| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Ailéon Ó Conghaile | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-forward | ||
| Born | (2001-07-19)19 July 2001 (age 24) Blackrock,Cork,Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1[1] in (1.85 m) | ||
| Occupation | Student | ||
| Club* | |||
| Years | Club | Apps (scores) | |
2019–present | Blackrock | 23 (16–155) | |
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 1 | ||
| College | |||
| Years | College | ||
2020–present | MTU Cork | ||
| College titles | |||
| Fitzgibbon titles | 0 | ||
| Inter-county** | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2020–present | Cork | 23 (12-29) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 1 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
| * club appearances and scores correct as of 21:08, 8 October 2024. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of match played 20 July 2025. | |||
Alan Connolly (born 19 July 2001) is an Irishhurler. At club level he plays withBlackrock and at inter-county level with theCork senior hurling team. He usually lines out at full-forward.
Born and raised inBlackrock, Connolly first played hurling to a high standard as a student atSt Francis College inRochestown. He progressed through the various age grades before joining the school's senior team. Connolly was top scorer with 0-07 when St Francis College beat Hamilton High School by 1-13 to 0-14 to claim the Munster PPS SBHC title.[2] He was aDr O'Callaghan Cup runner-up in February 2020 after a 3-24 to 1-15 defeat byMidleton CBS, in what was his last game for Rochestown College.[3] Connolly later studied atMunster Technological University Cork and was added to theirFitzgibbon Cup panel in 2023.[4]
Connolly began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with theBlackrock club, before progressing to the club'ssenior team. He made hischampionship debut in a 1–25 to 2–16 defeat byNewtownshandrum in August 2019.[5] Connolly won aCork SHC medal in October 2020 after top-scoring with 0-13 in the 4-26 to 4-18 extra-time defeat ofGlen Rovers in thefinal.[6] He also claimed theman of the match award and was the championship'stop scorer with 5-52.
Connolly first played forCork as a member of theminor team during their unsuccessfulMunster MHC campaign in 2018.[7][8] After a year with no inter-county activity, he joined Cork'sunder-20 team in 2020. Success in this grade was immediate with Connolly claimingMunster andAll-Ireland U20HC medals in 2020 after respective defeats ofTipperary andDublin.[9][10]
Connolly had one more year of under-20 hurling, however, his inclusion on thesenior team in 2021, after being an unused substitute the previous year, made him ineligible for the grade.[11][12] He made his senior debut in May 2021 when he scored two goals after coming on as a substitute forShane Barrett in a 5–22 to 1–27National Hurling League defeat ofWaterford.[13] Connolly was part of the matchday panel when Cork suffered a 3-32 to 1-22 defeat byLimerick in the2021 All-Ireland final.[14]
Connolly was at full-forward when Cork lost the2022 National League final toWaterford.[15] He missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury, before a hamstring injury further delayed his return.[16]
Connolly's uncles,Tom andJim Cashman, won sixAll-Ireland SHC medals between them with Cork between 1977 and 1990. His grandfather,Mick Cashman, was a substitute on Cork's 1952–1954 three-in-a-row team, while his granduncle,Jimmy Brohan, also lined out with that team.[17]
| Team | Year | Cork PSHC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | ||
| Blackrock | 2019 | 1 | 0-01 |
| 2020 | 6 | 5-52 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 5-31 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 1-39 | |
| 2023 | 0 | 0-00 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 5-32 | |
| 2025 | 4 | 1-31 | |
| Career total | 27 | 17-186 | |
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Cork | 2020 | Division 1A | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 |
| 2021 | 5 | 4-02 | 1 | 0-00 | 2 | 0-02 | 8 | 4-04 | ||
| 2022 | 5 | 1-05 | 3 | 4-02 | 2 | 0-02 | 10 | 5-09 | ||
| 2023 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | — | 0 | 0-00 | |||
| 2024 | 3 | 6-04 | 4 | 4-09 | 4 | 0-04 | 11 | 10-17 | ||
| 2025 | 3 | 1-03 | 5 | 1-07 | 2 | 3-03 | 10 | 5-13 | ||
| Total | 16 | 12-14 | 13 | 9-18 | 10 | 3-11 | 39 | 24-43 | ||