Mickey O'Connell

Mickey O'Connell (born January 1977) is an Irish hurling coach and hurler who played for Cork Senior Championship club Midleton. He played for the Cork senior hurling team at various times over a ten-year period, during which time he usually lined out at midfield.[1]

Mickey O’Connell
Personal information
Irish name Micheal Ó Conaill
Sport Hurling
Position Midfield
Born January 1977
Limerick, Ireland
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Occupation Customer services
Club(s)
Years Club Apps (scores)
1995–2009
 Midleton 35 (2–174)
Club titles
Cork titles 0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
1998–2007
 Cork 19 (0–26)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 3
All-Irelands 2
NHL 1
All Stars 0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 23:02, 4 August 2014.

O'Connell began his hurling career at club level with Midleton. He broke onto the club's senior team as an 18-year-old in 1995 and immediately became a regular member of the starting fifteen. O'Connell made 35 championship appearances at senior level for the club before his retirement in 2009.

At inter-county level, O'Connell was part of the successful Cork minor team that won the All-Ireland Championship in 1995 before later winning back-to-back All-Ireland Championships with the under-21 team in 1997 and 1998. He joined the Cork senior team in 1998. From his debut, O'Connell was a regular at midfield and made a combined total of 43 National League and Championship appearances in a career that ended with his last appearance in 2007. During that time he was part of two All-Ireland Championship-winning teams – in 1999 and 2004. O'Connell also secured three Munster Championship medals and a National Hurling League medal.

At inter-provincial level, O'Connell was selected to play in one championship campaign with Munster, however, he ended his career without a Railway Cup medal.

Playing career

Midleton CBS

O'Connell played in all grades of hurling during his secondary schooling at Midleton CBS Secondary School before joining the college's senior hurling side. On 27 March 1994, he lined out at left wing-forward when Midleton CBS suffered a 1–09 to 0–04 defeat by the North Monastery in the Harty Cup final.[2]

While the 1994 Harty Cup final was supposed to be his last game, O'Connell was one of 11 Midleton CBS players who repeated the Leaving Cert in an effort to claim the title.[3] On 26 March 1995, he lined out at left wing-forward in a second successive Harty Cup final.[4] He ended the game with a winners' medal after scoring eight points in the 3–18 to 3–05 defeat of Lismore CBS.[5] On 30 April, scored three points from left wing-forward in a 5–10 to 3–05 All-Ireland final defeat by St. Raphael's College from Loughrea.[6]

Midleton

O'Connell joined the Midleton club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He joined the club's senior team as an 18-year-old during the 1995 Cork Senior Championship and made his first appearance on 25 June in a 1–13 to 0–11 defeat of Bishopstown.

Minor and under-21

O'Connell first played for Cork when he was selected for the minor team during the 1995 Munster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 28 June when he scored six points from left wing-forward in a 2–14 to 1–03 defeat of Limerick. O'Connell won a Munster Championship medal on 9 July following a 3–18 to 0–10 defeat of Waterford. On 3 September he lined out at left wing-forward in the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny and collected a winners' medal after scoring 1–03 in the 2–10 to 1–02 victory.[7]

On 17 July 1996, O'Connell made his first appearance for the Cork under-21 team in a 2–18 to 1–12 defeat of Tipperary. He won a Munster Championship medal on 24 July after scoring four points from right wing-forward in a 3–16 to 2–07 defeat of Clare in the final.

O'Connell won a second consecutive Munster Championship medal on 30 July after scoring six points in a 1–11 to 0–13 defeat of Tipperary in the final.[8] On 21 October, he won an All-Ireland from left wing-forward medal following Cork's 3–11 to 0–13 defeat of Galway in the final.

Cork dominated the championship again in 1998, with O'Connell winning a third successive Munster Championship medal on 23 August following a 3–18 to 1–10 defeat of Tipperary in the final. He won a second successive All-Ireland medal on 20 September after scoring seven points from left wing-forward in Cork's 2–15 to 2–10 defeat of Galway in the final. It was O'Connell's last game in the grade.

Senior

O'Connell joined the Cork senior team during the 1998 National League and made his first appearance for the team on 8 March in a 0–16 to 1–08 defeat of Kilkenny. On 17 May, he won a National Hurling League medal as a non-playing substitute following a 2–14 to 0–13 defeat of Waterford in the final. O'Connell was later an unused substitute for Cork during the 1998 Munster Championship and was subsequently dropped from the team.

