Davie O’Connor interviewed by Keith Wallace
September 22nd 2008 ALREADY THE HOLDER of a league winners medal - that success coming at the age of just 21 with Shamrock Rovers – Davie O’Connor is another one of the ‘Lilyhoops’ contingent that has arrived at Oriel Park in recent seasons. The left winger joined Dundalk at the end of last year after being released from a two-year spell at Rovers, and, despite losing his place in the starting XI in recent weeks, the 23-year-old has proved an important figure in the Louth club’s rise to the top of the First Division standings this term.
The Saint
O’Connor spent six years at Dublin junior club Cherry Orchard, winning two leagues and numerous cups, as well as playing in the prestigious Milk Cup, before moving on to his first League of Ireland club, Saint Patrick’s Athletic, in 2004. “At the end of my time with Cherry Orchard, Johnny McDonnell was just taking over at Saint Pats and I was asked up there by him,” Davie explains to the DFC Magazine. “I was training up there with Gerry Scully and Paul Osam. I was training with the first-team when I was around 18 and I was playing well for the under-21s, but I didn’t play for the seniors, so I went out on-loan then to Kilkenny City.”
Cats Call
O’Connor joined Kilkenny in midseason with the Cats rooted to the bottom of the First Division table. However, an incredible run under Pat Scully saw City rapidly climb the table as they accumulated 45 points from the final 21 games, eventually finishing fourth. “It was really good,” he admits. “I really enjoyed it. I done well there. When I signed, we were bottom and three points off second last. I seen it as a challenge for myself. Pat Scully brought in a few new players and we went on a great run and we ended up nearly getting to the playoffs. It was just one of those things where everything went right for us and it was a great season. It was a great move for me. I was getting experience and it was good for me for training, because it was full-time at Pats and I was finding that hard because I was at college as well. At Kilkenny, I was playing at a more physical level as well and it was definitely great for my game.”
Rovers Arrival
The left winger’s impressive performances during that amazing sequence of form resulted in Scully offering him a contract at Shamrock Rovers for the following season. A move which O’Connor couldn’t resist, and one that worked out perfectly as the Hoops went on to win the First Division title. “I had a choice between going back to Pats or moving to Rovers,” he reveals, “and I chose Rovers. It was a huge move for me. Rovers are one of the biggest clubs in the country, and obviously it was great to be asked to join a club like that. It was a dream move for me. I done okay there. I played most of the games, but I got injured towards the end of it then; I cracked my rib and punctured my lung. We won the league and done well in the cup that year as well – we made it to the semis and should have got to the final – so it was a great season.”
Life Goes On
Soon after collecting his first piece of silverware in senior soccer, Davie was offered another new contract by Scully as he was signed on for Rovers’ return to the Premier Division. However, despite a good start to the season, O’Connor fell out of favour and appeared just once – as a substitute – between July and the end of the campaign. “It was kind of a mixed bag for me,” the 23-year-old admits. “In the first half of the season, it was going great. We were doing really well and I think we were coming second at one stage. In the second half of the year then, it wasn’t really going well for me. I kind of let it drop and because of a couple of differences, I ended up not really playing at all. Obviously, everybody wants to play so it was disappointing, but these things happen. Because of whatever reason, I wasn’t playing for the club, but life goes on.”
Attractive Move
Due to that, O’Connor’s release from Rovers at the end of last year came as no surprise, and he soon joined four fellow Hoops outcasts at Oriel Park as he signed for Dundalk within weeks of departing Tolka Park. “I knew John from playing with Tallaght IT and Gerry Scully from playing at Pats,” the youngster explains. “They were in contact with me along with a few others. I just really liked the way John spoke about the club and I always knew how big football was in Dundalk, so it was a very attractive move for me. I’m enjoying it so far. It’s a great club and there’s great people around it. The fans are good and we have a great team here. There’s some great experience in the team and some very talented players, and we have a team that is well capable of going on and winning this league. Personally, I’m out of the team at the moment, but I’ve just got to keep my head down and try to get back in it.”
On Top
Despite losing his place in the side recently, O’Connor has played a big role in Dundalk’s success so far this season. And, he is extremely confident that the Lilywhites can still be in front when the finish line comes around in November. “We’re on top, so that’s always good,” Davie says. “I feel we could be doing better, though. We should be further ahead. It’s only down to our own mishaps that we’re not more in front. The First Division is a very difficult league and every game is really tough. In these last ten games, it’s important to think of every match as a cup final. You just take each game one by one, concentrate on each one and be professional about it, and try to win every game at all costs – it doesn’t really matter about performances at this stage. I think this is a club that should be in the Premier; it should be for some time now. I’m pretty sure we will be next year, and I would like to still be here if we are.”
FULL PLAYER PROFILE
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 eighteen months 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 virtually 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. His Dundalk debut came in the side’s opening day scoreless draw at Shelbourne on 7 March, while his first and only league goal to date came with the last visit of tonight’s opponents, Kildare County, when he netted the fourth goal in a 6-0 win back in May.
