At just 18, Cormac O’Callaghan from Kinsale is already flying the flag for Ireland as an elite para-cyclist on the road to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics. Living with Muscular Dystrophy hasn’t slowed him down, it’s fueled his drive to compete and win on the world stage. This August, he takes on the UCI Para-Cycling World Championships in Belgium, chasing his biggest dream yet. Here, the inspirational teenager shares his journey of living with Muscular Dystrophy and his mission to raise €26,000 to fuel his road to the Paralympics and European Championships.”
One of three brothers, two of whom share the same condition, Cormac believes Muscular Dystrophy has been a driving force behind his cycling success.
“Without it, I don’t think I’d have the same drive to do so much sport,” he says. “I share the condition with my brother, so growing up he was always doing sport and that showed me I could be involved too. I knew I had to stay athletic to stay on top of my disability.”
Diagnosed at the age of five or six, Cormac has severe muscle wastage throughout his body. Yet, through intense training, he has seen remarkable changes.
“With the amount I cycle, I’ve almost beaten the disability in my legs,” he says. “It has changed my life, I’ve definitely conquered it in my lower limbs.”
His family has been a constant source of encouragement. His oldest brother also lives with Muscular Dystrophy, while his middle brother is able-bodied.
“He always treated us the same,” Cormac says. “There was always plenty of rough play in the garden. My brothers have paved the way for me in everything, from my personal life to my sport. When things get hard, it’s brilliant to have them there. My older brother used to play para table tennis and he’s been a big inspiration for me.”
Cormac’s condition affects his arms and chest more severely, making it difficult to build muscle and weight in those areas.
“My strain of Muscular Dystrophy causes my muscles to get quite tight,” he explains. “Something like weightlifting would cause my arms to tighten up, so I have to be careful with that.”
Cormac says his condition isn’t physically painful, but it does limit him.
“It’s painful in the sense that I can’t do certain things like lifting or carrying heavy objects for long,” he explains. “As I get older, the muscle wastage will slowly increase, and my muscles will get tighter and weaker. The good thing is that cycling is combating it at the moment.”
He only took up cycling during Covid.
“I found a 5k loop and started using a bike we had in the shed only to get out of the house,” he recalls. “We’d always watch the Tour de France as a family, so I’d always been interested. During the pandemic, I really picked it up and then began to race.”
Now, Cormac trains two to three hours daily, mixing interval and endurance sessions, indoors on a turbo trainer in winter and outdoors in summer. The race season runs from February to August, starting with local races before international competitions in May.
“Those World Cup races are key for qualifying for the Paralympics and World Championships,” he says.
At the end of the month, he’ll compete in the World Championships in Belgium, but to do so, he needs to raise €26,000 for two new bikes.
“I’m buzzing for that,” he says. “I need a new time trial bike and a new road bike. I crashed last year and damaged my old one. They’re about €13k each, but you need top-of-the-range equipment if you want to stay at the top.”
Cormac doesn’t yet have an official sponsor
He also greatly appreciates the guidance of Kinsale’s Alice de la Cour. “Alice is amazing,” he says. “Ive also just received sponsorship from Ronan Fahy, General Manager of Kinsale Hotel, for a year’s membership to the gym’s leisure centre.”
“With more sponsorship I could invest in better equipment, coaching, and sports nutrition things like energy gels and carbohydrate drinks.”
He’s currently on the performance pathway with Paralympics Ireland, aiming for Los Angeles 2028.
“It’ll be tough, I’ll need top 10 finishes in World Cups and World Championships, and in Ireland we’ll be competing with each other for slots.”
On whether para-sport gets enough attention, Cormac responds yes and no.
“The Paralympics are really well televised. I saw the Games in Paris last year and the coverage was amazing, but many events don’t get any coverage. In Belgium, where I’ve raced, cycling is huge and they really love to promote it.”
As an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, Cormac says the role keeps him motivated.
“I know people are watching and looking at how I perform, so I have to put in the work to prove it’s possible to succeed with a disability. For years I believed I’d never ride a bike, and now I’m racing for Ireland at a World Championship.”
He’s never been bitter about his condition.
“In everyday life, I always find ways around challenges. My parents are brilliant. They drive me all over the country in our camper van for races and have flown with me to Italy and Belgium. They’re my biggest fans.”
And do they feel proud? “I hope so,” he laughs.
Pulling on the Irish jersey is always a proud moment for Cormac.
“I raced at the World Championships in 2023 in Glasgow, but I had a crash there,” he says. “So this year, coming back and wearing the green jersey again means a lot. My proudest moment was in 2023, standing on the ramp ready to go, seeing the Irish flag and my parents in the crowd.”
He’s learned to take the highs with the lows.
“Disappointments are part of sport. I’ve had a few crashes, you just have to get back on the bike and start again.”
Cormac is awaiting his Leaving Cert results and hopes to start Computer Science at UCC on a sports scholarship.
To young athletes, his advice is simple:
“ Success is very achievable. If you focus and work hard, you can reach your own highest ability.”
To parents of children newly diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, he says:
“Activity and sport are key, I wouldn’t be where I am without them. Staying active keeps your quality of life high, and so does staying positive.”
One of his biggest influences has been two-time Paralympic gold medalist Mark Roan, his former coach.
“He was almost like another older brother, taught me everything about the sport, and I’ve trained with him a lot in Portugal. He’s been one of my biggest inspirations.”
When he first started cycling only a few years ago Cormac never anticipated this success:
“I never thought I’d be here now. My disability brought me here,working with it and not fighting it, getting better at cycling and my family who are big into sport and so supportive have been a great help, they kept me motivated.”
In competition, he races in the C1 category, the classification for athletes with the most severe physical disabilities against around 30 riders with similar conditions.
Despite having heart, spinal & lung problems, Cormac remains remarkably upbeat and positive “There’s too much going on in the world to let things bother me,” he says. “ Those are the things we have to suffer, so we just get on with it” .
If you would like to help Cormac on his cycling journey contact alice@sccc.ie
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