At club level he played with O'Donovan Rossa and divisional side Carbery and was also a member of the Cork senior football team.
McCarthy progressed through the various underage grades before winning a South West JAFC title in his first year at adult level in 1982.
After seven years in the senior grade, McCarthy was team captain when O'Donovan Rossa beat Nemo Rangers by five points to win the 1992 Cork SFC final.
[6] McCarthy was top scorer for the 1994 Cork SFC campaign which eventually ended with O'Donovan Rossa being beaten by Castlehaven in the final.
[14][15][16] McCarthy lost his place on the starting fifteen the following year, but won a National League title and a second consecutive Munster SFC medal as a non-playing substitute.
[22] McCarthy was returning from a hare coursing meeting in Clonmel when he was involved in a road traffic accident at the then-unfinished Dunkettle Interchange in Cork on 4 February 1998.