Aidan O'Rourke (born 1984) is a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er. He played from 2001 to 2009, winning an

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

and an

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

as a player for the Armagh county team in 2002.

Playing career

Born in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, O'Rourke played football with his local club

Dromintee St Patrick's GAC Dromintee St Patrick's Gaelic Athletic Club () is a GAA club in Armagh. It represents the Dromintee and Jonesborough parish on the southern border of County Armagh. Dromintee plays Gaelic football and, as of 2020, was playing in the Armagh Se ...

. A member of the Armagh senior football team between 2001 and 2006, and again in 2008 and 2009, he won one

in 2002, the same year as he won his only All Star award. He was also on the team that won the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

in 2005.

Management career

On 8 October 2012, O'Rourke was named Louth manager for a two-year term, after previous involvement with

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

and Down as a selector. O'Rourke left the role in mid-2014. In January 2015, he was appointed manager of the Armagh minor Gaelic football team. After

Kevin McStay Kevin McStay (born 9 May 1962) is an Irish Gaelic football manager, commentator, analyst and former player. Educated at St Jarlath's College in Tuam during the 1970s, McStay played for the school team. In retirement from playing, McStay became ...

stood aside as

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

senior manager in 2018, O'Rourke was the preferred replacement; however, he withdrew and

Anthony Cunningham Anthony Cunningham (born 16 June 1965) is a former hurler who has since managed various Gaelic football and hurling teams. He was manager of the Galway county hurling team between 2011 and 2015 and of the Roscommon county football team betwee ...

was appointed instead. In October 2022, O'Rourke was appointed as head coach of the Donegal senior footballers, under the management of

Paddy Carr Paddy Carr is a Gaelic football manager and former player. He played for, and later managed, the senior Donegal county team. While managing Kilmacud Crokes, Carr won the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Club ...

. O'Rourke was named as Lead Coach, part of Kildare's backroom staff under new manager Brian Flanagan.https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2024/0904/1468292-flanagan-formally-lands-kildare-job-on-four-year-term/

Honours

;Team * 1

(2002) * 7

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

s (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008) * 1

Division 1 (2005) * 2 Ulster Minor League & Championships (1992, 1994) ;Individual * 1 ''Irish News'' Ulster All Stars Award (2003) * 1 All Stars Award (2002)

References

1984 births Living people Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Donegal county football team non-playing personnel Down county football team non-playing personnel Dromintee St Patrick's Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football managers Gaelic football selectors Kildare county football team non-playing personnel Louth county football team non-playing personnel Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) {{Armagh-Gaelic-football-bio-stub