Noel Connors

Noel Connors (born 5 May 1990) is an Irish hurler who played for Waterford Senior Championship club Passage and formerly played for and captained the Waterford senior hurling team. He was usually deployed as a corner-back, but could also be deployed as a full-back or as a centre-back.

Noel Connors
Personal information
Irish name Nollaig Ó Conchubhair
Sport Hurling
Position Left corner-back
Born (1990-05-05) 5 May 1990
Waterford, Ireland
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Nickname Noelie
Club(s)
Years Club
2005-present
 Passage
Club titles
Waterford titles 1
Colleges(s)
Years College
2008-2018
 Waterford Institute of Technology
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles 0
Inter-county(ies)*
Years County Apps (scores)
2009-2019
 Waterford 41 (0-00)
Inter-county titles
Munster titles 1
All-Irelands 0
NHL 1
All Stars 3
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 19:08, 2 January 2019.

Connors began his hurling career with the Passage club, with whom he won Waterford Championship medals at intermediate level in 2007 and at senior level in 2013. He made his debut for the Waterford senior team in 2009, having previously played for the Waterford minor and under-21 teams. Since then Connors has won National Hurling League and Munster Championship medals, as well as being an All-Ireland Championship runner-up in 2017.

Early life

Connors was born in Waterford and raised in Passage East. His father, Noel Connors Snr, played with the Waterford senior hurling team until an injury ended his career, while his brother, Thomas, has also been a member of the Waterford senior hurling team.[1]

Playing career

De La Salle College

Connors attended the De La Salle College in Waterford, with whom he played hurling at all grades. On 11 March 2007, he was at left corner-back when the college defeated St. Flannan's College by 2-09 to 0-11 to win the Harty Cup for the first time.[2] Connors retained his place at left corner-back for the subsequent All-Ireland final against Kilkenny CBS on 22 April 2007. A 0-13 to 1-09 victory secured an inaugural All-Ireland title for De La Salle and for Connors.[3]

Connors was eligible for the De La Salle College senior hurling team again the following year, and won a second successive Harty Cup medal on 9 March 2008 after a 1-11 to 0-07 defeat of Thurles CBS. He was singled out as being particularity effective in nullifying the threat of Thurles forward John O'Neill during the game.[4] On 19 April 2008, Connors was at right wing-back when De La Salle College defeated Thurles CBS in a replay to win the All-Ireland Championship for the second year in-a-row.[5]

Passage

Connors first started hurling at adult level with the Passage club in 2005. He was 15-years-old when he joined the club's intermediate team as a corner-back. On 23 November 2007, he was at left wing-back when Passage defeated Dungarvan by 2-16 to 1-13 to win the Waterford Intermediate Championship.[6]

On 13 October 2013, Connor was at centre-back when Passage defeated Ballygunner by 3-16 to 3-13 in the 2013 Waterford Senior Championship final.[7] It was the club's first ever championship title.

Minor and under-21

Connors made his first appearance for the Waterford minor hurling team in a 3-15 to 0-09 Munster Championship quarter-final defeat by Cork. He was eligible for the minor grade once again in 2008, however, Waterford faced a 4-13 to 1-06 defeat by Cork for the second successive year.[8]

Connors subsequently played for three seasons the Waterford under-21 hurling team, however, he ended his tenure in that grade without any silverware.

Senior

Connors made his senior debut for Waterford on 4 January 2009 in a 1-17 to 2-13 Waterford Crystal Cup defeat of University College Cork.[9] Later that season he played in all six of Waterford's National Hurling League games, before making his first championship start in a 1-08 to 0-11 Munster semi-final draw with Limerick.[10] In spite of being described as one the worst ever championship games, Connors was described as "effective" and earned an 8/10 rating in the Irish Independent.[11] He lined out for the full 70 minutes at left corner-back in Waterford's subsequent 4-14 to 2-16 defeat by Tipperary in the 2009 Munster final.[12]

On 11 July 2010, Connors lined out at left corner-back when Waterford drew 2-15 apiece with Cork in the 2010 Munster final.[13] He retained his position in defence for the subsequent replay, which saw him claim his first silverware after Waterford won by 1-16 to 1-13.[14]

Connors was at his customary position of left corner-back when Waterford lost the 2011 Munster final to Tipperary by 7-19 to 0-19 on 10 July 2011.[15]

Connors was ruled out of Waterford's opening game of the 2012 National League due to a hamstring injury.[16] It was later revealed that he was suffering from a bulging disc in his back which ruled him out of the entire league campaign.[17] Connor's return to action in the championship was further hampered by a possible groin injury.[18] On 15 July, he lined out in defence in the 2012 Munster final defeat by Tipperary.[19]

