Tadhg O'Connor (born 1948) is an Irish former hurling manager and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a right wing-back for the

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

senior team. Born in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

, O'Connor was introduced to hurling in his youth. He developed his skills at Roscrea CBS while simultaneously becoming involved at underage levels with the

club. An

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal winner with the Roscrea senior team, O'Connor also won two

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

medals and six

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

medals. O'Connor made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Tipperary minor team. After an unsuccessful time in this grade, he later won an

medal with the under-21 team. O'Connor joined the extended Tipperary senior panel during the 1968 championship. He went on to play a key role for Tipperary in the half-back line, and won one

medal, one

medal and one

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

medal. O'Connor captained the team to All-Ireland victory in 1971. As a member of the

inter-provincial team, O'Connor won two

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medals. Throughout his inter-county career he made 23 championship appearances. O'Connor retired from inter-county hurling following the conclusion of the 1982 championship. He returned as a member of the Tipperary Masters team in 1992 and won two further All-Ireland medals. O'Connor has been involved in team management and coaching in all grades at club level with Roscrea. He served as manager of the Tipperary under-21 team for an unsuccessful three-year spell between 1986 and 1988.

Playing career

Club

In 1968 O'Connor was a key member of the Roscrea senior team that made a long overdue breakthrough and claimed the

for the very first time. The 2-13 to 3-4 defeat of

Thurles Sarsfields Thurles Sarsfields is a Tipperary GAA club which is located in County Tipperary, Ireland. Both hurling and Gaelic football are played in the "Mid-Tipperary" divisional competitions. The club is centred in the town of Thurles at Semple Stadium. T ...

gave O'Connor a first winners' medal in the competition. Roscrea retained the title in 1969, with O'Connor winning a second championship medal following a 4-13 to 0-5 defeat of

Carrick Davins Carrick is an Anglicised version of ''creag/carraig'', Gaelic for "rock", and may refer to: People *Carrick (surname) * Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick (died 1250), Scottish Mormaer and first Earl of Carrick * Marjorie of Carrick (1256–1292), moth ...

. He later collected a

medal following a 3-6 to 1-9 defeat of

Glen Rovers Glen Rovers is a Cork-based Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland. The club was founded in 1916 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. They were Cork senior hurling champions in 2015 and 2016, havin ...

of Cork. In 1970 Roscrea secured a third successive championship. The 3-11 to 2-12 defeat of Thurles Sarsfields gave O'Connor a third successive championship medal. Roscrea subsequently retained their provincial crown. The 4-11 to 1-6 defeat of

Clarecastle Clarecastle (''An Clár'' or ) is a village just south of Ennis in County Clare, Ireland. From 2008 to 2016 the village saw a significant population increase due to its proximity to Ennis, Shannon, and Limerick. Name The town is named after t ...

gave O'Connor a second successive Munster medal. On 19 December 1971 Roscrea faced St. Rynagh's of Offaly in the inaugural All-Ireland final. The Tipperary champions held the upper hand and held a 2–4 to 0–1 interval lead. An early goal by

Barney Moylan Barney Moylan (born 1943) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Offaly senior hurling team. Moylan made his first appearance for the team during the 1965 championship and was a regular member of the starting fi ...

held out prospects of a St. Rynagh's comeback early in the second half, however, a solo-run goal by

Joe Tynan Joe Tynan (born 1950) is an Irish former hurling, hurler. At club level he played with Roscrea GAA, Roscrea and was also a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team. Career Tynan first played hurling at juvenile and underage levels with the ...

produced a goal that put Roscrea back in command and they eventually secured a 4-5 to 2-5 victory. The win gave O'Connor an

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county club hurlin ...

medal. Four-in-a-row proved beyond Roscrea, however, the team bounced back in 1972. A 5-8 to 3-6 defeat of Borris-Ileigh gave O'Connor a fourth championship medal. Roscrea retained the championship title once again in 1973. A 3-14 to 3-8 defeat of Kilruane McDonaghs secured a fifth winners' medal for O'Connor. After a period of decline, including the loss of two finals, Roscrea reached the decider again in 1980. A narrow 3-11 to 2-13 defeat of Kilruane McDonaghs gave O'Connor his sixth championship medal.

