Aisake Faga Ó hAilpín (born 24 August 1985) is a Fijian-Irish sportsperson. He grew up in Cork and played hurling and Gaelic football with Na Piarsaigh. Ó hAilpín played Australian rules football with the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

between 2005 and 2008. Following this, he spent two seasons playing hurling at inter-county level with the Cork senior panel before signing a contract with Australian rules club, Maribyrnong Park Football Club.

Playing career

Na Piarsaigh

Ó hAilpín played club hurling and Gaelic football with the Na Piarsaigh club on the north side of Cork city. He enjoyed little success in the minor or under-21 grades. By 2004 Ó hAilpín had joined the Na Piarsaigh senior hurling team. That year the club qualified for the final of the county senior championship for the first time in almost a decade. East Cork stalwarts

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Ca ...

provided the opposition on that occasion. The first half was a close affair which saw Cloyne take a one-point lead at the interval. Na Piarsaigh, however, produced an exceptional second-half display and secured a 0–17 to 0–10 victory, with Ó hAilpín finishing as the game's top scorer with five points. It was his first, and to date his only, county championship winners' medal.

Carlton

Following Na Piarsaigh's county championship triumph in late 2004, Ó hAilpín decided to travel to Australia where he took up Australian rules football. He joined the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

where he played alongside his brother Setanta. Ó hAilpín was placed on the Carlton Football Club's

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unless they are e ...

for the 2005 AFL season, however, his development was slow. He spent 2005 in the reserves at Carlton's , the

Northern Bullants The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City Ov ...

, and was in and out of the Bullants' senior team in 2006. Ó hAilpín began his third year again on the rookie list in 2007, which had to be his final rookie-listed season by AFL rules, playing exclusively in the Bullants' seniors and predominantly in the ruck. He was believed to be close to elevation and selection, with Carlton coach

Denis Pagan Denis Leslie Pagan (born 24 September 1947) is a former Australian rules football coach and player in the VFL/AFL. Pagan is a dual AFL premiership coach, and he also won the prestigious Victoria derby in 2020 as a trainer and owner of the horse ...

confirming this in a post-match press conference in June, but shortly afterwards Ó hAilpín sustained a season-ending groin injury. Carlton announced during the 2007 season that they would elevate Ó hAilpín to the senior list for 2008 and later made it official during the post season. After promising so much potential, Ó hAilpín failed to register a senior game and was delisted at the end of the 2008 season and left Australia.

Cork senior

In February 2009, having returned to Ireland, Ó hAilpín played in several challenge matches for the Cork football and hurling teams. He eventually spent the year with the hurling panel. Ó hAilpín started and was selected as man of the match in Cork's surprise first-round championship win over Tipperary. However, he failed to impress in the remainder of the season and announced a return to Australian rules at the end of 2010.

Suburban Australian rules football

Ó hAilpín returned to Melbourne in 2011, and has played with a variety of suburban and country teams since. In 2011, he played for Maribyrnong Park in the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition ...

, alongside former Carlton teammate Luke Livingston. In 2012, he moved to the Montmorency in the Northern Football League. In 2013, he played for Hillside in the EDFL. Since 2014, he has played for

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

in the

Ovens & Murray Football League The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League (O&MFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition containing ten clubs based in north-eastern Victoria, the southern Riverina region of New South Wales and the Ovens and Murray ar ...

, alongside brother Setanta.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OHailpin, Aisake 1985 births Living people Australian Gaelic footballers Australian hurlers Cork inter-county Gaelic footballers Cork inter-county hurlers Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish people of Fijian descent Irish players of Australian rules football Irish people of Rotuman descent Munster inter-provincial hurlers Na Piarsaigh Gaelic footballers

Ais AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

Na Piarsaigh hurlers Preston Football Club (VFA) players Albury Football Club players Australian emigrants to Ireland Australian people of Rotuman descent Swimmers from Sydney Australian rules footballers from Sydney 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people People educated at North Monastery