On 3 May 2015, Connors was named at left corner-back but lined out at right corner-back where he marked Cork's Patrick Horgan in the 2015 National League final. The 1-24 to 0-17 victory gave him a National League medal.[20] On 12 July 2015, Connors played the full 70 minutes when Waterford were beaten for the fourth time in six seasons by Tipperary in the 2015 Munster final.[21] He ended the season by winning a second GAA/GPA All-Star award.[22]

On 1 May 2016, Connors was at left corner-back when Waterford drew 0-22 apiece with Clare in the 2016 National League final.[23] He was switched to the full-back position for the replay, which Waterford lost by 1-23 to 2-19.[24] On 10 July, Connors was substituted in the 58th minute of the 2016 Munster final, with Waterford eventually losing by 5-19 to 0-13.[25]

On 3 September 2017, Connors lined out opposite Galway's Conor Whelan in his usual position of left corner-back in the 2017 All-Ireland final. Waterford eventually lost the final by 0-26 to 2-17.[26] Connors ended the season by winning a third GAA/GPA All-Star award.[27]

On 2 January 2019, Connors was appointed captain of the Waterford senior hurling team.[28]

On 13 October 2019, Connors was dropped from the panel entirely. [29]

Career statistics
As of match played 17 June 2018.
Team Year National League Munster All-Ireland Total
DivisionAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScoreAppsScore
Waterford 2009 Division 1 60-0030-0020-00110-00
2010 60-0030-0010-00100-00
2011 50-0020-0020-0090-00
2012 Division 1A 00-0020-0010-0030-00
2013 10-0010-0030-0050-00
2014 60-0020-0010-0090-00
2015 Division 1B 80-0020-0020-00120-00
2016 Division 1A 60-0020-0030-00110-00
2017 50-0010-0050-00110-00
2018 30-0030-00—60-00
Total 460-00210-00200-00870-00

Honours
De La Salle College
Passage
Waterford
Individual

References
  1. "My Club: Noel Connors - Passage". GAA website. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. "De La Salle Power to Harty title". Irish Independent. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. "Power base sees De La Salle land first title". Irish Independent. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  4. "McGrath puts Harty joy down to team spirit". Irish Independent. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. "De La Salle hold their nerve". Irish Examiner. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  6. "Passage the victors in epic intermediate final". The Munster Express. 29 November 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  7. "Passage dream comes true". Irish Examiner. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  8. "Munster MHC: Rebels put fancied Waterford to the sword". Hogan Stand. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  9. "Waterford hold on for close win against UCC". Breaking News. 4 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  10. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (15 June 2009). "Semple snore draw simply awful". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  11. Breheny, Martin (15 June 2009). "Limerick miss Reale opportunity". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  12. "Classy Corbett Tipps the scales". Irish Independent. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  13. "Replay for Cork and Waterford after Thurles thriller". Irish Examiner. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. Hogan, Vincent (19 July 2010). "Shanahan settles epic". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  15. "Munster massacre: Tipp in seventh heaven". Irish Independent. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  16. Foley, Cliona (6 March 2012). "Deise boss Ryan refusing to rush back big names". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  17. Fogarty, John (14 March 2012). "Injured Connors still stresses positives for Déise". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  18. "Injury problems mount for Waterford boss Ryan". RTÉ Sport. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  19. "Tipperary too strong for plucky Waterford". Irish Examiner. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  20. O'Toole, Fintan (3 May 2015). "Waterford crowned hurling league champions with emphatic win over Cork". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  21. McGoldrick, Seán (6 March 2012). "Tipperary claim Munster hurling title with tight win over Waterford". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  22. Kelly, Niall (6 November 2015). "7 from Kilkenny, 4 from Galway: Here's the 2015 Allstar hurling team of the year". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  23. McGoldrick, Seán (1 May 2016). "Incredible drama as Waterford force league final replay after monster 70m free". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  24. O'Toole, Fintan (8 May 2016). "Kelly the scoring hero as Clare claim dramatic league final win over Waterford". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  25. Breheny, Martin (11 July 2016). "Tipp torrents wash Deise hopes away". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  26. McGoldrick, Seán (3 September 2017). "Galway end All Ireland famine with tight win over Waterford at Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  27. Duffy, Emma (2 November 2017). "7 from Galway and 5 from Waterford - the 2017 All-Star hurling team". The 42. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  28. "Connors to captain Waterford". Hogan Stand. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. "New Waterford hurling manager drops Connors and Shanahan from panel". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
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