Rory O'Connor (hurler)

Rory O'Connor (born 1998) is an Irish hurler who plays for Wexford Senior Championship club St Martin's and at inter-county level with the Wexford senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a full-forward.

Rory O'Connor
Personal information
Irish name Ruairí Ó Conchúir
Sport Hurling
Position Full-forward
Born 1998
Piercestown, County Wexford, Ireland
Occupation Student
Club(s)
Years Club
 St Martin's
Club titles
Wexford titles 1
Colleges(s)
Years College Apps (scores)
2017-present
 DCU Dóchas Éireann 3 (0-05)
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2017-present
 Wexford 13 (2-62)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles 1
All-Irelands 0
NHL 0
All Stars 0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 15:45, 3 January 2021.

Early life

Born in Piercestown, County Wexford, O'Connor is the son of John O'Connor and nephew of George O'Connor, both of whom won All-Ireland medals with Wexford in 1996. His brothers, Harry and Jack O'Connor, have also played for Wexford at various levels.[1]

Playing career

St Peter's College

O'Connor first came to prominence as a hurler and Gaelic footballer with St Peter's College in Wexford. He played in every grade of hurling and Gaelic football before eventually joining the college's senior teams.

On 27 January 2017, O'Connor scored a point from midfield when St Peter's College defeated Moate Community School to win the Leinster Championship.[2] He retained his position at midfield when St Peter's College faced St Brendan's College from Killarney in the All-Ireland final on 1 April 2017. O'Connor scored a point from play in the 0-18 to 0-10 defeat.[3]

DCU Dóchas Éireann

As a student at Dublin City University, O'Connor immediately became involved in hurling and joined the college's freshers' hurling team in his first year. On 21 March 2018, he was selected at midfield but spent much of the game at left corner-forward when Dublin City University faced the University of Limerick in the freshers' final. O'Connor scored two points from play and ended the game with a winners' medal following the 1-20 to 2-15 victory.[4]

St Martin's

O'Connor joined the St Martin's club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels as a dual player. He experienced much success in the minor, under-20 and under-21 grades and won eight championship medals across both codes between 2014 and 2018.

On 18 October 2015, O'Connor lined out at right wing-forward when St Martin's faced St James' in the Wexford Football Championship final. He was substituted in the 55th minute and ended the game on the losing side following an 0-11 to 1-06 defeat.[5]

O'Connor lined out in his first Wexford Hurling Championship final on 22 October 2017. He scored 0-05 from full-forward and ended the game with a winners' medal following the 2-16 to 1-09 defeat of Oulart-the Ballagh.[6] On 29 October 2017, St Martin's had the chance to achieve the double when they faced Starlights in the Wexford Football Championship final. O'Connor scored a point from left wing-forward in the 0-17 to 1-08 defeat.[7]

Minor and under-21

O'Connor first lined out for Wexford as a member of the minor team during the 2015 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 25 April when he came on as a substitute for Damien Reck in a 1-18 to 1-17 defeat by Kilkenny.[8]

O'Connor was eligible for the minor grade again during the 2016 Leinster Championship. He lined out at left corner-forward in the Leinster final on 8 July 2016. O'Connor scored 0-05 in the 2-12 to 0-12 defeat by Dublin.[9] He ended the championship as top scorer with 3-33.

O'Connor was drafted onto the Wexford under-21 team in advance of the 2017 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance in that grade on 31 May 2017 when he lined out at centre-forward in Wexford's 4-21 to 2-09 defeat of Offaly.[10] On 5 July 2017, O'Connor scored two points from centre-forward when Wexford suffered a 0-30 to 1-15 defeat by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.[11]

O'Connor was eligible for the under-21 grade for a second and final season in 2018. He lined out in a second successive Leinster final on 4 July. O'Connor scored seven points from centre-forward in a 4-21 to 2-26 extra-time defeat by Galway.[12] He ended the season by being named in the centre-forward position on the Team of the Year.[13]

Senior

O'Connor was added to the Wexford senior team during the 2017 National League but was an unused substitute throughout the campaign. On 2 July 2017, he was an unused substitute when Wexford suffered a 0-29 to 1-17 defeat by Galway in the Leinster final.[14] O'Connor made his first appearance for the Wexford senior team on 23 July 2017 when he lined out at midfield in a 1-23 to 1-19 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by Waterford.[15]

Wexford reached a second Leinster final in three years on 30 June 2019. O'Connor was selected at full-forward but spent much of the game at left wing-forward. He scored four points from play and collected a winners' medal following the 1-23 to 0-23 defeat of Kilkenny.[16]

Career statistics
As of 14 November 2020
Team Year National League Leinster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Wexford 2017 Division 1B 00-0000-0010-0210-02
2018 Division 1A 50-3040-3610-10100-76
2019 40-1152-0900-0092-20
2020 Division 1B 51-1310-0310-0271-18
Career total 141-54102-4830-14273-116

Honours
St Peter's College
DCU Dóchas Éireann
  • All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling Championship (1): 2018
St Martin's
  • Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2017
  • Wexford Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 2016, 2017
  • Wexford Under-20 Hurling Championship (1): 2018
  • Wexford Minor Hurling Championship (3): 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Wexford Minor Football Championship (2): 2015, 2016
Wexford

References
  1. Harrington, John (13 November 2017). "Rory O'Connor is living up to great expectations". GAA website. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  2. "Schools: St Peter's end 25-year wait for Leinster SF 'A' honours". Hogan Stand. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  3. "St Brendan's shine to boost Kerry's Hogan record". Irish Independent. 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  4. O'Brien, Kevin (21 March 2018). "Wexford's Damien Reck shines as DCU retain All-Ireland Freshers hurling title against UL". The 42. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. "St James' make history". Irish Independent. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  6. Furlong, Brendan (23 October 2017). "St Martin's upset the formbook in Wexford decider". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  7. "Wexford SFC final: St. Martin's denied double by Starlights". Hogan Stand. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  8. Furlong, Brendan (26 April 2015). "Kilkenny beat Wexford by a single point". Wexford People. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  9. "Dublin are Leinster Minor Hurling Champions". GAA website. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  10. "Leinster U21HC: Model maul Faithfuls". Hogan Stand. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  11. O'Brien, Kevin (5 July 2017). "Kilkenny land 30 points en route to completing U21 and minor Leinster hurling double". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  12. Fallon, John (4 July 2018). "Sean Bleahene claims Leinster title as Galway see off Wexford in dramatic extra time finish". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  13. "Cork, Tipperary and Galway lead the way as U21 Team of the Year nominees released". Hogan Stand. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  14. O'Brien, Kevin (2 July 2017). "Conor Cooney masterclass leads Galway past Wexford to their first Leinster title since 2012". The 42. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  15. "Waterford through to semi-finals after seeing off Wexford". RTÉ Sport. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  16. O'Brien, Kevin (30 June 2019). "Wexford land first Leinster title in 15 years with thrilling victory over Kilkenny". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
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