Rory O'Connor (born 1998) is an Irish hurler who plays for Wexford Senior Championship club St Martin's and at inter-county level with the Wexford senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a corner-forward.

Early life

Born in Piercestown,

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, O'Connor is the son of

John O'Connor John O'Connor may refer to: Clergy * John O'Connor (Archdeacon of Emly) ( 1854–1904), Archdeacon of Emly, 1880–1904 * John J. O'Connor (bishop of Newark) (1855–1927), Roman Catholic Bishop of Newark * John O'Connor (priest) (1870–1952), ...

and nephew of George O'Connor, both of whom won

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 with Wexford in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. His brothers,

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

and Jack O'Connor, have also played for Wexford at various levels.

Playing career

St Peter's College

O'Connor first came to prominence as a hurler and

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 with St Peter's College in

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

. He played in every grade of hurling and Gaelic football before eventually joining the college's senior teams. On 27 January 2017, O'Connor scored a point from midfield when St Peter's College defeated Moate Community School to win the Leinster Championship. He retained his position at midfield when St Peter's College faced St Brendan's College from

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

in the All-Ireland final on 1 April 2017. O'Connor scored a point from play in the 0-18 to 0-10 defeat.

DCU Dóchas Éireann

As a student at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

, O'Connor immediately became involved in hurling and joined the college's freshers' hurling team in his first year. On 21 March 2018, he was selected at midfield but spent much of the game at left corner-forward when Dublin City University faced the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

in the freshers' final. O'Connor scored two points from play and ended the game with a winners' medal following the 1-20 to 2-15 victory.

St Martin's

O'Connor joined the St Martin's club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels as a

dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

. He experienced much success in the minor, under-20 and under-21 grades, winning eight championship medals across both codes between 2014 and 2018. On 18 October 2015, O'Connor lined out at right wing-forward when St Martin's faced St James' in the Wexford Football Championship final. He was substituted in the 55th minute and ended the game on the losing side following a 0-11 to 1-06 defeat. O'Connor lined out in his first Wexford Hurling Championship final on 22 October 2017. He scored 0-05 from full-forward and ended the game with a winners' medal following the 2-16 to 1-09 defeat of Oulart-the Ballagh. On 29 October 2017, St Martin's had the chance to achieve the double when they faced Starlights in the Wexford Football Championship final. O'Connor scored a point from left wing-forward in the 0-17 to 1-08 defeat.

Wexford

Minor and under-21

O'Connor first lined out for

as a member of the minor team during the 2015 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 25 April when he came on as a substitute for Damien Reck in a 1-18 to 1-17 defeat by

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 ...

. O'Connor was eligible for the minor grade again during the 2016 Leinster Championship. He lined out at left corner-forward in the Leinster final on 8 July 2016. O'Connor scored 0-05 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

's 2-12 to 0-12 defeat. He ended the championship as top scorer with 3-33. O'Connor was drafted onto the Wexford under-21 team in advance of the 2017 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance in that grade on 31 May 2017 when he lined out at centre-forward in Wexford's 4-21 to 2-09 defeat of

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 ...

. On 5 July 2017, O'Connor scored two points from centre-forward when Wexford suffered a 0-30 to 1-15 defeat by Kilkenny in the Leinster final. O'Connor was eligible for the under-21 grade for a second and final season in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. He lined out in a second successive Leinster final on 4 July. O'Connor scored seven points from centre-forward in a 4-21 to 2-26 extra-time defeat by

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 ...

. He ended the season by being named in the centre-forward position on the Team of the Year.

Senior

O'Connor was added to the Wexford senior team during the 2017 National League but was an unused substitute throughout the campaign. On 2 July 2017, he was an unused substitute when Wexford suffered a 0-29 to 1-17 defeat by Galway in the Leinster final. O'Connor made his first appearance for the Wexford senior team on 23 July 2017 when he lined out at midfield in a 1-23 to 1-19 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat by

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 ...

. Wexford reached a second Leinster final in three years on 30 June 2019. O'Connor was selected at full-forward but spent much of the game left wing-forward. He scored four points from play and collected a winners' medal following the 1-23 to 0-23 defeat of Kilkenny.

Career statistics

Honours

;St Peter's College *

Leinster Colleges Senior Football Championship The Leinster colleges senior football "A" championship, is the top level Gaelic football competition for secondary schools in Leinster. The winners receive the Brother Bosco (Mulhare) Cup and advance to the All-Ireland colleges "A" senior footba ...

(1): 2017 ;DCU Dóchas Éireann *All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling Championship (1): 2018 ;St Martin's *

Wexford Senior Hurling Championship The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pettitt's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford GAA, Wexford County Board of the ...

(1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

*Wexford Under-21 Hurling Championship (2): 2016, 2017 *Wexford Under-20 Hurling Championship (1): 2018 *Wexford Minor Hurling Championship (3): 2014, 2015, 2016 *Wexford Minor Football Championship (2): 2015, 2016 ;Wexford *

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

(1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Rory 1998 births Living people DCU hurlers People educated at St Peter's College, Wexford St Martin's (Wexford) hurlers Wexford inter-county hurlers 21st-century Irish sportsmen