Alan Connolly (hurler)
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 July 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Account handler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1[1] in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Hurling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Full-forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * club appearances and scores correct as of 21:08, 8 October 2024. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 18:23, 26 April 2026. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alan Connolly (born 19 July 2001) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with Blackrock and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He usually lines out at full-forward.
Born and raised in Blackrock, Connolly first played hurling to a high standard as a student at St Francis College in Rochestown. He progressed through the various age grades before joining the school's senior team. Connolly was top scorer with 0-07 when St Francis College beat Hamilton High School by 1-13 to 0-14 to claim the Munster PPS SBHC title.[2] He was a Dr O'Callaghan Cup runner-up in February 2020 after a 3-24 to 1-15 defeat by Midleton CBS, in what was his last game for Rochestown College.[3] Connolly later studied at Munster Technological University Cork and was added to their Fitzgibbon Cup panel in 2023.[4]
Club career
Connolly began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the Blackrock club, before progressing to the club's senior team. He made his championship debut in a 1–25 to 2–16 defeat by Newtownshandrum in August 2019.[5] Connolly won a Cork SHC medal in October 2020 after top-scoring with 0-13 in the 4-26 to 4-18 extra-time defeat of Glen Rovers in the final.[6] He also claimed the man of the match award and was the championship's top scorer with 5-52.
Inter-county career
Connolly first played for Cork as a member of the minor team during their unsuccessful Munster MHC campaign in 2018.[7][8] After a year with no inter-county activity, he joined Cork's under-20 team in 2020. Success in this grade was immediate with Connolly claiming Munster and All-Ireland U20HC medals in 2020 after respective defeats of Tipperary and Dublin.[9][10]
Connolly had one more year of under-20 hurling, however, his inclusion on the senior team in 2021, after being an unused substitute the previous year, made him ineligible for the grade.[11][12] He made his senior debut in May 2021 when he scored two goals after coming on as a substitute for Shane Barrett in a 5–22 to 1–27 National Hurling League defeat of Waterford.[13] Connolly was part of the matchday panel when Cork suffered a 3-32 to 1-22 defeat by Limerick in the 2021 All-Ireland final.[14]
Connolly was at full-forward when Cork lost the 2022 National League final to Waterford.[15] He missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury, before a hamstring injury further delayed his return.[16]
Personal life
Connolly's uncles, Tom and Jim Cashman, won six All-Ireland SHC medals between them with Cork between 1977 and 1990. His grandfather, Mick Cashman, was a substitute on Cork's 1952–1954 three-in-a-row team, while his granduncle, Jimmy Brohan, also lined out with that team.[17]