| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Éamonn Ó Conchúir | ||
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Right corner-back | ||
| Born | (1964-10-02)2 October 1964 (age 61) Glenmore,County Kilkenny, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Occupation | Foundry worker | ||
| Club | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| Glenmore | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Kilkenny titles | 5 | ||
| Leinster titles | 2 | ||
| All-Ireland Titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1991–1998 | Kilkenny | 23 (0-00) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Leinster titles | 3 | ||
| All-Irelands | 2 | ||
| NHL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 1 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 22:07, 4 May 2020. | |||
Edward O’Connor (born 2 October 1964) is an Irishhurling manager and former player who played forKilkenny Senior Championship clubGlenmore. He played for theKilkenny senior hurling team for eight seasons, during which time he usually lined out as a right corner-back.
O'Connor began his hurling career at club level with Glenmore. He broke onto the club's top adult team, having earlier lined out for the club's junior team, and enjoyed his greatest success when was at right corner-back on Glenmore'sAll-Ireland Club Championship-winning team in1991. O'Connor's club career also saw him claim twoLeinster Club Championship titles and fiveKilkenny Senior Championship titles.
At inter-county level, O'Connor was part of the successful Kilkenny minor team that won theAll-Ireland Minor Championship in1981 before later winning anAll-Ireland Under-21 Championship with the under-21 team in1984. He joined the Kilkenny senior team in1991. From his debut, O'Connor was ever-present as a defender and made 23 Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last game in1998. During that time he was part of twoAll-Ireland Championship-winning teams – in1992 and as captain of the team in1993. O'Connor also secured three successiveLeinster Championship medals and aNational Hurling League medal. He was joined on the Kilkenny senior team by his brother,Willie O'Connor.
O'Connor joined theGlenmore club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels before eventually joining the club's top adult team in theKilkenny Senior Championship.
On 29 September 1985, O'Connor was selected at left corner-back for his firstfinal appearance. He ended the game on the losing side after Glenmore suffered a 4–18 to 3–13 defeat byBallyhale Shamrocks.
O'Connor lined out in a secondfinal on 1 November 1987 when Glenmore faced Ballyhale Shamrocks for the second time in three championship seasons. He ended the game with his firstwinners' medal after the 4–10 to 3–09 victory.[1]
For the third time in five seasons, Glenmore and Ballyhale Shamrocks clashed in thefinal of the Kilkenny Senior Championship when they faced each other on 1 October 1989. O'Connor lined out in his customary position of left corner-back but ended the game on the losing side for the second time in his career after the 2–11 to 1–13 defeat.
On 7 October 1990, O'Connor lined out in the fourthfinal of his career when Glenmore facedClara. Playing at right corner-back, he claimed a second winners' medal after the 3–15 to 2–06 victory. On 25 November 1990, O'Connor claimed his firstLeinster Club Championship medal after Glenmore's 0–15 to 1–09 victory overCamross. The subsequentAll-Ireland final on 17 March 1991 saw Glenmore facedPatrickswell atCroke Park. O'Connor was selected at right corner back and claimed anAll-Ireland medal after the 1–13 to 0–12 victory.[2]
For the fifth time in his career, O'Connor lined out in thecounty final on 11 October 1992 when Glenmore qualified to playTullaroan. Lining out at centre-back, he ended the game with a third championship winners' medal following the 1–14 to 2–06 victory.
On 15 October 1995, O'Connor was selected at full-back when he lined out in a sixthcounty final of his career. He claimed a fourth winners' medal after the 3–19 to 1–14 victory overFenians. On 26 November 1995, O'Connor collected a second Leinster Club Championship medal after Glenmore's 2–13 to 2–10 defeat ofOulart-the Ballagh in theLeinster final.
O'Connor lined out in the seventh and finalcounty final on 24 October 1999 when Glenmore facedGraigue-Ballycallan. Lining out at full-back, he claimed a fifth winners' medal after the 1–14 to 2–08 victory.[3]
O'Connor first lined out for Kilkenny as a 16-year-old when he was selected for the minor team in advance of the1981 Leinster Championship. He won his firstLeinster Minor Championship medal, albeit as a non-playing substitute, on 12 July 1981 after Kilkenny's 3–10 to 3–09 defeat ofWexford in thefinal. On 6 September 1981, O'Connor was once again listed amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny facedGalway in theAll-Ireland final. He remained on the bench for the entire game but collected awinners' medal after the 1–20 to 3–09 victory.
