Willie John O'Connell (1869-25 April 1897) was an Irish hurler who played as a quarter-back at senior level for the Cork county team. O'Connell made his first appearance for the team during the 1893 championship and was a regular member of the team for the next three seasons. During that time he won two All-Ireland medals and 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. At club level O'Connell played with the St Finbarr's club. O'Connell died following a freak accident in a trial game following a clash with teammate Denis Coughlan. He was the first member of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

to die on the field of play.

Playing career

Club

O'Connell played his club hurling with the St Finbarr's club. He was captain of the senior team from 1895 until his death in 1897.

Inter-county

O'Connell first came to prominence on the inter-county scene 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 ...

as part of the Blackrock selection in 1893. That year he lined out in his first provincial decider with All-Ireland champions

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 ...

providing the opposition. A rout developed as Cork defeated

by 5–3 to 0-0. It was O'Connell's first

title.

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 ...

provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. Cork won the game on probably the most unsuitable playing field in hurling history. After someone had neglected to get the grass cut at Ashtown, both teams moved to the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

where the game took place. A 6–8 to 0–2 victory gave Young a second All-Ireland title. For a second consecutive year O'Connell was selected for championship duty with Cork. An easy 3–4 to 1–2 defeat of

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 ...

in the provincial decider gave him a third consecutive Munster winners' title. For the second time in three years Dublin provided the opposition in the subsequent All-Ireland final. The game turned into an absolute rout as Cork won easily by 5–20 to 2–0. With that O'Connell captured a second consecutive All-Ireland winners' medal. It was his last game with the Cork hurling team.

Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, ''The GAA Book of Lists'' (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). * Cronin, Jim, ''A Rebel Hundred: Cork's 100 All-Ireland Titles''. * Donegan, Des, ''The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games'' (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Willie John 1869 births 1897 deaths St Finbarr's hurlers Cork inter-county hurlers All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners