Daire O'Connor is an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

club Ayr United.

Club career

UCD

A native of Arklow,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, O'Connor began playing football with his local side Arklow Town and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

club Home Farm before joining the Under 19 side of UCD in August 2014. He made his first team debut for the club on 7 March 2015, the opening day of the

2015 League of Ireland First Division The 2015 League of Ireland First Division season was the 31st season of the League of Ireland First Division. The First Division was contested by eight teams. Wexford Youths won the title and Finn Harps were also promoted after winning a play o ...

season, replacing Dylan Watts in the 89th minute of a 3–0 win over Cobh Ramblers at St Colman's Park. In February 2018, he scored a 93rd minute winner in the final of the

Collingwood Cup The Collingwood Cup is an association football cup competition featuring university teams from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is organised by the Irish Universities Football Union, and is the oldest surviving all Ireland associ ...

against QUB. He was part of the side that won the

2018 League of Ireland First Division The 2018 League of Ireland First Division season was the 34th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 23 February 2018 and concluded on 22 September 2018. Contrary to the previous editions, this tournament had 10 team ...

title, which was confirmed with a 1–1 draw against

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

at the UCD Bowl on 14 September 2018. O'Connor was voted by his fellow League of Ireland First Division players into the PFAI First Division Team of the Year for

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. He made a total of 86 appearances in all competitions during his 4 seasons at the club, scoring 12 goals. March 2019 saw O'Connor named Colleges and Universities Player of the Year at the

FAI International Football Awards The FAI International Football Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best Republic of Ireland international footballers of the year. Senior International awards Senior International Player of the Year Senior Women's International P ...

for his performances for

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

side.

Cork City

Deaspite leaving UCD at the end of the season, O'Connor still moved up to the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

signing for Cork City ahead of the 2019 season. He made his Premier Division debut in the opening game of the season away to

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

as his side lost 1–0 at Richmond Park but he did enough to impress the watching

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

manager Mick McCarthy who said 'Daire O'Connor, he was the one player who stood out for me, he played very very well I thought. Whether it was on the right or on the left, he went and played in behind the striker. He was the one that stood out.' On 6 October 2020, it was announced that he had left the club, just 5 games before the end of the season after being told he was surplus to requirements by manager Neale Fenn. In the days the announcement, O'Connor revealed that he was 'baffled' at being told he was no longer required at the club following no falling out with his manager, stating 'I didn't expect to go in Monday morning to training and not go back again.' He scored 5 goals in 47 appearances over his 2 seasons at the club.

Cliftonville

O'Connor signed for

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

side Cliftonville on 21 October 2020 until the end of the season. In March 2021, Cliftonville manager Paddy McLaughlin called O'Connor 'unplayable' and backed him for a big future in the game. He scored 8 goals in 39 games for the club over the season.

Ayr United

On 28 July 2021, O'Connor signed for

side Ayr United. He made his debut for the club on 2 August 2021 in a 2–0 loss to

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

at Rugby Park. O'Connor scored his first goal for the club on 14 September 2021, opening the scoring in a 3–0

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Rangers B A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;UCD *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

Individual

* PFAI First Division Team of the Year:

* FAI Colleges and Universities Player of the Year:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Daire Living people 1997 births Association football midfielders Association footballers from County Wicklow Republic of Ireland association footballers University College Dublin A.F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Cliftonville F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Scottish Professional Football League players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers