UCD and Mayo footballer, Sam Callinan, pictured at the launch of the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Championships and Camogie Third Level Championships.
By John Harrington
Sam Callinan will never forget his first night of inter-county training with Mayo.
He was just 18 years old when he got the call-up so the nerves were real as he slung his gear-bag over his shoulder and headed out the door.
Then came a moment that sounds like the footballing equivalent of a nightmare about the Leaving Cert.
On the way to training the car he was travelling in broke down, and the excitement in Callinan’s stomach turned to dread at the thought of letting down Mayo manager James Horan at the first time of asking.
“I was with another lad from our club and we walked in around 20 minutes late and just saw all these heads turning around towards us,” recalls Callinan.
“Lads you would have been watching for years on TV, their heads turned around, 'who are these fellas rocking up late to training?'
“The first time I walked into a proper dressing-room and you're looking around at Lee Keegan, Aidan O'Shea, Paddy Durcan, Cillian O'Connor, these lads you would have idolised growing up.”
Not the best first impression to make, but Callinan quickly made amends for it.
He made his senior league debut a few weeks later and would have played many more matches for Mayo in 2021 but for an injury sustained on duty with the county U20s.
Not many 18-year-olds come straight into senior inter-county football and immediately look the part, but Callinan has always been built a little bit differently.
Sam Callinan of Mayo during the 2024 Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Mayo and Dublin at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
He’s a natural athlete blessed with great pace, strength, and game-sense, qualities the Ballina man believes were enhanced by playing multiple sports from a young age.
“Yeah, athletics, rugby, a bit of soccer, but rugby in particular,” he says. “I played up until I was around 18 years old. We had a very strong underage team in Ballina.
“A lot of my rugby skill did translate over to my football. Just the way I play the break with line-breaking, stepping, high-speed running...a lot of that is very much translated from rugby and there is a lot of correlation with Gaelic football.
“When any young lad asks my advice I always say play as many sports as possible. Because basketball, rugby, soccer, and Gaelic football all do tie in together and the more proficient you are in a number of sports the more you can take with you if you decide then later on to focus on one sport.
“Definitely my rugby background helped. I had a great time playing it and it did teach me a lot about different sports as well.”
He might be still only 21 but this will be Callinan’s fourth year of senior intercounty football with Mayo so he feels like his apprenticeship is well served by now and it’s time to take on a greater burden of leadership.
“This year in particular I feel like that,” he says. “We've had an influx of young players coming in, really talented players, and it's probably the first time that I've ever felt old in a squad. I'm only 21 now but there's about 20 lads younger than me nearly.
“It is definitely time. It's a stage of my development where you can't really be classed as the young lad anymore. You really need to step up and be a leader more than anything else. I'm really trying to work on that this year and become someone who teaches the young lads even if I'm not that much older than them.
“Maybe if I can teach them a thing or two and stop leaning on the older lads and just lead by example myself, then I can contribute more this year.”
Sam Callinan of Mayo signs autographs for supporters after the 2024 GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between Roscommon and Mayo at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Callinan performed well in the full-back line for Mayo last year but his natural home is surely as a middle-eight player where his speed, skill, and ball-carrying ability could be used to best effect.
It’s clear that the new Gaelic football rule enhancements put huge athletic demands on half-backs, midfielders, and half-forwards, but that’s the sort of game Callinan looks like he was born to play.
“I think that's maybe where my natural strengths lie a bit more but I've been really working on developing my full-back play as well,” he says. “Anywhere you can get a jersey on that team is fantastic.
“I've always been fortunate that I'm naturally enough quite athletic. From a young age it's been one of my strengths. I used to play midfield a lot when I was underage and it would be an aspect of the game that I'd be used to.
“With the new rules it all very much depends what position you're playing in. I've been playing in the full-back line with Mayo and that's a good bit different than the middle third because you're more stationary back there depending on how you switch out and if you switch out and where your marker is going and everything.
“You're nearly doing less running now as a full-back than you would have been under the old rules. And as a half-back you're doing a lot more.
“From what I've heard from the lads when you're playing in the middle eight it's very strenuous. We have great athletic training with Mayo and the lads are in top shape and I think we'll be well able to compete under the new rules.”
At club level Callinan has been part of a youthful generation of Ballina Stephenites players who have driven their team back to the pinnacle of Mayo football with two county titles in a row.
Ballina Stephenites joint-captains David Clarke, left, and Sam Callinan lift the Paddy Moclair Cup after their side's victory in the Mayo County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Ballina Stephenites and Knockmore at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
He sees no reason why he can’t be now part of a Mayo team that does something similar on the national stage.
“Yeah, definitely. I think it's a theme across the country, there's nearly a changing of the guard. You look at Dublin, at lot of stalwarts are stepping away now.
“I think especially with the implementation of the new rules, it's as wide open as ever. A few of the new lads that have joined the panel this year are really fantastic players and you can see the talent is there.
“We're looking to build a really good, young core there and make that step up and compete over the next few years and I don't think there's any reason we can't. There's all the talent there and I think we really can take a step up and drive it on
“We know we have the players to really compete. Maybe in the last two years we've come up a bit short and, while it is frustrating, this year we're taking a lot of hope and optimism from the fact that we were right there last year.
“We were within a kick of the ball of Galway, drew with Dublin, and if things went our way against Derry who knows what could have happened.
“It just goes to show that while we maybe didn't perform in the last few minutes of those games we were there or there abouts. That's from where we're drawing a lot of hope and optimism from this year, that we can go out to compete and maybe with a few tweaks we might be there in the mix.”
Before he pulls on a Mayo jersey, Callinan is fully focused UCD’s Electric Ireland Sigeson Cup campaign.
They made it as far as last year’s final where they were beaten by Ulster University, and they go into this year’s campaign as one of the leading contenders again.
“I'm buzzing for it, I have to say,” says Callinan. “Last year was my first year and not a bad first year to have getting all the way to the final. I enjoyed every minute of it. There's no football experience like Sigerson based on what I've played of it so far.
“There's a light-heartedness that you don't really get in club and county. I think we've a really strong team here and I can't wait to play the first round game against UCC, it's going to be a good one.”
Following postponements this week, the following Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup Round One re-fixtures are confirmed.
Confirmed Friday Fixtures
St Mary’s v Queen’s University- 2pm, Davitt’s
UCC v UCD- 5pm, Fethard Town Park, Tipperary
ATU Galway v University of Limerick- 5.30pm, Liam Mellows, Galway
DCU DÉ v MTU Kerry- 5pm, DCU DÉ
TU Dublin v University of Galway- 6.15pm, Grangegorman
ATU Donegal v MTU Cork- TBC
TUS Midlands v Maynooth University- 7.15pm, TUS Midlands
