Tommy O'Connell (Cork hurler)
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2000 (age 25–26) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Barista[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Hurling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Right wing-forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * club appearances and scores correct as of 20:30, 6 October 2024. **Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 16:44, 9 June 2025. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thomas O'Connell (born 2000) is an Irish hurler. At club level, he plays with Midleton and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team.
Born and raised in Midleton, County Cork, O'Connell first played hurling to a high standard as a student at Christian Brothers College, Cork. He progressed through the various age grades before eventually joining the school's senior team and lined out in several Harty Cup campaigns.[2] O'Connell later studied at University of Limerick and won an All-Ireland Freshers' Championship medal in 2019 after scoring nine points from corner-forward in the 3–17 to 1–10 win over Limerick Institute of Technology.[3] He subsequently transferred to University College Cork and was part of their Fitzgibbon Cup-winning panel in 2020.[4]
Club career
O'Connell began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the Midleton club in East Cork. He captained the club's under-14 team to the Cork Féile na nGael title in 2014, before later collecting Premier 1 U16HC and Premier 1 MHC titles in 2016 and 2018 respectively.[5][6]
O'Connell was in his last year of the minor grade when he made his senior team debut. He came on as a 43rd-minute substitute in the 4–19 to 1–18 defeat by Imokilly in the final in October 2018.[7] O'Connell won a Cork PSHC medal in November 2021 following Midleton's 0–24 to 1–18 win over Glen Rovers in the final.[8] He was on the losing side in a final for a second time in October 2023 when Sarsfields beat Midleton by two points.[9]
Inter-county career
O'Connell first played for Cork as a member of the under-17 team during the holding of a one-off special championship in 2017. He won a Munster U17HC medal in this grade after a defeat of Waterford, before lining out at wing-forward in Cork's subsequent 1-19 to 1-17 defeat of Dublin in the All-Ireland final.[10] After a year with no inter-county activity, O'Connell joined Cork's under-20 team in 2019. He ended the season without success, as Cork were beaten by Tipperary in the Munster and All-Ireland finals.[11][12] O'Connell was again eligible for the under-20 grade the following year and he claimed Munster and All-Ireland U20HC medals after respective defeats of Tipperary and Dublin.[13][14]
O'Connell was added to the senior team in January 2019 and was listed amongst the substitute for Cork's defeat by Kilkenny in the National League later that month.[15][16] He was on and off the team for a number of years before becoming a more regular panel member in 2022.[17] O'Connell came on as a substitute for Robert Downey in Cork's 3–29 to 1–34 extra-time defeat by Clare in the 2024 All-Ireland final.[18]
O'Connell claimed his first senior silverware in April 2025 when Cork won the National Hurling League title following a 3–24 to 0–23 win over Tipperary in the final.[19] This was later followed by a Munster SHC medal after Cork's penalty shootout defeat of Limerick in the 2025 Munster final.[20]