George Paul O'Callaghan (born 5 September 1979) is an Irish former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. O'Callaghan started his career with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in 1995; he made 41 appearances for the club before joining

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

in 2002. He spent five years at his home town club, making 150 league appearances. This was followed by a return to English football with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

before a brief return to Cork in 2008. In the summer of 2008, he signed with

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

before brief spells with

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

and Yeovil Town in 2009. He then returned to his homeland for short stays at

Waterford United Waterford Football Club formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930. Originally the ...

and former club Cork City. He was briefly with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in 2011 before he emigrated to

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

to briefly play for

DPMM FC Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (English language, English: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club; Abbreviation, abbrev: DPMM or Brunei DPMM) is a professional association football, football club based in Bandar S ...

. He joined Dover Athletic for a brief stay in September 2012. He began his management career with the Malaysian side

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

in 2014, but it lasted only months in the role. He came out of retirement to play for Rockmount in December 2016.

Playing career

O'Callaghan went on trial with

at the age of 15, and was signed up almost immediately. After two years, he was offered a professional

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

. After being named the club's Young Player of the Year, O'Callaghan was on the point of breaking into the first-team in the 1998–99 season, until

John Rudge John Robert Rudge (born 21 October 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager who is the president of club Port Vale. Rudge began his playing career at Huddersfield Town in November 1961, but made little impact at t ...

was sacked.

Brian Horton Brian "Nobby" Horton (born 4 February 1949) is an English former footballer and manager. He spent 16 years as a professional player and 22 years as a manager, making 689 appearances and managing 1,098 matches. In addition to this, he spent four ...

took over as

. O'Callaghan was put back into the youth squad. 13 months later, he made a return to the senior squad, scoring in a draw with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

. He stayed in the side for the rest of the season and signed a new two-year deal with the club despite an offer from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Port Vale were

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

to the Second Division that year. O'Callaghan was the top-scorer seven games into the 2000–01 season but was suddenly dropped after a 3–0 loss to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. It would be his last game for the "Valiants". He returned home to

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in 2002 after his contract ended at Port Vale. Shortly after, he signed for his hometown club

, making his debut in the opening game of the 2002–03 season against Shelbourne in 3–0 home win in which he scored. He went on to form a useful striking partnership with

John O'Flynn John O'Flynn (born 11 July 1982) is a retired Irish professional footballer who played as a striker. He previously played with Barnet, Exeter City, Cork City, Limerick and Finn Harps. Playing career Club Peterborough United O'Flynn began hi ...

. Following the arrival of Neale Fenn in 2004, O'Callaghan was moved to

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

by then manager Pat Dolan to accommodate the new player. In 2005, Cork City picked up their first

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

title in twelve years, and O'Callaghan picked up a winners medal. He scored eleven goals in all competitions, including in the

2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...

, and was also announced as the eircom League Player of the Year for

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He also played in the 2005 FAI Cup final defeat to

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

. He also was named as League of Ireland Player of the Year. In July 2006 he was given time off due to a falling out between himself and manager Damien Richardson. In September 2006, O'Callaghan joined English club

on trial with a view to a permanent deal. He remained training at Ipswich for the following two months, unable to formally sign because of UEFA's

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

system. In January 2007, the clubs finally negotiated a deal despite strong words on both sides, concluding in an undisclosed fee (speculated to be around £60,000) which saw him sign an 18-month contract with Ipswich. On his full Ipswich debut, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

playing in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, after an alleged stamp on defender Danny Shittu. However, after a successful appeal, O'Callaghan was to escape a further three-match ban. On 7 May 2007, O'Callaghan scored his first goal for the "Tractor Boys" in the 5–1 win over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. In August 2007, Ipswich agreed terms with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

to sell O'Callaghan for around £85,000, rising to £105,000 based on appearances. However, this

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

fell through as the club and player were unable to reach an agreement on personal terms. He did, however, move to

Withdean Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. Overview The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920 ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

until the end of December 2007. He rejected the chance to sign permanently at Brighton, stating that chairman Dick Knight was being unrealistic with the wages he was offering both himself and fellow striker Bas Savage. Both players left the club at the end of December 2007. In January 2008 he decided to terminate his contract with Ipswich, having played 17 games for the club, manager

Jim Magilton James Magilton (born 6 May 1969) is a Northern Irish former professional football player and current manager of NIFL Premiership side Cliftonville. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Southampton, Shef ...

explained: "George is a great lad but he's 28 now and needs to be playing regular first-team football. We have not been able to give him that here and we won't stand in his way of moving on now." On 31 January 2008, O'Callaghan returned home to Cork City, signing a three-year deal under new manager

Alan Mathews Alan Mathews (born 27 June 1965)is an Irish former football player and manager. He is technical director at St Patrick's Athletic. Coaching career Following a stint as assistant at Shelbourne, Alan Mathews became Longford manager in the su ...