O'Connor was once again eligible for the Kilkenny minor team that contested the1982 Leinster Championship. He claimed a second Leinster Minor Championship medal as a non-playing substitute on 25 July 1982 after Kilkenny's 3–16 to 3–04 victory overOffaly in thefinal.
O'Connor was added to the Kilkenny under-21 team prior to the start of the1984 Leinster Championship. He claimed his firstLeinster Under-21 Championship medal on 15 July 1984 after lining out at full-back in Kilkenny's 0–18 to 1–10 defeat of Wexford in thefinal. On 26 August 1984, O'Connor was once again selected at full-back when Kilkenny qualified to playTipperary in theAll-Ireland final. He ended the game with awinners' medal following a 1–12 to 0–11 victory.
On 21 July 1985, O'Connor claimed a second successive Leinster Under-21 Championship medal after once again lining out at full-back in the 4–18 to 1–04 defeat of Wexford in thefinal. For the second successive year, Kilkenny faced Tipperary in theAll-Ireland final on 25 August 1985, with O'Connor again playing at full-back. He ended the game, which was his last in the under-21 grade, on the losing side after a 1–10 to 2–06 defeat.
Glenmore's run of success to the1991 All-Ireland Club Championship title saw O'Connor being drafted onto the Kilkenny senior team for the latter stages of the19901-91 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 30 June 1991 when he was introduced as a 15th-minute substitute forLiam Walsh in a 2–09 to 0–13 defeat of Wexford in theLeinster Championship. On 21 July 1991, O'Connor broke onto the starting fifteen when he was selected at right corner-back for Kilkenny'sLeinster final-meeting withDublin. He ended the game with his firstwinners' medal after the 1–13 to 1–11 victory.[4] On 1 September 1991, O'Connor was switched to left wing-back for theAll-Ireland final against Tipperary. He ended the game on the losing side after the 1–15 to 0–16 defeat.[5]
On 5 July 1992, O'Connor won a second successive Leinster Championship medal after lining out at right corner-back in the 3–16 to 2–09 victory over Wexford in thefinal. He retained his position on the starting fifteen for theAll-Ireland final againstCork on 6 September 1992. O'Connor ended the game with his firstAll-Ireland medal after the 3–10 to 1–12 victory.[6]
In October 1992, O'Connor was nominated by his club for thecaptaincy of the Kilkenny senior team. He later claimed a third successive Leinster Championship medal on 18 July 1993 after captaining the team from right corner-back to a 2–12 to 0–11 defeat of Wexford in thefinal replay. On 5 September 1993, O'Connor captained Kilkenny to a third successiveAll-Ireland final appearance with Galway providing the opposition. He ended the game with a second All-Ireland winners' medal after the 2–17 to 1–15 victory.[7] In accepting theLiam MacCarthy Cup, O'Connor caused something of a minor controversy when he used his speech to suggest that it was time for theGAA to formally fund a holiday for the All-Ireland finalists.[8] He ended the year by winning his onlyAll-Star Award.
On 7 May 1995, O'Connor won aNational Hurling League medal when he lined out at right corner-back in Kilkenny's 2–12 to 0–09 defeat ofClare in thefinal.[9] He was again at right corner-back when Kilkenny suffered a 2–16 to 2–05 defeat byOffaly in theLeinster final on 16 July 1995.
On 13 July 1997, O'Connor made his fifth and finalLeinster final appearance when he lined out at right corner-back against Wexford on 13 July 1997. He ended the game on the losing side after being substituted in the 2–14 to 1–11 defeat. O'Connor retired from inter-county hurling at the end of the season.
| Team | Year | Leinster | All-Ireland | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | ||
| Kilkenny | 1991 | 2 | 0–00 | 2 | 0–00 | 4 | 0–00 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0–00 | 2 | 0–00 | 4 | 0–00 | |
| 1993 | 4 | 0–00 | 2 | 0–00 | 6 | 0–00 | |
| 1994 | 2 | 0–00 | 0 | 0–00 | 2 | 0–00 | |
| 1995 | 3 | 0–00 | 0 | 0–00 | 3 | 0–00 | |
| 1996 | 0 | 0–00 | 0 | 0–00 | 0 | 0–00 | |
| 1997 | 2 | 0–00 | 2 | 0–00 | 4 | 0–00 | |
| Total | 15 | 0-00 | 8 | 0-00 | 23 | 0-00 | |