a substitute in Cork's 2-22 to 0-25 defeat by Tipperary. Senior In spite of failing to make the Cork under-21 team, McCarthy was drafted onto the Cork senior team in November 2008 as part of the so-called "development squad" that replaced the regular members of the team who were on strike. He made his first appearance for the team on 11 January 2009 in a 0-14 to 0-09 defeat by the Waterford Institute of Technology in the Waterford Crystal Cup. On 14 February, McCarthy made his first appearance in the National Hurling League when he was introduced as a substitute in a 2-15 to 0-09 defeat by Tipperary. McCarthy made his first championship appearance on 8 August 2010 when he was introduced as a substitute in Cork's 3-22 to 0-19 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-final. On 28 September 2013, McCarthy lined out at centre-forward for Cork's All-Ireland final replay against Clare. He was the only change from the drawn match and replaced Jamie Coughlan in a reshuffled forward division. McCarthy was held scoreless in the 5-16 to 3-16 defeat. On 13 July 2014, McCarthy won a Munster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute after a six-point defeat of Limerick in the final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. McCarthy made only one appearance during the 2015 National Hurling League before quitting the panel on 20 March 2015. In October 2015, McCarthy was recalled to the Cork senior team under new manager Kieran Kingston. He made one appearance during the National League before being released from the panel in April 2016. Career statistics Club Inter-county Honours Sarsfield's Cork Senior Hurling Championship: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 Cork Minor Hurling Championship: 2007 Passage City Junior A Hurling Championship: 2021 Cork Munster Senior Hurling Championship: 2014 References External links Cian McCarthy profile at the Cork GAA website 1989 births Living people Sarsfields (Cork) hurlers Douglas hurlers Passage West hurlers Seandún hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers Hurling goalkeepers