by Erin's Own in the Cork Senior Hurling Championship final. Imokilly O'Sullivan had just turned 18 when he was first selected for the Imokilly divisional team. He was a regular in the half-back line throughout the 1996 championship and was at left wing-back when Imokilly drew with Avondhu in the final on 22 September 1996. A fortnight later he was selected in the same position for the replay which Imokilly lost by 0-13 to 1-08. O'Sullivan was again selected at left wing-back the following year. On 5 October 1997, he won a Cork Senior Championship medal after a 1-18 to 2-12 defeat of Sarsfields in the final. Cork Minor and under-21 In spite of Harty Cup success as well as being added to the Cloyne intermediate team, O'Sullivan was disappointed not to be selected for the Cork minor team in 1995. He later said: "I was overlooked...it was a fair kick. I was disappointed. I suppose when you look back there's always some bit of politics. Somebody looking after their own." O'Sullivan was called up to the minor panel the following year, making his only appearance on 26 June 1996 in a 0-16 to 1-09 defeat by Tipperary in the Munster Minor Hurling Championship. O'Sullivan subsequently progressed onto the Cork under-21 team and won a Munster Championship medal at full-back on 30 July 1997 following a 1-11 to 0-13 defeat of Tipperary. He was at full-back again for the subsequent 3-11 to 0-13 All-Ireland final defeat of Galway on 21 October. On 23 August 1998, O'Sullivan won a second successive Munster Championship medal after a 3-18 to 1-10 defeat of Tipperary in the final. He later won a second successive All-Ireland Championship medal at full-back on 20 September after a 2-15 to 2-10 defeat of Galway. Senior O'Sullivan was just eighteen-years-old when he made his first appearance for the Cork senior team on 23 March 1997. He was selected at left corner-back for the 4-21 to 2-11 defeat of Antrim in the National Hurling League. O'Sullivan was later selected at left corner-back for Cork's 12-19 to 0-18 Munster Championship defeat by Clare on 8 June. At the end of the season he was regarded as unlucky not to have been nominated for an All-Star. O'Sullivan was appointed captain of the Cork senior team for the 1998 season. On 17 May 1998, he captained the team to the National League title