Luke Connolly
Irish Gaelic footballer
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Luke Connolly (born 2 November 1992) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. He played for club side nemo Rangers and was a member of the Cork senior football team from 2015 to 2021.[1][2] Connolly usually lined out as a forward.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 November 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Gaelic Football | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right corner-forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * club appearances and scores correct as of 22:14, 27 September 2021. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:48, 16 January 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career
Coláiste Chríost Rí
Connolly first came to football prominence as a student in Coláiste Chríost Rí in Cork. In his final year with the school he won a Corn Uí Mhuirí medal after a "prolific" performance at full-forward in a 1-12 to 1-07 win over Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in the final.[3]
University College Cork
During his studies at University College Cork, Connolly was selected for the college's senior football team. On 22 February 2014, he won a Sigerson Cup medal after lining out at centre-forward in the 0-10 to 0-09 win over Ulster University in the final.[4]
Nemo Rangers
Connolly joined the nemo Rangers club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He first enjoyed success with the club's under-21 team, claiming a Cork County U21AFC after top-scoring with 1-04 in the 2-13 to 0-05 win over Bantry Blues in the 2012 final.[5] By this stage Connolly had already joined the Nemo Rangers senior team, having made his debut in a 0-12 to 1-07 win over Ballincollig in the first round of the 2011 Cork County Championship.
On 25 October 2015, Connolly won his first County Senior Championship medal after lining out at full-forward in the 1-10 to 0-11 defeat of Castlehaven in the final replay.[6][7] He again lined out in the forwards when Nemo suffered a 1-07 to 0-09 defeat by Clonmel Commercials in the 2015 Munster club final.[8]
Connolly won a second county championship winners' medal after scoring 1-01 from right corner-forward in the 4-12 to 3-13 win over St. Finbarr's in the 2017 county final.[9] He later claimed his first Munster Club Championship medal after top-scoring with ten points in the 0-16 to 0-11 defeat of Dr. Crokes in the 2017 Munster club final.[10] On 17 March 2018, Connolly again top scored for Nemo when they suffered a 2-19 to 0-10 defeat by Corofin in the 2018 All-Ireland club final.[11]
On 27 October 2019, Connolly claimed a third county championship winners' medal after a 2-08 to 0-10 win over Duhallow in the county final.[12] He later won a second Munster Club Championship medal after top-scoring for Nemo in the 0-15 to 0-06 win over Clonmel Commercials in the 2019 Munster club final.[13]
Cork
Connolly first played for Cork when he was added to the minor panel in advance of the 2010 Munster Minor Championship. After winning a Munster Minor Championship medal as a non-playing substitute after a 1-08 to 1-07 win over Kerry, Connolly made his only appearance in the grade when he came on as a substitute in the 1-13 to 1-12 defeat by Tyrone in the 2010 All-Ireland minor final.[14][15]
After progressing onto the Cork under-21, Connolly won a Munster Championship title in that grade after a 2-14 to 1-17 extra-time defeat of Kerry in the 2012 Munster under-21 final.[16] He collected a second successive provincial winners' medal after a 1-17 to 0-09 win over Tipperary in the 2013 decider.[17] On 14 May 2013, Connolly was held scoreless from left corner-forward when Cork suffered a 1-14 to 1-11 defeat by Galway in the 2013 All-Ireland under-21 final.[18]
Connolly was added to the Cork senior training panel prior to the start of the 2015 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 1 February 2015 when he came on as a 66th-minute substitute for Colm O'Driscoll in a 1-15 to 0-16 win over Dublin.[19]
On 2 July 2017, Connolly made his first Munster final appearance when he was selected at full-forward against Kerry. He scored two points, including one from a free, but ended the game on the losing side after a 1-23 to 0-15 defeat.[20]
Career statistics
Club
| Team | Season | Cork | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Nemo Rangers | 2011-12 | 3 | 0-03 | — | — | 3 | 0-03 | ||
| 2012-13 | 4 | 2-18 | — | — | 4 | 2-18 | |||
| 2013-14 | 6 | 1-13 | — | — | 6 | 1-13 | |||
| 2014-15 | 3 | 1-07 | — | — | 3 | 1-07 | |||
| 2015-16 | 5 | 0-13 | 2 | 0-05 | — | 7 | 0-18 | ||
| 2016-17 | 5 | 3-21 | — | — | 5 | 3-21 | |||
| 2017-18 | 7 | 4-30 | 2 | 1-13 | 2 | 2-11 | 11 | 7-54 | |
| 2018-19 | 3 | 2-18 | — | — | 3 | 2-18 | |||
| 2019-20 | 4 | 2-15 | 3 | 0-13 | 1 | 0-02 | 8 | 2-30 | |
| 2020-21 | 6 | 7-22 | — | — | 6 | 7-22 | |||
| 2021-22 | 3 | 2-10 | — | — | 3 | 2-10 | |||
| 2022-23 | 6 | 4-24 | 1 | 0-06 | — | 7 | 4-30 | ||
| 2023-24 | 5 | 2-11 | — | — | 5 | 2-11 | |||
| Career total | 60 | 30-205 | 8 | 1-37 | 3 | 2-13 | 71 | 33-255 | |
Inter-county
| Team | Year | National League | Munster | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Cork | 2015 | Division 1 | 1 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-00 |
| 2016 | 6 | 1-10 | 0 | 0-00 | 1 | 0-01 | 7 | 1-11 | ||
| 2017 | Division 2 | 4 | 1-06 | 2 | 1-04 | 1 | 1-01 | 7 | 3-11 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0-00 | 2 | 1-12 | 1 | 0-09 | 3 | 1-21 | ||
| 2019 | 6 | 0-18 | 2 | 2-00 | 4 | 3-09 | 12 | 5-27 | ||
| 2020 | Division 3 | 4 | 2-10 | 2 | 0-07 | — | 6 | 2-17 | ||
| 2021 | Division 2 | 3 | 1-09 | 2 | 0-01 | — | 5 | 1-10 | ||
| Total | 24 | 5-53 | 10 | 4-24 | 7 | 4-20 | 41 | 13-97 | ||
Honours
- Coláiste Chríost Rí
- Corn Uí Mhuirí: 2011
- University College Cork
- Sigerson Cup: 2014
- Nemo Rangers
- Munster Senior Club Football Championship: 2017, 2019
- Cork Premier Senior Football Championship: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020
- Cork