Cillian O'Connor
Cillian O'Connor (born 1992) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Ballintubber and the Mayo county team.[1] O'Connor is the leading all-time top scorer in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Cillian Ó Conchúir | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Corner Forward | ||
| Born |
13 May 1992 Castlebar, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Occupation | Primary school teacher | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
2009– | Ballintubber | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Mayo titles | 4 | ||
| Inter-county(ies)* | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
2011– | Mayo | 60 (30-337) *Championship scores only, League scores not included | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 6 | ||
| All-Irelands | 0 | ||
| NFL | 1 | ||
| All Stars | 1 | ||
| *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 6 December 2020. | |||
Career
O'Connor made his Ballintubber club debut whilst still a teenager in 2010.[3] 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.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
In 2019, O'Connor became the highest scoring player in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, surpassing Kerry's Colm Cooper's record.[2] 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.[4] 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.[8][9]
Scoring record
| Year | League Appearances | League Goals | League Points | Championship Appearances | Championship Goals | Championship Points | Total Appearances | Total Goals | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 20 |
| 2012 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 43 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 40 |
| 2014 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 10 | 6 | 47 |
| 2015 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 45 |
| 2016 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 44 | 11 | 3 | 49 |
| 2017 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 10 | 3 | 66 | 17 | 5 | 98 |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 33 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 26 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 6 | 5 | 50 |
| Totals | 35 | 5 | 114 | 60 | 30 | 337 | 95 | 35 | 451 |
Honours
- Team
- Connacht Senior Football Championship (6): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020[10]
- National Football League (1): 2019
- Individual
- All Stars Young Footballer of the Year (2) 2011, 2012[11][12]
- All Star: (1) 2014[6]
- Mayo Footballer of the Year (1) 2011[13]
References
- "Cillian O'Connor helps Ballintubber secure back-to-back Mayo titles". Irish Times. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "Cillian O'Connor makes GAA history". The Mayo News. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "Experience key as Cillian O'Connor eyes fourth final". RTE. 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "O'Connor set to overhaul Cooper at top of the charts". RTÉ. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- Kelly, Niall (2013-09-19). "Cillian O'Connor named in Mayo team for All-Ireland final". The42.ie. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "2014 GAA Football All Stars". Irish Times. 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "Sean Quigley misses out on golden boot after technicality". The Times. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- "Cillian O'Connor the record-breaker as Tipperary fairytale ends". Joe. 6 December 2020.
- "O'Connor breaks All-Ireland scoring record with 4-9". Hogan Stand. 6 December 2020.
- Rooney, Declan (2015-07-20). "Mayo crush Sligo for Connacht five-in-a-row". RTE. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
- Boyle, Donnchadh (29 February 2012). "O'Connor aiming high with Mayo". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- "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.
- "O'Connor pays tribute to teammates". Hogan Stand. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
External links
- Interview with The Mayo News
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Aidan Walsh (Cork) |
All Stars Young Footballer of the Year 2011 |
Succeeded by Himself |
| Preceded by Himself |
All Stars Young Footballer of the Year 2012 |
Succeeded by Jack McCaffrey (Dublin) |