Edward O'Connell

Edward 'Marie' O'Connell (1897–1971) was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s.

Playing career

Club

O'Connell played his club hurling with the famous Blackrock club and enjoyed much success. O'Connell won his first senior county titles in 1924 and 1925, however, St. Finbarr’s caught Blackrock in the final of 1926. The following year Coughlan won his third county medal. Blackrock failed to reach the final in 1928, however, in 1929 he won his fourth county title. It was the first of three-in-a-row for O'Connell , bringing his county medal tally to six . The 1931 final victory was O'Connell's last big occasion with Blackrock. The club would not win another county title until 1956.

Inter-county

O'Connell first came to prominence on the inter-county scene with Cork in the mid-1920s. In the winter and spring of 1925-1926 the inaugural National Hurling League was played. Cork reached the final of that competition and defeated Dublin, giving O'Connell his first major victory. Cork later proved themselves by reaching the Munster final. Tipperary were the opponents on that occasion and took a 1-2 to 0-0 lead. At that point the game was abandoned and a replay was ordered. The second game was a much tighter affair with both sides finishing level on a score line of 4-1 to 3-4. The third game was also a close affair, however, Cork pulled through to win by 3-6 to 2-4, giving O'Connell his first Munster title. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Cork against Kilkenny at a snow-covered Croke Park in October of that year. Cork took the lead at half-time and held on to win by 4-6 to 2-0. It was the county's first championship title since 1919 and O'Connell's first All-Ireland medal.

Cork retained their Munster title in 1927 with a 5-3 to 3-4 victory over Clare. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw Cork take on Dublin once again. Cork fell behind by 2-3 to 0-1 at half-time; however, they fought back in the second-half. In a team made up of nine members of An Garda Síochána ‘the Dubs’ claimed the victory by 4-8 to 1-3.

In 1928 Cork faced Clare in the Munster final for the second year in-a-row. That game ended in a draw, however, in the replay Cork triumphed with O'Connell collecting his third consecutive Munster title. Cork later defeated Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final before lining out against Galway in the championship decider. Galway got a bye into the final without picking up a hurley, however, the game turned into a rout. A score line of 6-12 to 1-0 gave Cork the victory and gave O'Connell a second All-Ireland medal.

In 1929 Cork retained their provincial dominance for a fourth consecutive year. A 4-6 to 2-3 defeat of Waterford gave O'Connell his fourth Munster title in four years. The subsequent All-Ireland final was a replay of the previous year’s game as Cork played Galway once again. Mick Ahern scored a goal for Cork after just 25 seconds to start another rout. Cork won the day by 4-9 to 1-3 giving O'Connell his third All-Ireland title.

In 1930 O'Connell collected a second National League title, however, Cork surrendered their provincial crown later that summer. The team bounced back in 1931 with O'Connell collecting a fifth Munster winners’ medal. Once again it took a replay for Cork and Waterford to be separated. The All-Ireland final saw Cork take on Kilkenny for the first time since 1926. After a close game both sides finished level – 1-6 apiece. Eudie Coughlan played a captain’s role in that game as he scored a point from his knees to level the scores. The replay of the final took place four weeks later and is regarded as a classic. Cork took the lead at half-time, however, Kilkenny fought back. Once again both sides finished level – 2-5 apiece. After this game officials pressed for extra time, however, this was rejected. It was also suggested at a meeting of the GAA’s Central Council that both counties be declared joint champions and that half an All-Ireland medal by given to each player. This motion was later defeated. The first week of November saw the second replay of the All-Ireland final take place. At the third attempt Cork triumphed by 5-8 to 3-4 giving O'Connell his fourth All-Ireland medal.

At the beginning of 1932 O'Connell was appointed captain of the Cork team. Eudie Coughlan was in line to retain the captaincy, however, he took umbrage at the actions of the Cork County Board in taking from his club, Blackrock, the selection of the Cork senior hurling team for the upcoming year. The glory days were now gone for Cork and retired from inter-county hurling shortly after.

Provincial

O'Connell also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling competition. He first played for his province in the inaugural year of the Railway Cup competition in 1927, however, Leinster were the victors on that occasion. O'Connell later collected two Railway Cup winners' medals in 1928 and 1929.

Death

Edward 'Marie' O'Connell died on 28 January 1971.

Teams

References

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).

External links

• Munster final winning teams
• Cork GAA honours