Thomas O'Connor ( 1 April 1928 - 30 June 1987) was an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

. On 21 September 1949, together with

Con Martin Cornelius Joseph Martin (20 March 1923 – 24 February 2013) was an Irish footballer. Martin initially played Gaelic football for the Dublin county team before switching codes and embarking on a successful soccer career, playing for, among oth ...

Johnny Carey John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 195 ...

and Peter Farrell, he was also a member of the

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

team that defeated

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

2–0 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, becoming the first non- UK team to beat England at home.

Career

O'Connor first attracted attention while playing for

in the early part of the 1948–49 season. His impressive performances for Rovers led him to making four appearances for

in 1949. He made his international debut on 8 September 1949 in a 3–0 win against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. The game was a 1950 World Cup qualifier and O'Connor put in an impressive performance, helping the Irish win 3–0. O'Connor was preferred over both

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for b ...

and Jackie O'Driscoll for the game against

. This proved an astute selection as O'Connor set up both of the Irish goals. Ireland took the lead in the 33rd minute when

Peter Desmond Peter Desmond (23 November 1926 in Cork, Ireland – July 1990) was an Irish footballer. Desmond played for several clubs in the League of Ireland and the English League. As an international, Desmond also played for Ireland. Desmond made all f ...

, after collecting a pass from O'Connor, was brought down in the penalty area;

converted the subsequent penalty kick. In the 85th minute, O'Connor slipped the ball to Peter Farrell and as the English goalkeeper

Bert Williams Bert Williams (November 12, 1874 – March 4, 1922) was a Bahamian-born American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. While some sources have ...

advanced, Farrell lofted the ball into the unguarded net. He made his third appearance for Ireland on 9 October in the return game against

, which finished as a 1–1 draw, before making his final international appearance on 13 November against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 3–1 home defeat. Like his debut, both of these games were World Cup qualifiers. After leaving Rovers, O'Connor played in the Leinster Senior League.''The Boys In Green - The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan
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Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Tommy 1928 births 1987 deaths Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Association footballers from County Dublin League of Ireland XI players Leinster Senior League (association football) players Men's association football forwards 20th-century Irish sportsmen