. O'Callaghan debuted in a friendly against Shelbourne on 7 February. He then made his competitive debut against

Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the I ...

in the

Setanta Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ir ...

on 26 February, scoring two goals. After numerous

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

displays at Cork City, it was announced on 9 July that O'Callaghan, along with ex-teammate Bas Savage, had joined

on a two-year contract. However, on 13 February 2009, O'Callaghan had his contract cancelled by Tranmere Rovers after suffering illness and failing to settle at the club. Returning to his native Ireland, O'Callaghan signed for

in February 2009, scoring against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

on his debut. He left the club after just four months. In July 2009, English club Yeovil Town confirmed won O'Callaghan's signature. On 23 December 2009 it was announced that his contract would not be renewed, after seven starts and five substitute appearances in six months, leaving him without a club. He returned to Cork City for a third time under new boss

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1960) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the ...

. After the departure of Dan Murray, he was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. O'Callaghan and the rest of the club's staff became free agents after the winding up of the club in February 2010. He turned out for the club in a pre-season friendly at Crosshaven but decided against playing for his local club due to the uncertainty surrounding their future. George signed for

on 8 April 2010. He debuted in the away day defeat to

Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Monaghan Cavan League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to play in the B Division, the First Division an ...

. In his second game for the club he scored a wonder goal against Tramore in the Munster Cup. He scored five goals in the "Blues" 9–0 victory over Tralee Dynamos in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

on 11 May 2010, becoming the first Waterford player to score five in a game since

Alfie Hale Alfred Hale (born 28 August 1939) is an Irish former football player and coach who played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League, most notably, Waterford, Aston Villa, Doncaster Rovers and Cork Celtic. During hi ...

. At the end of June 2010 George decided to return to Cork City to help the club's attempt to achieve

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from the First Division. He made his debut on 23 July against

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

. He left the club once again before the end of the year. In February 2011, he joined League One side

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on a two-week trial. He signed for

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

club

on non-contract terms in April 2011. However, the club never utilised him in his brief time there. In October 2011, he signed for

, the only professional football club in

. He had previously spent a brief period at the club between his time at Port Vale and Cork City. He had decided to leave the club and the country as his family did not enjoy life in the Far East. O'Callaghan signed for Dover Athletic of the

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

in September 2012. He came out of retirement to play for Rockmount of the

Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division The Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division is the top division of the Munster Senior League (association football), Munster Senior League. It is organized by the Munster Football Association. Together with the Leinster Senior League Senior ...

in December 2016.

Management career

O'Callaghan was appointed as manager of

in the

Malaysia Premier League The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. The season usually ra ...

in 2014. He was sacked in January 2015, along with

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

international

Fazrul Nawaz Fazrul Nawaz bin Shahul Hameed (born 17 October 1985) is a Singapore former international footballer who last played as a striker or second-striker for Singapore National League club Warwick Knights and the Singapore national team. He is ...

, after the pair began missing training sessions.

Personal life

O'Callaghan drove through a red light in Cork at 2:40 am on 13 October 2004, and upon his arrest admitted that he had "had seven or eight pints, a few shots and a few cocktails". It took three years before his case went to court, at which point the court handed him a €300 fine and gave him a two-year driving ban; he stated that "I have learned from my mistake". He is the cousin of the internationally

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

Irish

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

lock

Donncha O'Callaghan Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired rugby union player. He spent most of his career with his home province Munster, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with ...

Career statistics

Honours

Cork City * Munster Senior Cup: 2003, 2004 & 2005 *

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

runner-up:

Individual *

Young Player of the Year: 1997 * League of Ireland Player of the Year:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan, George 1979 births Living people Association footballers from Cork (city) Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Port Vale F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Brunei DPMM FC players Dover Athletic F.C. players Republic of Ireland association football managers Republic of Ireland expatriate association football managers Expatriate football managers in Malaysia Irish expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia English Football League players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players Munster Senior League (association football) players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in Brunei 21st-century Irish sportsmen