| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Hurling | ||
| Position | Full-forward | ||
| Born | August 24, 1985 Bankstown, Sydney |
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| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| 2004–present | Na Piarsaigh | ||
| Club Titles | |||
| Cork titles | 1 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
| 2009–2010 | Cork | 9 (4–4) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 0 | ||
| All Irelands | 0 | ||
| NHL | 0 | ||
| All Stars | 0 | ||
Aisake Faga Ó hAilpín (born 24 August 1985) is an Irish Australian sportsperson. He grew up in Cork and played hurling and Gaelic football with Na Piarsaigh. Ó hAilpín played Australian rules football with the Carlton Football Club between 2005 and 2008. Following this, he spent two seasons playing hurling at inter-county level with the Cork senior panel before signing a contract with Australian rules club, Maribyrnong Park Football Club.
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Ó hAilpín was born in Bankstown, Sydney to Seán Ó hAilpín, an oil-rig worker and a native of Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, and his wife Emilie, a hotel worker and a Rotuman. The fifth in a family of six, the Ó hAilpín's would later enjoy great sporting success in Australia and Ireland. His eldest brother, Seán Óg, would captain the Cork senior hurling team to the All-Ireland title in 2005. His other brothers, Setanta and Teu, would later enjoy some success as Australian rules football players.
The Ó hAilpín family moved from Australia to Ireland in 1988 and settled in Cork. They rented a house in the city before moving permanently to Blarney, just a short few miles outside the city. Ó hAilpín was educated locally in the Gaelcholáiste section of the famous North Monastery secondary school. It was in the 'North Mon' that he was also first introduced to Gaelic games.
Ó hAilpín played club hurling and Gaelic football with the Na Piarsaigh club on the north side of Cork city. He enjoyed little success in the minor or under-21 grades.
By 2004 Ó hAilpín had joined the Na Piarsaigh senior hurling team. That year the club qualified for the final of the county senior championship for the first time in almost a decade. East Cork stalwarts Cloyne provided the opposition on that occasion. The first-half was a close affair which saw Cloyne take a one point lead at the interval. Na Piarsaigh, however, produced an exceptional second-half display and secured a 0–17 to 0–10 victory, with Ó hAilpín finishing as the game's top scorer with five points.[1] It was his first, and to date his only, county championship winners' medal.
Ó hAilpín's form as a club player quickly brought him to the attention of the Cork minor selectors. He was included on both the minor hurling and football teams that year, however, Cork failed to land a Munster title in either code. In spite of these defeats Ó hAilpín's side still subsequently qualified for the All-Ireland semi-finals, however, both the hurlers and footballers of Cork were defeated.
In 2004 Ó hAilpín joined the Cork under-21 hurling team, however, provincial and All-Ireland successes eluded him on this occasion also.
Following Na Piarsaigh's county championship triumph in late 2004, Ó hAilpín decided to travel to Australia where he took up Australian rules football. He joined the Carlton Football Club in Melbourne where he played alongside his brother Setanta.
Ó hAilpín was placed on the Carlton Football Club's rookie list for the 2005 AFL season, however, his development was slow. He spent 2005 in the reserves at Carlton's VFL-affiliate, the Northern Bullants, and was in and out of the Bullants' senior team in 2006.
Ó hAilpín began his third year again on the rookie list in 2007, which had to be his final rookie-listed season by AFL rules, playing exclusively in the Bullants' seniors and predominately in the ruck. He was believed to be close to elevation and selection, with Carlton coach Denis Pagan confirming this in a post-match press conference in June, but shortly afterwards Ó hAilpín sustained a season-ending groin injury. Carlton announced during the 2007 season that they would elevate Ó hAilpín to the senior list for 2008[2] and later made it official during the post season.[3] After promising so much potential, Ó hAilpín failed to register a senior game and was delisted at the end of the 2008 season and left Australia.
In February 2009, having returned to Ireland, Ó hAilpín played in several challenge matches for the Cork football and hurling teams.[4] He eventually spent the year with the hurling panel. Ó hAilpín started and was selected as man of the match in Cork's surprise first-round championship win over Tipperary. However, he failed to impress in the remainder of the season and announced a return to Australian rules at the end of 2010.
Ó hAilpín returned to Melbourne in 2011, and signed to play for Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League, alongside former Carlton team-mate Luke Livingston.[5]
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