Barry O’Connor weighs in on potential Wexford Senior hurling call-up

St Martins won two-in-a-row of Wexford Senior hurling titles recently…

One player who has been pivotal to their success was Barry O’Connor, the son of the great George O’Connor.

O’Connor left Ireland in 2019. He played for four years with Australian Football side, Sydney Swans, before then moving to play with Greater Western Sydney Giants. When that came to an end in 2023, he jumped into a regular day job in tech sales and stayed living in the area.

After performing well throughout the Wexford Senior hurling championship, scoring 1-02 in the Wexford SHC final – and then hitting another 1-02 from play in their recent win over All-Ireland champions Na Fianna, there has been calls for O’Connor to be called up to the Wexford Senior hurling panel – or even placed directly on the Wexford Senior hurling team.

Following his performances, he may have been under the radar of Wexford Senior hurling manager, Keith Rossiter, as he looks to strengthen the panel ahead of the new season. Another man likely who was likely following O’Connor’s progress was Wexford football manager, John Hegarty, however, it’s safe to say that neither of those call-ups look likely now.

Speaking to GAA.ie in a recent interview, the 6ft4 St Martins man said that he’ll be returning to Australia once St Martins are finished in both their respective hurling and football Leinster/All-Ireland club campaigns.

“I’ll stay until we’re finished here. My cousin, Jack, is getting married in a few weeks so I definitely can’t miss that one. Look, I couldn’t miss this for the world,” he told GAA.ie in a recent interview.

For O’Connor, he believes that sport isn’t everything – but he does believe he will move back to Ireland at some stage to live permanently.

“It’s a very hard one to explain and I won’t take up all of your time with it! But, as you know, there’s more to life than sport as well. I’m very, very fortunate to be here and to be able to come home and do this. Here is always home.”

Given O’Connor’s stature and ability aronud the half-forward line, he would be a welcomed addition to the either panel should he decide to move back to Ireland in the future. For now though, he’s set to enjoy the remaining club campaigns – and those only – before he sets sail Down Under.