Hull City are delighted to announce the signing of exciting defender Cathal McCarthy from UCD AFC for an undisclosed fee.
The 18-year-old has penned a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Tigers, with the club holding the option of a further year. McCarthy will immediately return to UCD AFC on loan for the first half of the 2025 Irish season.
Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Conor Sellars said: "We are thrilled to welcome Cathal to the club, a player our recruitment team has closely followed for a long time. Cathal has impressed during his time with us, having participated in friendlies with our Under-21s and visited the club with his parents to meet our staff and see our facilities.
"Cathal is a highly competitive and composed centre-half who thrives under pressure and excels at defending both in tight and open spaces. He has shown great potential, and we’re excited to work with him as he continues to develop and progress with us.
"Cathal joins us with valuable experience, having played first-team football at UCD in Ireland’s second division. We would like to extend our gratitude to Emyr Humphreys, our Head of Emerging Talent, for his dedication in monitoring and maintaining communication with Cathal and UCD. We’re also grateful to everyone at the club who contributed to securing Cathal’s future."
Progressing through the academy system at UCD, the defender made his senior breakthrough in the 2024 season. After being an unused substitute in two League of Ireland First Division games against Cobh Ramblers and Finn Harps, the 18-year-old made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw away at Athlone Town in May 2024.
The next of his four appearances that campaign was his first start for the first team in a 2-2 draw against Cobh Ramblers, before featuring in league fixtures against Treaty United and Wexford FC, starting against the latter.
The defender also started all four games for UCD’s Under-19s in their UEFA Youth League qualifying rounds. After defeating Icelandic side UMF Stjarnan Gardabaer 5-3 over two legs in the first round, UCD were knocked out in the second round after a 5-2 aggregate defeat by Kosovan outfit KF 2 Korriku.
McCarthy has also featured for UCD once already in the 2025 season, playing the full game in a 1-0 win in Group D of the Leinster Senior Cup over Wexford.
Internationally, the 18-year-old has earned four caps for Republic of Ireland at Under-19 level, earning his first cap in a 3-1 friendly win over Kazakhstan in September 2024, a fixture that saw McCarthy play alongside City defender Stan Ashbee.
His second cap saw the defender score his first goal for his country in a 2-2 draw against Greece, before earning his third and fourth caps in fixtures against Croatia and Azerbaijan respectively.
McCarthy spent time on trial with the Tigers during the summer, featuring for the Under-21s in pre-season friendlies against Scarborough Athletic and Blackburn Rovers, playing 65 minutes against the Seadogs.
“I am absolutely delighted to get the deal done. I had a little taste of what things were like back in July when I was here for a week at Bishop Burton College,” said McCarthy.
“I played a couple of games and trained with the Under-21s and every single person, staff and all the players were so welcoming and made it so easy for me to be there.
“I came to the MKM Stadium to watch the first team face Fiorentina to get a taste of what the first team was like and the fans as well.
“Even though it was a pre-season game, it was a really good atmosphere as they came from 2-0 down. They never stopped cheering the team on and that was brilliant.
“Firstly, I want to come in with the Under-21s once I finish at UCD. I would like to cement my place and try and make myself a regular from there, kick on and try and get into the first team as quickly as possible.”
