In his playing career he was known for his intelligent anticipation, his ability to find open space and his overhead striking of the ball.
In retirement from playing, McCarthy enjoyed success as a trainer, coach, selector and manager at club and inter-county levels.
After winning numerous Cork SHC titles with St Finbarr's, he became a highly sought-after coach at inter-county level.
He first made an impression as a schoolboy dual player at Greenmount National School and in the local street leagues, before joining the St Finbarr's club.
[5] McCarthy was described in the Irish Press as the best player on the St Finbarr's team in their 1967 Cork SHC final defeat by Glen Rovers.
After collecting his third winners' medal, McCarthy again played a key role as a scoring midfielder in the successful annexation of the Munster Club Championship title.
St Finbarr's ended the season with the All-Ireland Club Championship title, with McCarthy playing at midfield in the eight-point defeat of the Fenians.
McCarthy took over the captaincy of the team in 1966 and won a Munster Under-21 Championship title in spite of arriving late for the 5–12 to 2–06 defeat of Limerick in the final.
[9] The subsequent All-Ireland final against Wexford went to two replays, however, McCarthy made history by becoming the first player to captain two All-Ireland-winning teams in a single year.
He lined out in a number of challenge, tournament and league games over the following two years, however, it was 1966 before he made his championship debut, coming on as a substitute in a Munster quarter-final draw with Clare.
McCarthy, who turned 21 a week later, became the youngest All-Ireland-winning Cork captain since Seán Condon in 1944 after accepting the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
[12][13] Cork endured two unsuccessful years after winning the All-Ireland title; however, McCarthy's reputation as a midfielder of merit continued to grow.
A six-month suspension resulted in McCarthy missing Cork's 1971–72 National League title success, however, he was reinstated to the team in time for the 1972 Munster final win iver Clare.
After being caught at the semi-final stage the previous year, Cork's provincial title allowed the team to qualify automatically for the 1976 All-Ireland final.
[19][20] McCarthy, who had been switched from midfield to centre-forward earlier in the season, ended the 1–17 to 3–08 victory with a second successive man of the match award and a fourth All-Ireland winners' medal.
[21][22] The possibility of Cork winning a record-equalling fourth successive All-Ireland meant that McCarthy, who was approaching his 34th birthday, decided to remain with the team for one final season.
Age and the exertions of the three previous campaigns finally caught up with Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and a 2–14 to 1–13 defeat by Galway brought the four-in-a-row dream to an end.
[25][26][27] McCarthy remained in situ as coach and guided the team to a second successive Cork SHC title after a three-point win over Glen Rovers once again.
McCarthy's successful first season with St Finbarr's resulted in him becoming a selector with the Cork senior hurling team in October 1980.
His second season at the helm saw Cork win the Munster Championship after a record 31-point defeat of Waterford, before losing the 1982 All-Ireland final to Kilkenny.
His first season back with the team saw Cork win the Munster Championship title after a surprise victory over reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary.
[31] Cork were also underdogs for the 1990 All-Ireland final against Galway, however, a second-half comeback saw McCarthy's side take the title after a 5–15 to 2–21 victory.
[33] McCarthy's side began the 1992–93 season by claiming the National League title after a three-game saga with Wexford in the final, however, their 1993 Munster Championship campaign ended at an early stage.
He once again brought an immediate level of success to his new position, steering the team to the 1993 Limerick SHC final where they lost to Patrickswell by ten points.
McCarthy remained out of inter-county coaching for several years before returning as manager of the Waterford senior hurling team on 16 November 1996.
In their opening game of the championship a Limerick team in decline beat them by six points and Waterford's campaign ended unceremoniously.
In his second year in charge McCarthy's side made significant progress in the National League and even reached the final.
The match was played in exceedingly bad spirit as Clare's Brian Lohan and Waterford's Michael White were both shown red cards after a melee.
Waterford, however, followed a great performance with a mediocre one and, in a game which was there for the taking, allowed the Cat' to win by just a single point on a score line of 1–11 to 1–10.
[35] His appointment was seen as controversial from the start as Ger Cunningham, a selector under previous manager John Allen and the favourite for the job, was not even approached about the vacant post.