Davie O’Connor (born: 8 February 1985) is a left-sided midfielder who first found success on the League of Ireland scene with Kilkenny City in 2005. Loaned out from Saint Patrick’s Athletic, where he failed to make a breakthrough to the first-team in his two years there, O’Connor helped Kilkenny from bottom-of-the-table to a fourth-placed finish. Having previously picked up just seven points from the first fifteen games, manager Pat Scully brought in a whole new team in the July transfer window and guided them to 45 points from the final 63 on offer, an incredible run of form which O’Connor was very much part of. He netted his first goal for the Cats in a 2-0 home win over eventual champions Sligo Rovers on 16 July, and he went on to score a further four, one of which came in a 1-1 home draw with Dundalk on 1 October.
 
Kilkenny missed out on a playoff spot by six points, and after Scully went to take over relegated Shamrock Rovers, the ex-centre half took a number of City players with him, including Tallaght native, O’Connor. Davie made his competitive Hoops debut when playing 64 minutes of the opening day win over Dundalk at Tolka Park, though he went on to play just half the league games of the club’s First Division title success (15 starts/3 subs). His very first, and only ever Rovers league goal, came with the opening strike in a 4-0 home thrashing of Monaghan United. O’Connor remained with the Hoops for their first venture back into the Premier Division, and although he once again only played half of their league games (10 starts/6 subs), the young winger played an important role in Rovers eventually finishing fifth. His last ever involvement in a Hoops jersey came with a substitute appearance in the 4-0 win over Galway United on 14 September, as O’Connor was released along with ten others within days of the season’s end.
 
Approached by John Gill soon after, O’Connor had little hesitation in dropping a division and signing on at Oriel Park, as he looks to lead another sleeping giant back to the Promised Land.
 
Profile last updated: February 2008