Inter-county

O'Connor first played for Tipperary when he linked up with the minor team in 1966. His tenure in this grade was short-lived as Tipperary exited the provincial championship at the hands of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. In 1967 O'Connor joined the Tipperary under-21 team. He captured a

medal that year following a 3-9 to 3-5 defeat of Galway. On 3 September 1967 Tipperary faced

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 ...

in the All-Ireland final. Pat O'Connor top scored for Tipperary with 1-3 as a narrow 1-8 to 1-7 victory gave Tipperary the title. The win also gave O'Connor an

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

medal. O'Connor was added to the extended Tipperary senior panel in 1968, however, he didn't make his championship debut until 21 June 1970 in a 2-9 to 0-5 Munster semi-final defeat of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. In 1971 O'Connor was appointed captain of the Tipperary senior team. A subsequent 4-16 to 3-18 victory over

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

gave him a

medal. On 5 September 1971 Tipperary faced

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

in the All-Ireland final, the first to be broadcast in colour by Telefís Éireann and the only eighty-minute meeting between the two sides. Kilkenny's ever-dependable goalkeeper,

Ollie Walsh Patrick Oliver Walsh (13 July 1937 – 9 March 1996) was an Irish hurler and hurling manager. His career included All-Ireland Championship victories as a player and later as a manager with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. After beginning ...

, had a nightmare of a game in which he conceded five goals, one of which passed through his legs, while Tipperary's

Babs Keating Michael "Babs" Keating (born 17 April 1944) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a forward for the Tipperary senior teams. Born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Keating first played competitive Gaelic games during his ...

played out the closing stages of the game in his bare feet. Tipperary emerged the victors on a score line of 5-17 to 5-14. As well as collecting an

medal, O'Connor also had the honour of collecting the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the main competition in the prehistoric sport of hurling. Based on the design of a ...

. His performances throughout the year also earned him a place on the inaugural All-Stars team. Tipperary surrendered their Munster and All-Ireland title sin 1972. The team bounced back in 1973 to reach the Munster final again. Limerick were the opponents for the second time in three years, however, on this occasion O'Connor ended up on the losing side. In spite of this defeat he was later presented with a second All-Star. The next decade saw Tipp go into terminal decline. The county failed to win a single championship match, however, O'Connor did win a

medal in 1979. This league victory was followed by a third All-Star award. He retired from inter-county hurling without further success in 1982.

Inter-provincial

O'Connor also lined out with

in the inter-provincial hurling championship where he played alongside his championship rivals from other counties. He first played for his province in 1973 as Munster were defeated by arch-rivals

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

. It was a similar story in 1974 as Leinster retained the title. Two years late rin 1976 O'Connor captured his first

medal as Munster stopped a Leinster six in-a-row. Defeat was O'Connor's lot again in 1980, however, he collected a second winners' medal in the competition in 1981.

Honours

Roscrea

: **Winner (1): 1971 *

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 f ...

: **Winner (2): 1969, 1970 **Runner-up (2): 1972, 1980 *

Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship The Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the FBD Insurance Tipperary County Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Associati ...

: **Winner (6): 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980 **Runner-up (7): 1967, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985

Tipperary

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

: **Winner (1):

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

: **Winner (1): 1971 **Runner-up (2): 1970, 1973 *

: **Winner (1): 1978-1979 **Runner-up (2): 1970-1971, 1975-1976 *

: **Winner (1): 1967 *

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-co ...

: **Winner (1): 1967

Munster

: **Winner (2): 1976, 1981 **Runner-up (3): 1973, 1974, 1980

Individual

* All Stars: **Winner (2): 1971, 1975

References

Teams

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Tadhg 1947 births Living people Roscrea hurlers Tipperary inter-county hurlers Munster inter-provincial hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners