Jack told his team he was ‘heading to work’ – but his big bro called his bluff from the crowd
19:24, 10 Nov 2025Updated 19:33, 10 Nov 2025
Jack Kavanagh (right) and his big brother Tim (left) with the premier intermediate football cup won by Kilshannig GAA last year
With the current state of driving test waiting lists in Cork, learners don’t have much of a say on when their test is. They can only make sure their skills are up to scratch, so when the big day comes, they don’t have to reapply and face another lengthy queue.
And that’s exactly what was running through North Cork teen Jack Kavanagh’s mind when he made the tough call to leave his first-ever senior hurling match to make his driving lesson on time. The 18-year-old was playing full-back, and didn’t think it would cause too much fuss. But when the reason for his departure was shared by his club in a live match update on social media, it went absolutely viral – racking up over 1.2m views and 30k likes.
The post on X got hundreds of comments, ranging from genuine well-wishes to people having a bit of a laugh. Some of the many, many jokes included: “Hope he signalled left before exiting the field of play”, “I’m the first in my bloodline to read this”, and “Some heroes defend. Some heroes parallel park.” Jack himself has been tagged in it countless times, and is already getting plenty of slagging from his clubmates and friends at Davis College secondary school in Mallow. But he admits himself: “It is pretty funny.”
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The kicker is that the post wouldn’t exist at all if it wasn’t for Jack’s brother Tim, who attended the match to support his little brother. When he heard his bro telling a white lie to his teammates to avoid any slagging – saying he ‘had to leave the game for work’ – Tim called him out straight away, shouting: “Work? It’s only a driving lesson.”
But in Jack’s defence, the scheduling clash wasn’t fully his fault. His game at Clyda Rovers with Kilshannig GAA in round one of the Junior C Hurling Championship was scheduled to wrap up at around 3.40pm on Saturday. This would’ve left him with just enough time to make his lesson in Mallow, if he left right away. Unfortunately for Jack however, their opponents from Milford weren’t going down without a fight, and both sides were level 1-11 apiece at the end of the second half.
Knowing he hadn’t time for at least a 20-minute delay for extra time, he made the reluctant decision to leave.
He told Cork Beo: “I’ve done my twelve lessons and my test is just weeks away now, so I want to keep up to date. I didn’t even want people to know I was leaving for a driving lesson – now over a million people know about it like. It is pretty funny, but yeah, I was fairly annoyed with my brother at the time! We had training the following day after it and I was hearing about it from the Junior A team as well.”
Halftime at the Kilshannig GAA Vs Milford GAA Junior C Hurling Championship match
Club chairman John Riordan was also in attendance at the match and was quick to come to Jack’s defence – telling us he’s a “lovely lad” who played “very well” on the day.
He said: “Jack’s been with us for many years now. It was very funny. I didn’t fully get it until I saw it later on Twitter and there was all the different comments. Isn’t it so great to be able to get a laugh out of something like this? The boys gave him an awful slagging at the time definitely. If he ever needs to nip out of training or something in the future, there’s no doubt he’ll be hearing something like ‘Oh, off to another driving lesson Jack?’
Thankfully, this story has a happy ending for all involved. Jack was able to make it to his lesson on time – just about – and the Kilshannig squad rallied to secure a 1-20 to 1-15 win over Milford after scoring an impressive five points in a row. Of course, the real challenges – like the rest of the Championship matches and Jack’s driving test – still lie ahead. We wish them the best of luck in both!
If the young man does need to retake his test however, the good news is that the Cork waiting list hopefully won’t be so long the next time. RSA are currently trying to reduce exam waiting times to a 10-week average. This would be a major upgrade for Cork alone, where learners have faced 6-month or more queues in the past. As part of this campaign, a new driving test centre is set to open in Mitchelstown before the end of the year.
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