Daire O'Connor

Daire O'Connor is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for NIFL Premiership club Glentoran.

Daire O'Connor
Personal information
Full name Daire O'Connor
Date of birth (1997-04-15) 15 April 1997
Place of birth Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Glentoran
Number 11
Youth career
Arklow Town
Home Farm
2014–2016 UCD
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 UCD 73 (12)
2019–2020 Cork City 38 (4)
2020–2021 Cliftonville 37 (6)
2021–2023 Ayr United 49 (1)
2023– Glentoran 10 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:26, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

UCD

A native of Arklow,[1] County Wicklow, O'Connor began playing football with his local side Arklow Town and Dublin club Home Farm before joining the Under 19 side of UCD in August 2014.[2] He made his first team debut for the club on 7 March 2015, the opening day of the 2015 League of Ireland First Division season, replacing Dylan Watts in the 89th minute of a 3–0 win over Cobh Ramblers at St Colman's Park.[3] In February 2018, he scored a 93rd minute winner in the final of the Collingwood Cup against QUB.[4] He was part of the side that won the 2018 League of Ireland First Division title, which was confirmed with a 1–1 draw against Finn Harps at the UCD Bowl on 14 September 2018.[5] O'Connor was voted by his fellow League of Ireland First Division players into the PFAI First Division Team of the Year for 2018.[6] He made a total of 86 appearances in all competitions during his 4 seasons at the club, scoring 12 goals.[7] March 2019 saw O'Connor named Colleges and Universities Player of the Year at the FAI International Football Awards for his performances for University College Dublin's Collingwood Cup side.[8]

Cork City

Deaspite leaving UCD at the end of the season, O'Connor still moved up to the League of Ireland Premier Division signing for Cork City ahead of the 2019 season.[9][10] He made his Premier Division debut in the opening game of the season away to St Patrick's Athletic as his side lost 1–0 at Richmond Park but he did enough to impress the watching Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy who said 'Daire O'Connor, he was the one player who stood out for me, he played very very well I thought. Whether it was on the right or on the left, he went and played in behind the striker. He was the one that stood out.'[11][12][13] On 6 October 2020, it was announced that he had left the club, just 5 games before the end of the season after being told he was surplus to requirements by manager Neale Fenn.[14][15][16][17] In the days the announcement, O'Connor revealed that he was 'baffled' at being told he was no longer required at the club following no falling out with his manager, stating 'I didn't expect to go in Monday morning to training and not go back again.'[18][19] He scored 5 goals in 47 appearances over his 2 seasons at the club.[7]

Cliftonville

O'Connor signed for NIFL Premiership side Cliftonville on 21 October 2020 until the end of the season.[20][21] In March 2021, Cliftonville manager Paddy McLaughlin called O'Connor 'unplayable' and backed him for a big future in the game.[22] He scored 8 goals in 39 games for the club over the season.[7]

Ayr United

On 28 July 2021, O'Connor signed for Scottish Championship side Ayr United.[23][24] He made his debut for the club on 2 August 2021 in a 2–0 loss to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.[25] O'Connor scored his first goal for the club on 14 September 2021, opening the scoring in a 3–0 Scottish Challenge Cup win away to Rangers B.[26] He spent 2 seasons at the club, making a total of 59 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.

Glentoran

On 24 June 2023, O'Connor signed for NIFL Premiership club Glentoran.[27]

Career statistics
As of match played on 6 October 2023[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
UCD 2015 League of Ireland First Division 11200100[lower-alpha 3]02[lower-alpha 4]0142
2016 1621010—2[lower-alpha 5]0202
2017 1920000—2[lower-alpha 5]0212
2018 2763010—0[lower-alpha 5]0316
Total 7312403000608612
Cork City 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division 29400101[lower-alpha 3]03[lower-alpha 6]1345
2020 9020——2[lower-alpha 7]0130
Total 38420101051475
Cliftonville 2020–21 NIFL Premiership 37622——0[lower-alpha 8]0398
Ayr United 2021–22 Scottish Championship 2402000—1[lower-alpha 9]1271
2022–23 2512040—1[lower-alpha 10]0321
Total 4914040—21592
Glentoran 2022–23 NIFL Premiership 10200112[lower-alpha 11]10[lower-alpha 8]0124
Career Total 20725122913113224431
  1. Includes FAI Cup, Irish Cup & Scottish Cup
  2. Includes League of Ireland Cup, Northern Ireland Football League Cup & Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off
  5. Appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup
  6. 2 appearances, 1 goal in the Munster Senior Cup & 1 appearance, 0 goals in the President of Ireland's Cup
  7. Appearances in the Munster Senior Cup
  8. Appearances in the County Antrim Shield
  9. Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  10. Appearances in the Scottish Championship play-offs
  11. Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Club
UCD

Individual

References
  1. "Exciting time to be a fan of Wicklow footballers". independent.
  2. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Daire O'Connor". www.extratime.com.
  3. "League Report: Cobh Ramblers 0 - 3 UCD". ExtraTime.com.
  4. "UCD win the Collingwood Cup | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
  5. Bowl, Emmet Malone at UCD. "UCD top of the class as they make return to Premier Division". The Irish Times.
  6. "Double-winner Michael Duffy named PFAI Player of the Year following stellar season with Dundalk". the42.ie. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  7. "Republic of Ireland - D. O'Connor - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
  8. Malone, Emmet. "Shane Duffy named Republic of Ireland Player of the Year". The Irish Times.
  9. "Dáire O'Connor signs for CCFC". 15 November 2018.
  10. Duffy, Emma. "Cork City capture star midfielder from UCD's 2018 league-winning side". The42.
  11. "McCarthy impressed by Cork's O'Connor". 27 February 2019 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. O'Hehir, Paul (1 March 2019). "Cork City new recruit Daire O'Connor on Mick McCarthy's radar". Irish Mirror.
  13. "Greenlight: Daire O'Connor On Catching Mick's Eye & Being "The Irish Messi"". 26 March 2019.
  14. Hurley, Denis (6 October 2020). "Dáire O'Connor leaves Cork City, Neale Fenn confirms". Irish Examiner.
  15. "Midfielder Daire O'Connor leaves relegation-threatened Cork City with five games left in season". independent.
  16. "Daire O'Connor has left Cork City FC". echo live. 6 October 2020.
  17. "Daire O'Connor leaves Cork City with immediate effect". ExtraTime.com.
  18. Cooney, Gavin. "Daire O'Connor 'baffled' by surprise exit in week of upheaval at Cork City". The42.
  19. "'I didn't expect to go in Monday morning to training and not go back again'". independent.
  20. "Cliftonville Football Club » He who Dairs".
  21. Kelly, Niall. "Dáire O'Connor signs for Cliftonville following Cork City exit". The42.
  22. "'He was unplayable': Daire O'Connor tipped for big future after rare Cliftonville start in win over Glenavon". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  23. "Daire is an Honest Man". Ayr United FC.
  24. "A new challenge for Arklow's O'Connor". independent.
  25. Highet, Lochlin (2 August 2021). "Kilmarnock 2 Ayr United 0 as Ayrshire Derby bragging rights return to Rugby Park". Daily Record.
  26. "Rangers B v Ayr United". BBC Sport.
  27. https://www.glentoran.com/news/transfer-news-daire-oconnor-joins-glens
  28. "D.O'Connor". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
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