Impressive form at club level earned a recall for O'Connell. He made his championship debut on 13 June and scored eight points from midfield in a 0–24 to 1–15 defeat of Waterford. On 4 July, he won a Munster Championship medal after scoring five points in a 1–15 to 0–14 defeat of reigning champions Clare in the final. On 11 September, O'Connell was at midfield for the All-Ireland final against Kilkenny. He was held scoreless but claimed a winners' medal following the 0–12 to 0–11 victory.[9]

On 3 July 2000, O'Connell lined out in his second Munster final. He was held scoreless throughout the game but collected a second successive winners' medal following a 0–23 to 3–12 defeat of Tipperary.[10]

After being dropped for the 2002 season, O'Connell was again recalled to the panel and lined out in his third Munster final on 29 June 2003.[11] Cork won the game by 3–16 to 3–12 with O'Connell winning his third Munster Championship medal.[12] On 14 September, he was at midfield for Cork's 1–14 to 1–11 All-Ireland final defeat by Kilkenny.[13]

O'Connell made a number of appearances throughout the 2004 season. On 12 September, he won a second All-Ireland medal as a non-playing substitute following a 0–17 to 0–09 defeat of Kilkenny in All-Ireland final against Kilkenny.[14] O'Connell later opted out of the Cork senior hurling panel after informing the management team that he was unavailable for selection for the 2005 season.[15]

O'Connell was invited back to the Cork team by manager John Allen at the start of the 2006 season.[16][17] He made just two appearances during the National League and failed to secure a place on the championship panel.

O'Connell was added to the Cork panel for the 2007 National League, however, he made no appearances throughout the campaign and brought his inter-county career to an end shortly afterwards.

Munster

O'Connell was selected for the Munster inter-provincial team during the 1999 Railway Cup. On 25 November, he was at midfield when Munster suffered a 2–13 to 1–15 defeat by Connacht in the final.

Career statistics

Club
Team Year Cork SHC
AppsScore
Midleton 1995 20–02
1996 10–02
1997 10–00
1998 11–04
1999 10–10
2000 21–12
2001 20–13
2002 20–09
2003 50–28
2004 30–08
2005 20–13
2006 40–34
2007 30–11
2008 20–13
2009 40–15
Career total 352–174

Inter-county
Team Year National League Munster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Cork Minor 1995 —20–1321–0341–16
Total —20–1321–0341–16
Cork U21 1996 —20–0610–0430–10
1997 —20–1320–0940–22
1998 —30–0620–1150–17
Total —70–2550–24120–49
Cork 1998 Division 1B 40–0300–00—40–03
1999 —20–1320–0140–14
2000 60–1130–0110–00100–12
2001 50–0400–00—50–04
2002 ————
2003 60–0620–0130–03110–10
2004 20–0120–0330–0470–08
2005 ————
2006 Division 1A 20–03——20–03
2007 00–00——00–00
Total 250–2890–1890–08430–54
Career total 250–28180–56161–35591–119

Honours
Midleton CBS
Cork

References
  1. Crowe, Dermot (8 August 1999). "A taste of the bitter motivates O'Connell". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  2. Murphy, Éamonn (22 June 2018). "Mon united... new hurling initiative is a huge boost for the Harty Cup". Evening Echo. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. O'Toole, Fintan (14 February 2019). "'I'll tell you straight out, only for the Harty Cup, God knows what would have happened with my career after that'". The 42. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. Cusack, Donal Óg (13 May 2014). "Hurling needs Cork and Waterford to be noisy neighbours". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. Crowe, Marie (21 November 2010). "Old order under threat in new colleges landscape". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. Gribbin, Vincent (28 April 1998). "Minors roll back years". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. Neville, Conor (9 September 2015). "Ranking The 5 Minor Hurling Teams Who've Produced The Most Senior All-Ireland Winners". Balls.ie website. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  8. O'Donovan, Barry (25 August 2018). "Timmy Mac's goal in 1997 turned Cork hurling history... can these U21s do the same?". Evening Echo. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  9. "Championship Flashback: All-Ireland SHC final, September 1999". Irish Independent. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  10. "Cork reach new heights to keep provincial crown". The Corkman. 8 July 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  11. "First outing for O'Grady's new Cork panel". RTÉ Sport. 6 January 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. "Mullane unable to part Cork's red sea". Irish Independent. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  13. O'Sullivan, Jim (15 September 2003). "Kilkenny stand firm under Cork onslaught". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  14. "Cork savour sweet victory". Irish Examiner. 13 September 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  15. Moynihan, Michael (8 January 2005). "O'Connell no longer part of Cork plans". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  16. Cahill, Jackie (13 December 2005). "GAA: Rebels to take Mickey in 2006; O'Connell back in Cork contention". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  17. "O'Connell returns for Cork hurlers". RTÉ Sport. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
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