Cillian O'Connor

Cillian O'Connor (born 1992) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Ballintubber and the Mayo county team.[2] O'Connor is the leading all-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[3]

Cillian O'Connor
Personal information
Irish name Cillian Ó Conchúir
Sport Gaelic football
Position Corner forward
Born (1992-05-13) 13 May 1992
Castlebar, Ireland
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Occupation Director, Recruitment Firm[1]
Club(s)
Years Club
2009–
 Ballintubber
Club titles
Mayo titles 5
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2011–
 Mayo 67 (31-357)
Inter-county titles
Connacht titles 7
All-Irelands 0
NFL 2
All Stars 2
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 16 August 2023.

Career

O'Connor made his Ballintubber club debut whilst still a teenager in 2010.[4] A year later, he made his county debut for Mayo in the Connacht Senior Football Championship against London at Emerald GAA Grounds in South Ruislip after being called up by former Ballintubber manager James Horan, who had given O'Connor his Ballintuber debut as well.[4][5] O'Connor was named as the captain of Mayo in 2013 after having won two Young Player of the Year awards in the previous two years and led them to the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final.[6] In 2014, he was awarded a GAA GPA All-Star Award after being the top scorer in the 2014 season and leading Mayo to the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-finals.[7] He won his second GAA GPA All Stars award for his performance in the 2020 season.

In 2015, O'Connor was in the running for the Golden Boot and initially finished tied for top with Fermanagh's Seán Quigley. However, following a review of Mayo's championship winning DVD, the Gaelic Athletic Association realised they had incorrectly noted O'Connor's score as they had recorded him as having scored 1-6 but he had actually scored 1–7. As a result, O'Connor's tally was increased by 1 which allowed him to claim the Golden Boot.[8]

In 2019, O'Connor became the highest scoring player in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, surpassing Kerry's Colm Cooper's record.[3] He had done this by scoring in all of his previous 51 previous Championship matches prior to the record breaking match, except for one game against London in 2013 when he had been black carded.[5] He broke the scoring record for a single championship game with four goals and nine points in the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park.[9][10]

O'Connor sustained an injury to his achilles tendon in the first half of his county's 2021 National Football League promotion play-off win against Clare at Cusack Park and later underwent surgery.[11] It was his 100th appearance for the team.[12] The injury meant he could not play for Mayo again that season.[13] He made his return to Senior Inter County Football off the bench after 56 minutes in the 2022 National League Final. [14]

Scoring record
Inter-county scoring record by year and competition
YearLeague appearancesLeague goalsLeague pointsChampionship appearancesChampionship goalsChampionship pointsTotal appearancesTotal goalsTotal points
201130151198120
20127015502812043
2013401856229640
20144111653610647
2015311153348445
2016215924411349
201772321036617598
2018501143228333
201900062266226
2020101055406550
202142240004224
202210141185119
2023303302606
Totals467150673135711338507

Honours
Inter-county
Club
Individual

References
  1. Martyn, Petula (11 November 2019). "On the ball - Mayo footballer in new business venture". RTÉ.ie.
  2. "Cillian O'Connor helps Ballintubber secure back-to-back Mayo titles". Irish Times. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. "Cillian O'Connor makes GAA history". The Mayo News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  4. "Experience key as Cillian O'Connor eyes fourth final". RTE. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  5. "O'Connor set to overhaul Cooper at top of the charts". RTÉ. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. Kelly, Niall (19 September 2013). "Cillian O'Connor named in Mayo team for All-Ireland final". The42.ie. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. "2014 GAA Football All Stars". Irish Times. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  8. "Sean Quigley misses out on golden boot after technicality". The Times. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  9. "Cillian O'Connor the record-breaker as Tipperary fairytale ends". Joe. 6 December 2020.
  10. "O'Connor breaks All-Ireland scoring record with 4-9". Hogan Stand. 6 December 2020.
  11. "Bad news for Mayo as O'Connor suffers Achilles tendon injury". Hogan Stand. 16 June 2021.
  12. "Team news: O'Connor to make 100th appearance". Hogan Stand. 11 June 2021.
  13. "O'Connor's season ended by Achilles rupture". Hogan Stand. 24 June 2021.
  14. "1-6 for David Clifford as Kerry cruise to 23rd League title". 3 April 2022.
  15. Rooney, Declan (20 July 2015). "Mayo crush Sligo for Connacht five-in-a-row". RTE. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  16. Boyle, Donnchadh (29 February 2012). "O'Connor aiming high with Mayo". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  17. "Cillian O'Connor takes Young Footballer of the Year Award again while Galway hurlers scoop 6 All-Stars". Midwest Radio. 27 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  18. "O'Connor pays tribute to teammates". Hogan Stand. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
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