On September 9, 2023, teenager Calvin O’Sullivan-O’Shea’s world was turned upside while playing an Under-14s game for Kerry FC.

Called into the squad to play for the youth team, Calvin was running down the wing in a game against Waterford when a challenge saw him leave the pitch, slide head first into a metal bar and break his neck.

Calvin was treated pitchside at Mounthawk Park before being rushed to Tralee General Hospital and later transferred to Crumlin Hospital that night – he feared he may never walk again.

“I was in and out of consciousness,” said Calvin. “That night going up to Crumlin from Tralee I was strapped in, I couldn’t move and I was thinking that not only would I ever play football again but I may never walk again. I thought it was the end of my career.”

The then 13-year-old striker had battled to earn himself a place in the Kerry side after joining from St Brendan’s Park FC but he now had a new fight on his hands. 

He was in hospital for two weeks but it was a month later he was given the news that he would indeed be able to walk but his journey to physical activity would be long and arduous. A GoFundMe page was set-up to help pay for his treatment with the public raising more than €31,000 to put him on the road back to recovery.

“It was so tough at that stage, I was in a halo brace and I was unable to look up or to the sides, I had to stay in the one spot. It was really tough for me and my family but we got through it. 

“My teammates and school were amazing for me. Anything I needed they did it for me, I can’t thank them enough. 

“I was in the halo brace for three months then into a hard collar. I knew if I had a chance of playing football again I had to get fit, so any activity the doctors cleared me to do, I did.”

It started with walks around his local area before moving up to an exercise bike. After gaining strength from those activities he began running around his local gaelic football pitches and then onto longer runs around Tralee.

Incredibly, just nine months after his accident, Calvin was cleared to return to non-contact training - a day he describes as one of the happiest of his life.

He said: “I would just be out on the pitches running, shooting, but being back amongst my teammates was just amazing. It was hard watching the rest of the team training and playing but I got used to it.

“That first contact session back was special. It was a goal for me to return, for the first few weeks my teammates weren’t going full on hard on me but after a few sessions they weren’t holding back anymore.”

Then in July 2024 Calvin completed the most remarkable of recoveries. He returned to action on the very pitch where he suffered his horrific accident. Both his teammates and opposition players from Cobh Ramblers gave Calvin a guard of honour as he entered the pitch and he was rewarded with captaincy for the day. 

If just getting to play the sport he loved wasn’t enough it was to get better  “I scored. I went through on goal and the keeper came out and I lobbed the keeper – it was special,” said Calvin. 

“Early in the game I had an opportunity to head the ball and I knew I had to get it over with. So I went for it, I won the header, and I knew from then I’d be ok. Heading the ball was one of the last things I could do in training I had to wait two or three months after my return to training to do that.”

Picture by Kerry FC

After impressing for Kerry FC, Calvin was signed by Cork City but he had already caught the eye of Ireland Boys Under-15s Head Coach Jason Donohue.

Last week, 16 months after being told he may never walk again, Calvin was called up to the Ireland squad to face Australia at the FAI National Training Centre, he described the moment he found out: “I got the call on the Tuesday to tell me that I’d be in. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think the day would ever come. We didn’t get an opportunity to train so I found out I would be starting on the morning of the game. Everything happened so fast.”

Calvin’s story from despair to Ireland international footballer wasn’t to end there. Playing as a centre forward against an Australian team two years his senior, Calvin was to write a new chapter in his tale. Just over 30 minutes into his debut and 497 days after his horrific accident, Calvin O’Sullivan-O’Shea got on the end of a cross to head home his first international goal.

Somehow Calvin manages to put that moment into words: “It’s my job as a striker to score chances that come my way. I had the ball in the net earlier in the game but the linesman ruled it as offside, but the next chance I knew I had to take and I did. The cross came in and I managed to find space, I didn’t think about it I just directed my header into the net. To score for your country, it was one of the happiest days of mine and family’s lives.”

Picture by Gerry Scully

Speaking to Calvin, he often references the support of his friends and family. His mother Evelyn was there to witness her son’s scoring debut and she can verify the joy his goal gave the family. She said: “We were so proud to hear that Calvin was on stand-by for the game let alone see him make the squad and then make his debut. It was the best news ever for him because he has worked really, really hard to get back playing so to be acknowledged by the Irish team was a huge reward. He’s been so determined since the accident to get back. 

“I couldn’t believe it when he scored- the fact he scored with the head too. It was something he was asking doctors during his recovery, if he could head the ball again and then he scores a goal with his head. It was a special moment, and I knew it would mean more for him it was a header, but for us it’s just good to see him out playing again. It’s testament to himself and all of the hard work he’s put in.”