Jamesie O'Connor (born 28 July 1972) is an Irish former hurler who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for the Clare senior hurling team. O'Connor made his first appearance for the team during the 1992–93 National League and became a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 2004 championship. During that time he won two

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medals, three

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

medals and four

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 ...

awards. He ended up as an All-Ireland runner-up on one occasion. At club level, O'Connor was an

medalist with St Joseph's Doora-Barefield. He also won two

medals and three county club championship medals. In May 2014, it was announced that O'Connor would be an analyst and co-commentator for BT Sports's new GAA coverage.

Early and personal life

The son of a Clare-born mother and a

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

father, O'Connor was born in Knocknaheeney, Cork City. As a child he supported the

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

team that won three All-Ireland titles in the 1980s. In 1982 the O'Connor family moved to

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, County Clare where his father ran his own business. O'Connor was educated at St. Flannans College, Ennis before later studying at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

(UCG). He currently works as a business studies teacher at St. Flannan's. James' siblings include Christy O'Connor, John O'Connor, Sheila O'Connor and Claire O'Connor.

Playing career

College

O'Connor played with St Flannan's College in the inter-colleges championship. A defeat of nearby rivals Shannon Comprehensive in 1989 gave him his first Dr. Harty Cup medal. St Flannan's later faced St Kieran's College in the All-Ireland decider, but O'Connor's side was beaten on a 3–5 to 1–9 score line. Flannan's retained the provincial title in 1990 with O'Connor collecting a second Hraty Cup medal following a defeat of Nenagh CBS. He later lined out in a second All-Ireland final, however, St. Kieran's College took the title once again following a 2–10 to 0–7 victory. While attending UCG, O'Connor played in the

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

Club

O'Connor played his club hurling with St Joseph's Doora-Barefield. At youth level, he won a county minor championship medal in 1990, adding a county under-21 championship medal to his collection in 1993. By this stage O'Connor had also joined the club's top team. He won a county intermediate championship medal in 1993, propelling St Joseph's Doora-Barefield into the senior ranks. After losing two championship deciders to

Clarecastle Clarecastle (''An Clár'' or ) is a village just south of Ennis in County Clare, Ireland. Name The town is named after the Clare Castle, which stands on an island in the narrowest navigable part of the River Fergus. The Irish ''Clár'', meani ...

at senior level, O'Connor won his first

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 sys ...

medal in 1998 following a defeat of

Kilmaley Kilmaley () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, west of Ennis. The name is from the Irish language or 'church of (Saint) Maley'. Geography The Kilmaley River runs through the village. Kilmaley is in the barony of Islands, much of whose lan ...

. He later added a

medal to his collection following a 0–12 to 0–8 defeat of Toomevara. St Joseph's later completed their landmark season with a 2–14 to 0–8 trouncing of Rathnure in the All-Ireland decider, giving 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, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...

medal. St Joseph's continued their run of success in 1999 with O'Connor winning a second successive county club championship medal. He later won a second Munster winners' medal following 4–9 to 3–8 defeat of Ballygunner. St Joseph's subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland final and the chance to become the second team in history to retain their title.

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

provided the opposition and defeated O'Connor's side by 0–16 to 0–12. After being defeated in their bid for a third consecutive county championship, St Joseph's returned in 2001. A 1–15 to 1–12 defeat of

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge () is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road (Ireland), N18 roads in Ireland, road. Locally, it is commonly called 'the ...

gave O'Connor his third and final county club championship medal.

Inter-county

O'Connor came to prominence on the inter-county scene as a member of the Clare minor hurling team in 1989. He won a

medal that year following a narrow 2–12 to 2–11 defeat of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. The subsequent All-Ireland decider resulted in a 2–16 to 1–12 defeat by

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

. He later played for a few years with the Clare under-21 team. O'Connor joined the Clare senior team during the 1992–93 National League before making his championship debut in the subsequent provincial championship campaign. O'Connor won his first

medal in 1995 following a surprise 1–17 to 0–11 defeat of reigning champions Limerick. It was Clare's first provincial success in sixty-three years. O'Connor's side later qualified for the All-Ireland final and were the underdogs against reigning champions Offaly. Although trailing at half-time, substitute

Éamonn Taaffe Éamonn Taaffe (born 18 February 1975) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-forward for the Clare senior team. Born in Tubber, County Clare, Taaffe first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Our Lady's College. He ...

scored a crucial goal to propel Clare to a 1–13 to 2–8 victory. It was their first championship title in 81 years. As well as collecting an

medal, O'Connor was later honoured with his first

award. After surrendering their provincial and All-Ireland crowns in 1996, a 1–18 to 0–18 defeat of Tipperary gave O'Connor a second Munster medal in three years. Clare subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland decider. Due to the introduction of the "back-door" system, Tipperary provided the opposition in the first all-Munster All-Ireland final. Clare were in the lead for much of the game, but Liam Cahill and

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

scored twice for Tipp in the last ten minutes. John Leahy missed a goal chance in the last minute while another Tipp point was ruled wide. At the full-time whistle, Clare won by a single point on a score line of 0–20 to 2–13. It was a second All-Ireland medal for O'Connor while he was also named as the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. He later collected a second All-Star before being the unanimous choice as Hurler of the Year. O'Connor won his third and final Munster medal in 1998 following a tense draw and a replay with

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Clare drew with Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final, but in the replay Clare were winning by two points when the referee, Jimmy Cooney, blew the whistle with two minutes of normal time left to be played. The Offaly fans were outraged and staged a sit-down protest on the

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

pitch. The result was not allowed to stand and Clare were forced to meet Offaly for a third time that year. They lost the second replay. O'Connor later won a third All-Star award. Clare qualified for the All-Ireland final again in 2002. O'Connor's side put up a good fight against

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

, but a combined tally of 2–13 for both

Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin (born 11 January 1979) is an Irish hurling List of hurling managers, manager and former player who was the manager of the Galway senior hurling team from 2021 to 2024. In his playing career he was nicknamed "King Henry" because o ...

and D. J. Carey gave the Cats a seven-point victory. O'Connor continued to line out with Clare for the next two seasons but called time on his inter-county career following the team's exit from the 2004 championship.

Honours

;St Flannan's College *

Dr Harty Cup The Dr. Harty Cup is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster PPS GAA division of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It has been contested every year, except on three occasions, since 1918. As the pin ...

(2):

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

(1): 1999 *

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 GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

(2): 1998, 1999 * Clare Senior Club Hurling Championship (3): 1998, 1999, 2001 ;Clare *

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

(2):

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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 ...

(3):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

;Individual * All-Stars (4): 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 * All Stars Hurler of the Year (1): 1997 * Texaco Hurler of the Year (1): 1997 *All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final Man of the Match (1): 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Jamesie 1972 births Living people All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners All Stars Hurlers of the Year Alumni of the University of Galway Business educators Clare inter-county hurlers Gaelic games commentators Irish schoolteachers Munster inter-provincial hurlers University of Galway hurlers People educated at St Flannan's College St Joseph's Doora-Barefield hurlers Broadcasters from Cork (city) Broadcasters from County Clare