McCarthy delighted at securing exciting move to Hull City this summer

Cathal McCarthy, from Caragh, is looking forward to taking his football career to the next level after having secured an exciting move to Hull City from UCD.

The 18-year-old centre back has penned a two-and-a-half year contract with the Tigers, with the club also having the option to trigger an additional season as part of that deal.

The Naas CBS sixth-year student has enjoyed a whirlwind year, breaking through to the UCD first team, competing in the UEFA Youth League qualifiers and making his Republic of Ireland under 19 debut, all ahead of his move to Hull City, which was only copper-fastened at the end of the January.

The deal will see McCarthy loaned back to UCD up until the summer in order to afford him the opportunity to complete his Leaving Certificate before he starts pre-season with Hull in July.

Speaking to The Kildare Nationalist about his imminent transfer, McCarthy said “It’s amazing. I’ve been playing football my whole life and it’s always been a dream to go and play in the likes of England, so I’m really looking forward to going over there and giving it a real shot.

“The move was finalised at the very end of January, and once that was all done it was a just a great feeling.

“I’m still in sixth year at the moment and Hull were very understanding that I wanted to finish my schooling and get a good Leaving Cert, so they came to an agreement to loan me back to UCD. I’ll stay there until July and then I’ll go over and start pre-season with Hull.

“I’ll be playing with the Under 21s from the start, but I’ll just keep working hard and pushing as much as possible towards the first team.

“I’ve been told the manager [Rebén Sellés] likes to see young players coming through, and there’s a pathway there for young players to make the first team, so that’s brilliant for me going over there, knowing that there might be a chance that I could be playing in the Championship.

“I went over to Hull last summer for a trial and I was there for about seven or eight days.

“Going on trial is not easy, especially when coming from across the water, but all the players were just so welcoming. They just made it so easy for me.

“There’s also that bit of an Irish connection over there with the Under 21s coach Billy Clarke, who’s from Cork, and the Under 18s coach, David Meyler who’s another Cork man.

“I also play alongside Stan Ashbee who’s with the Ireland Under 19s as well and plays with the Hull Under 21s, so that all helped make it easier to fit in,” he explained.

McCarthy, started out his football journey with local side, Caragh Celtic before moving to Newbridge Town and then on to Klub Kildare as a 12-year-old, playing Under 13 League of Ireland that first year.

He helped Klub Kildare to their first piece of League of Ireland silverware in 2021 when they beat Cork City on penalties to lift the Under 15 League Shield Trophy, before, the following year, playing his part in their Under 17 Elite Phase finish.

Snapped up by UCD at the outset of 2023, McCarthy helped the Belfield side to the Under 17 League of Ireland crown and SSE Airtricity Enda McGuill Cup before lining out in the UEFA Youth League.

In the latter, they beat UMF Stjarnan 5-3 in the first round before exiting the competition in following stage at the hands of Kosovo’s KF 2 Korriku.

“That was a great experience to get,” said McCarthy. 

“The standards in that UEFA Youth League are just so high. You have the winners of every league at Under 19 level throughout Europe, so to play four games in that, I never would have thought that would happen two years ago,” he smiled.

While McCarthy was breaking new ground with UCD, the Republic of Ireland came knocking when Under 19 manager, Tom Mohan handed him his international debut in a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan in the Slovenia Nations Cup that also saw him play alongside Hull City’s Stan Ashbee.

Following that, the Kildare lad helped Ireland secure qualification through to the European Championship Elite Phase qualifiers for which they have since been drawn against Finland, Slovenia and group hosts, Germany.

“I’ve had four appearances for Ireland and that also came out of the blue,” McCarthy told The Nationalist. 

“I never really had a look-in with Irish squads all the way up, but I just kept going, kept the head down.

“Tom Mohan is good for giving lads a chance. He just sent an email and I couldn’t believe it when I got the message.

“The first camp was over in Slovenia and then I got a call-back for Croatia and then the qualifiers in Moldova. We got through our first-round of qualifying and now there’s another round in Germany in March, so fingers-crossed I make the squad for that.

“If you get through that phase, you’re in the Under 19 Euros in the summer in Romania, but our qualifying group is really tough. We have Germany, Finland and Slovenia.

“But it’s a great opportunity to showcase your talent, and all the games in March are what it’s going to be like next summer really,” he stressed.

An imminent move to Hull City, the start of another League of Ireland campaign with UCD, a possible recall for international duty with the Ireland Under 19s, along with the academic demands of a Leaving Cert year, would certainly be enough to make anyone’s head spin, but McCarthy is taking it all in his stride.

“It’s a lot to take in and try to stay grounded, trying to also get a few results in school as well, but I wouldn’t change it at all. It’s been absolutely brilliant,” insisted the young Caragh lad.