Benjamin O’Connor (born 1949), known as Bernie O'Connor, is an Irish former hurler and manager. As a player he lined out with

Meelin Meelin () is a village in northern County Cork, barony of Duhallow, Ireland. The village is near the border with County Limerick and County Kerry. Meelin is within the Cork North-West (Dáil constituency). At above sea level, Meelin is the ...

, before later serving as a coach and manager, most notably with

Newtownshandrum Newtownshandrum () is a small village in County Cork, Ireland located west of Charleville on the R515 road. The name translates from Irish to mean 'new town of the old ridge'. Historic maps from 1829–1841 and 1897–1913 identify the village ...

Playing career

O'Connor first played for his club,

, in the Duhallow division in 1962, winning an U14 hurling championship. He followed this U16 and minor hurling medals in 1964 and 1966 respectively. He also played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

at juvenile level at the time, before later winning league and championship medals in that code with Rockchapel and Knockskevane. In 1963, O'Connor was drafted onto the Duhallow divisional senior team and made his debut in the Cork SHC as a 14-year-old a year later. After several years of near misses for Meelin, O'Connor won the first of a record-equalling four successive Duhallow JHC titles with his club in 1970. By this stage, O'Connor had already appeared at inter-county level with

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. He was the first player from Duhallow to be called up to the minor team and was at full-forward for their defeat of Wexford in the 1967 All-Ireland final. He also lined out with the under-21 team in the opening round of the 1968 Munster U21HC. O'Connor lined out with the senior team during the 1973-73 National League. He later appeared with London in a defeat by Laois in the 1977 All-Ireland SBHC final. On his return to Ireland, O'Connor won three further successive Duhallow JHC titles in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He completed a divisional double in 1981 by winning a Duhallow JFC medal with Deel Rovers. O'Connor continued to line out with Duhallow until 1984 and won an eighth and final divisional hurling title in 1986. O'Connor transferred to the

club in 1986 and extended his playing career for another decade. He won a North Cork JB2HC medal in 1993 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed the team the following year when the title was retained.

Coaching career

O'Connor's first experience with coaching came with Meelin who, as player-coach, he guided to three successive Duhallow JHC titles from 1980 to 1982. He simultaneously enjoyed success as coach of the

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

team, winning the Cork JHC title in 1981, followed by the Cork IHC title in 1982. O'Connor had been involved as coach of various teams since transferring to Newtownshandrum as a player. A Cork IHC title in 1996 was followed by three successive Cork U21HC from 1998 to 2000. O'Connor was also manager of the club's senior team that won their first ever Cork SHC title in 2000. After stepping away from the team the following year, O'Connor was appointed manager of the

Kerry senior hurling team The Kerry county hurling team represents Kerry in hurling and is governed by Kerry GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the Joe McDonagh Cup and the National Hurling League. Kerry's home ground is A ...

in November 2001. He resigned after one season due to a lack of commitment by the players. O'Connor returned to manage the team to their third Cork SHC title in 2005. A second Munster Club SHC title was later secured before losing to Portuman in the 2006 All-Ireland club final. O'Connor remained involved with the team in various capacities over the following few years before stepping down in 2012.

Personal life

O'Connor's twin sons, Ben and

Jerry O'Connor Jerry O'Connor (born 25 January 1979) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Cork senior team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. O'Connor made his first appearance for the team during the 2000 c ...

won five All-Ireland SHC medals between them between 1999 and 2005.

Honours

Player

;Meelin * Duhallow Junior A Hurling Championship: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986 ;Deel Rovers * North Cork Junior A Football Championship: 1981 ;Cork * All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship:

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

* Munster Minor Hurling Championship:

Management

;Meelin * Duhallow Junior A Hurling Championship: 1980, 1981, 1982 ;Milford * Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship:

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

* Cork Junior Hurling Championship:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

* North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship: 1981 ;Newtownshandrum * Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

* Cork Senior Hurling Championship:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

* Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship:

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship Cork Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Evening Echo'' Cork County Premier Under-21 A Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gael ...

: 1998, 1999, 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Bernie 1949 births Living people Meelin hurlers Rockchapel Gaelic footballers Newtownshandrum hurlers Duhallow hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers London inter-county hurlers Hurling goalkeepers Hurling managers