St Martin's forward Barry O'Connor. Lorraine O’Sullivan/INPHO
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'I'll stay until we're finished' - Ex-AFL player O'Connor vying for club's dual Leinster hunt
Barry O’Connor is based in Sydney but says he will continue to line out for St Martin’s of Wexford until their hurling and football campaigns are over.
FORMER AFL PLAYER Barry O’Connor has guaranteed his St Martin’s colleagues that he’ll see out the Leinster club campaigns with them.
The Wexford club are fighting on two fronts in their province, as county SHC champions and IFC winners.
O’Connor struck 1-2 for the hurlers last Sunday in their dramatic comeback win over Leinster and All-Ireland title holders Na Fianna.
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Two thirds of the starting team are dual players, including O’Connor, and they’ll travel to face Westmeath’s Tubberclair in the Leinster club IFC this Saturday.
O’Connor’s central role on the two teams is all the more remarkable considering he’s been based in Australia since 2019, when he first joined Sydney Swans.
He spent three seasons with the Swans before completing a year with Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2023, and has remained Down Under since.
O’Connor has a regular day job and still plays for a local Aussie Rules team but has returned home to play for St Martin’s in the 2024 and 2025 club championships.
“I’ll stay until we’re finished here,” said the powerful 27-year-old. “My cousin, Jack, who is playing too, is getting married in a few weeks so I definitely can’t miss that one! But yeah, look, I couldn’t miss this for the world. I’ll definitely be here until it finishes up.”
It could be a long winter because the St Martin’s hurlers are favourites to overcome Naas in Sunday week’s provincial semi-final.
O’Connor’s cousins, Wexford stars Rory and Jack, would love him to stick around for good. Both county senior managers would probably like to talk to him about 2026 too. O’Connor is happy with his life in Oz.
“I’m in Sydney, with the rest of the Irish out there,” said the son of Wexford hurling great George. “It’s a good life out there, I really enjoy it.”
Failing to extend his stay in the AFL hasn’t soured the experience for the former Wexford senior footballer and 2017 Hogan Cup finalist.
“I gave it a massive go and I’d have no regrets over it,” he said. “I would have liked for it to go a little bit differently. I still play semi-professionally over there but I wouldn’t be going out with the aim of trying to get back on a professional list. Obviously if someone threw me a contract I’d probably go and take it! But it’s not something I’m really thinking of.”
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Asked if he has any plans to return to Wexford permanently at some stage, O’Connor nodded.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “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. I find it hard to picture a world where I’m not spending a lot of time here.
“But yeah, I wish I knew the answer to that myself. But I probably don’t right now. At the moment, I’m just trying to enjoy what we’re experiencing.”
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'I'll stay until we're finished' - Ex-AFL player O'Connor vying for club's dual Leinster hunt
FORMER AFL PLAYER Barry O’Connor has guaranteed his St Martin’s colleagues that he’ll see out the Leinster club campaigns with them.
The Wexford club are fighting on two fronts in their province, as county SHC champions and IFC winners.
O’Connor struck 1-2 for the hurlers last Sunday in their dramatic comeback win over Leinster and All-Ireland title holders Na Fianna.
Two thirds of the starting team are dual players, including O’Connor, and they’ll travel to face Westmeath’s Tubberclair in the Leinster club IFC this Saturday.
O’Connor’s central role on the two teams is all the more remarkable considering he’s been based in Australia since 2019, when he first joined Sydney Swans.
He spent three seasons with the Swans before completing a year with Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2023, and has remained Down Under since.
O’Connor has a regular day job and still plays for a local Aussie Rules team but has returned home to play for St Martin’s in the 2024 and 2025 club championships.
“I’ll stay until we’re finished here,” said the powerful 27-year-old. “My cousin, Jack, who is playing too, is getting married in a few weeks so I definitely can’t miss that one! But yeah, look, I couldn’t miss this for the world. I’ll definitely be here until it finishes up.”
It could be a long winter because the St Martin’s hurlers are favourites to overcome Naas in Sunday week’s provincial semi-final.
O’Connor’s cousins, Wexford stars Rory and Jack, would love him to stick around for good. Both county senior managers would probably like to talk to him about 2026 too. O’Connor is happy with his life in Oz.
“I’m in Sydney, with the rest of the Irish out there,” said the son of Wexford hurling great George. “It’s a good life out there, I really enjoy it.”
Failing to extend his stay in the AFL hasn’t soured the experience for the former Wexford senior footballer and 2017 Hogan Cup finalist.
“I gave it a massive go and I’d have no regrets over it,” he said. “I would have liked for it to go a little bit differently. I still play semi-professionally over there but I wouldn’t be going out with the aim of trying to get back on a professional list. Obviously if someone threw me a contract I’d probably go and take it! But it’s not something I’m really thinking of.”
Asked if he has any plans to return to Wexford permanently at some stage, O’Connor nodded.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “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. I find it hard to picture a world where I’m not spending a lot of time here.
“But yeah, I wish I knew the answer to that myself. But I probably don’t right now. At the moment, I’m just trying to enjoy what we’re experiencing.”
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