Tadhg O'Connor

Tadhg O'Connor (born 1948 in Roscrea, County Tipperary) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Roscrea and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. O'Connor captained Tipperary to the All-Ireland title in 1971.

Playing career

Club

O’Connor played his club hurling with his local club in Roscrea. He enjoyed much success with the club, beginning in 1968 when he won a senior county title following a victory over the famous Thurles Sarsfields club. He won a second consecutive county title in 1969, before adding a Munster club title to his collection after a defeat of the legendary Glen Rovers club from Cork. O’Connor won a third county championship medal in-a-row in 1970. This was once again converted into a second consecutive Munster club medal after a 4-11 to 1-6 trouncing of Clarecastle. O'Connor later lined out in the All-Ireland club final with St. Ryangh's of Offaly providing the opposition. A 4-5 to 2-5 victory gave Roscrea the honour of being the first club championship decider winners.^[1] It also gave O'Connor a coveted All-Ireland club medal. He won three further county titles in 1972, 1973 and 1980.

Inter-county

O’Connor first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the mid-1960s when he was a key member of the Tipperary under-21 hurling team. In 1967 he enjoyed his first major success when he captured a Munster title in this grade following a 3-9 to 3-5 win over Galway.^[2] O'Connor later lined out in the All-Ireland final with Dublin providing the opposition. A close game developed, however, at the full-time whistle Tipp were the 1-8 to 1-7 winners.^[3] It was O'Connor's sole All-Ireland title in the under-21 grade.

O'Connor subsequently joined the Tipperary senior inter-county team. He was appointed captain of the Tipperary senior hurling team in 1971. That year O'Connor led his men out in the Munster final against Limerick. An exciting game developed, however, at the full-time whistle Tipp were the 4-16 to 3-18 winners.^[4] Kilkenny provided the opposition against Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland final, the first to be broadcast in colour by Telfis Éireann. In an exciting and high-scoring game Tipp relied on two freak goals to capture a 5-17 to 5-14 victory. The game itself is still remembered for the image of Babs Keating discarding his worn-out boots and playing the last few minutes of the match in his bare feet. The victory gave O'Connor the honour of lifting the Liam McCarthy Cup while also collecting a coveted senior All-Ireland medal.^[5] His performances throughout the year also earned him a place on the inaugural All-Stars team.

Tipperary surrendered their Munster and All-Ireland title sin 1972. The team bounced back in 1973 to recah the Munster final again. Limerick were the opponents for the second time in three years, however, on this occasion O'Connor ended up on the losing side. In spite of this defeat he was later presented with a second All-Star.

The next decade saw Tipp go into terminal decline. The county failed to win a single championship match, however, O'Connor did win a National Hurling League medal in 1979. This league victory was followed by a third All-Star award. He retired from inter-county hurling without further success in 1982.^[6]

Provincial

O'Connor also lined out with Munster in the inter-provincial hurling championship where he played alongside his championship rivals from other counties. He first played for his province in 1973 as Munster were defeated by arch-rivals Leinster. It was a similar story in 1974 as Leinster retained the title. Two years late rin 1976 O'Connor captured his first Railway Cup medal as Munster stopped a Leinster six in-a-row. Defeat was O'Connor's lot again in 1980, however, he collected a second winners' medal in the competition in 1981.^[7]

Honours

Roscrea

• All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (1): 1971
• Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (2): 1969, 1970
  • Runner-up (2): 1972, 1980
• Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (6): 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1980
  • Runner-up (7): 1967, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1985

Tipperary

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (1): 1971
• Munster Senior Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (1): 1971
  • Runner-up (2): 1970, 1973
• National Hurling League:
  • Winner (1): 1978-1979
  • Runner-up (2): 1970-1971, 1975-1975
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (1): 1967
• Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship:
  • Winner (1): 1967

Munster

• Railway Cup:
  • Winner (2): 1976, 1981
  • Runner-up (3): 1973, 1974, 1980

References

Teams