Derek Kavanagh (born 29 October 1980 in Tony Ville, High Street, Cork, Ireland) is an Irish sportsperson.
He plays Gaelic football with his local club Nemo Rangers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 2003 until 2010.
Kavanagh's passion for soccer changed when his older brother Joe joined the Cork minor football team.
Three Kavanagh brothers (Joe, Larry, Derek) would subsequently play together with the famous Nemo Rangers club on the south side of the city.
The shadowy group have always declined public comment and a full membership list has always eluded the authorities though local folklore suggests a rite of passage involved each member scrawling his name into the Capwell Road street sign (usually with Tipex or a nail).
Kavanagh later joined the Nemo under-21 football team, winning back-to-back county championship winners’ medals in 2001 and 2002.
Nemo looked to be in the driving seat, however, a second-half comeback, inspired by Kieran McDonald, saw the momentum switch to the Mayo side.
A late Colin Corkery goal narrowed the deficit to one point, however, Nemo were eventually and narrowly defeated by 0–16 to 1-12.
The championship decider was switched to Semple Stadium because of the reconstruction of Croke Park, however, a change of venue did not suit Nemo.
For the third successive year Kavanagh subsequently lined out in the All-Ireland club final, however, Nemo faced the prospect of becoming three-in-a-row losers.
Nemo never really looked troubled and a 1–10 to 1–7 score line gave Kavanagh a fourth Munster club winners' medal.
Kavanagh's side fought back from a six-point deficit, however, they still lost out by the narrowest of margins on a score line of 1–11 to 0-13.
Kavanagh first came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor football team in the late nineties.
It was an unhappy period as the team hit rock bottom in Kavanagh's debut season, culminating in an embarrassing defeat by Roscommon.
In 2006 Kavanagh was appointed captain of the Cork team as 'the Rebels' began to emerge from the shadow of their greatest rivals Kerry.
Both sides met again in the All-Ireland semi-final, however, after a thrilling draw and a replay Kerry were the team that advanced to the championship decider.
Paul Kerrigan got his sole point of the match to put 'the Rebels' ahead for the first time in fifty minutes as Kavanagh entered the game to make a midfield cameo.