A young Laois boy is making serious waves in the world of badminton where he is representing Ireland.
12-year-old Daire O’Sullivan, who hails from Crettyard, is a member of Carlow Badminton Club.
The Sixth Class student in Mayo National School is an extremely talented multi-sportsperson.
He plays football for Crettyard-Spink where he was wing back on the side that claimed U-13 ‘B’ glory last month.
While he also played an integral role in the Mayo NS team that claimed their sixth Cumann na mBunscol title in a row a few weeks ago – scoring 3-3 in the final.
He hurls with Ballinakill-Ballypickas, plays soccer for Crettyard United and runs for St Abban’s – leading his team home in the U-14 All-Ireland Cross Country Championships in Derry on Sunday.
And somewhere, amongst all of that, he manages to find time to excel at an international level in badminton.
During the height of all the activities, Daire could be training seven days per week and even twice on some days with different sports.
Speaking to LaoisToday, Daire explained how he was first introduced to the sport by his grandfather Tom Smyth.
Daire said: “My granddad started playing when he was about 30 years-old, he played for the craic in Killeshin Hall because there was no club.
“So he joined Carlow Badminton Club in 1982 and my auntie Louise went to play with him.
“She actually represented Ireland in a Quadrangular event, which is between Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, when she was 15.
“None of the rest of my family played after that until I started playing when I was three.
“My granddad started me off hitting the shuttlecock, getting my grip right and things like that.
“So it was my grandad and my auntie who really inspired me. My sister Aoife, who is a bit older than me, she plays as well and is very good.”
Daire is the son of Barry and Nichola O’Sullivan while he has sisters Caoimhe (15), Aoife (14) and Eimear (8).
He recalls his ever first badminton tournament in Kilcullen when he was just eight-years-old.
Daire said: “My grandad was my coach and he just sent me on to the tournament because he thought I was ready for it.
“It was an U-13 event and I was only eight but I remember playing against this big tall lad who was obviously way older than me.
“I had reached the semi final at this stage and I remember saying to my grandad, ‘how am I going to beat him?’
“He told me not to worry about the size of him and I managed to beat him 21-5, 21-4. I went on to win the tournament then after that.”
After that, Daire progressed on and was selected for the Leinster squad for specialised training in Dublin.
Daire represented Leinster at U-11 level where he competed against the other provinces.
He said: “When I was 10, I started playing in U-13 Open competitions. There is one of these in each province and then a national event.
“In my first one, I reached a quarter final despite being only ten and the more of these I played, the more ranking points I built up.
“I played in singles, doubles and mixed double events for the year and that was a big advantage to me because when I went into the following year, I was ranked as the number one seed in Ireland.
“Last year, I reached a number of semi finals and won one of the Opens which was a massive achievement for me.”
Those successes led to Daire’s first national call up – another outstanding achievement as he was selected for U-13 despite being a year too young.
His first international appearance in 2024 saw him travel to Sweden for the Youth Games.
As well as grandad Tom, Daire has had a number of other coaches along the way which he says have helped him greatly.
Daire said: “I went to John Amond for a couple of months and he improved me a lot.
“My next coach was Raj A Pal who came over from India in 2022 and he worked with me for two years.
“He trained myself and Aoife for two years and really moved me onto a whole different level.
“Last year, when I first got selected for Ireland, I met the national coach Tony Crowley and we got on really well.
“So from last December until May of this year, he coached me and he changed my technique, my shots and my swing path.
“I previously swung across my body which was causing injuries with my shoulder so he taught me how to swing straight down.”
Daire didn’t play much badminton during the summer but went forward for the national trials once again.
He excelled once again and was chosen to represent Ireland in Sweden at the Youth Games in Malmö.
Daire, his granddad Tom and his mam Nichola, headed north for the competition which took place between November 13 and 15.
Daire’s Ireland team consisted of four boys and four girls and they competed against players from across Europe.
He said: “The first day was a team event and we played against England, Denmark and Sweden in singles, doubles and mixed.
“They are all at a really high standard. They could be training six times a week, twice a day even, and they aren’t playing any other sports.
“Badminton is big in those countries and they take it really seriously.
“The second day was the individual event and I drew a player from France in the first round (Kenji Pourret).
“That was a really tough draw as he beat me and then went all the way to the final where he was beaten by another French player.
“That was unlucky for me but that is how the draw goes. On the Saturday then, in the doubles, we drew a high ranking French team.
“We won the first set but they won the next two and beat us. They also got to the final and lost in three sets to a Swedish team.”
Representing your country is a dream for most people and this is something that Daire has now managed to do twice.
And, despite how incredibly busy he is with all of the various sports, Daire says that it is something that he would very much like to do again.
He said: “I will play until I have to choose. I’ll keep playing it for as long as I can, really.
“I’ll be U-15 next year, even though I won’t turn 13 until July – badminton age grades are different.
“Next year, Ireland will play in the Quadrangular at U-15 like my auntie Louise did.
“If I get picked for that, I think it is in Dublin but it will obviously be hard to make that team.
“I was in Wales in March with the Leinster U-14 team and we played the hosts, Lothian and Ulster – which we won out.
“There is also a Celtic Challenge which is where Leinster play Lothian in Scotland and it would be great to qualify for that.”
As the saying goes, watch this space.
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