. In the lead up to the game there was speculation as to the formation of the Cork team. O'Sullivan was given his championship debut as a member of the forwards. However, Paudie went on to bottle it when he stepped up to take a penalty which Tipperary goalkeeper saved easily. Cork played well in the first-half, however, after the interval Tipp took over. Cork lost by six points and had to take their chances in the win of bust qualifiers. O'Sullivan played no part in these games, however, he came on as a substitute in the All-Ireland semi-final where Kilkenny provided the opposition. It was the first time that these two teams met in the championship outside of an All-Ireland final. That game was an intriguing encounter; however, ‘the Cats’ won the day by 1-23 to 0-17 and Cork were knocked out of the championship.