WHEN WE CATCH up, Willie O’Connor is just home from another day teaching at Balbriggan Community College.
During the season, the woodwork teacher finishes school at 3.30pm, before heading to training in UCD that gets underway two hours later.
“You’re going against the traffic. It’s not too bad,” he says.
UCD are nicknamed The Students, and the entire squad attend the college coupled with their footballing responsibilities.
And O’Connor might be tempted to give his players an A+ after the season they have just had.
Against the odds, UCD have won promotion to the Premier Division, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2023.
They went up the hard way. After finishing second to champions Cork City, they had to navigate the playoffs, overcoming Longford Town, Bray Wanderers and finally Drogheda last Saturday.
Beating Kevin Doherty’s side was a significant upset.
Drogheda won the FAI Cup as recently as 2024 and, unlike UCD, are a full-time team.
O’Connor was well aware of the threat they posed, citing Brandon Kavanagh in the number 10 position as a danger man.
He emphasised the importance of denying them space in behind and on the wings, where they possess great pace. Set pieces were a worry also.
Advertisement
But most importantly, UCD needed to stay true to their principles.
“The big thing for us was: ‘Can we go and play the way we play?’ And that’s to be brave on the ball and keep possession and play under pressure. From our point of view, we weren’t really doing too much different from what we would have done all season.”
Playing an attractive style will be even more challenging next year in the Premier Division, where UCD will have vastly inferior resources to their rivals.
When they last competed in the top flight, they looked out of their depth, picking up only 11 points from 36 games.
O’Connor is determined to avoid history repeating itself.
“We’re under no illusions whatsoever about the task,” he says. “But not too much will change. Our training schedule is probably as maxed out as it can be.”
Normally, the team train on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, plus gym on Monday and Wednesday, and a recovery session on Friday.
UCD’s Sean Murphy celebrates with supporters as UCD are promoted to the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
So while they are technically considered part-time, the schedule is still full-on, and they can avail of the college’s top-class facilities.
That exposure to professionalism and the greater opportunities for young players, compared with most clubs, are among the reasons UCD consistently produce many highly regarded footballers.
Ex-Students Liam Scales and Adam Brennan have won senior Ireland caps in recent times.
Others, including Tommy Lonergan, Neil Farrugia, Cathal McCarthy, Gary O’Neill, Colm Whelan and Liam Kerrigan, have enjoyed success both elsewhere in Ireland and abroad.
Because of their unique structure and financial limitations, UCD inevitably fail to retain their best players.
But O’Connor stresses that none of the current squad are finished university yet, and so he says they will stick around for the 2027 campaign.
“It’s a no-brainer to stay on and finish your degree, and especially now, with Premier Division football, and you’re also going to get your qualifications and the importance of that and the security it gives you going forward in your career.”
For O’Connor too, promotion is a reward for years of toil. Like many successful coaches, he never played at a high level.
Early in his career, the Donegal native coached the Ulster and Irish schools.
The late Ollie Horgan was a big influence – O’Connor joined his Finn Harps team as a technical coach in 2014.
He spent a couple of months coaching underage at Shelbourne thereafter before being appointed assistant to Andy Myler in 2021, and taking charge of UCD for the last three seasons.
A Uefa Pro Licence holder since 2020, O’Connor also soaked up plenty of information working alongside the likes of Ian Morris, Alan Reynolds and Damien Duff at Shels, while developing “my own beliefs” on how football should be played.
Ultimately, he sees plenty of similarities to his day job.
“You’re trying to teach the boys certain ways to play football – what they do and how they take all information and how you present stuff and explain stuff and different types of learners.
“It’s about what way you can get your point across best. And not just how you get it across best, but the simplest way to put it across, so it’s easy to understand. I do think they very much go hand in hand.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
The teacher-turned-football-manager who has guided his students to glory
WHEN WE CATCH up, Willie O’Connor is just home from another day teaching at Balbriggan Community College.
During the season, the woodwork teacher finishes school at 3.30pm, before heading to training in UCD that gets underway two hours later.
“You’re going against the traffic. It’s not too bad,” he says.
UCD are nicknamed The Students, and the entire squad attend the college coupled with their footballing responsibilities.
And O’Connor might be tempted to give his players an A+ after the season they have just had.
Against the odds, UCD have won promotion to the Premier Division, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2023.
They went up the hard way. After finishing second to champions Cork City, they had to navigate the playoffs, overcoming Longford Town, Bray Wanderers and finally Drogheda last Saturday.
Beating Kevin Doherty’s side was a significant upset.
Drogheda won the FAI Cup as recently as 2024 and, unlike UCD, are a full-time team.
O’Connor was well aware of the threat they posed, citing Brandon Kavanagh in the number 10 position as a danger man.
He emphasised the importance of denying them space in behind and on the wings, where they possess great pace. Set pieces were a worry also.
But most importantly, UCD needed to stay true to their principles.
“The big thing for us was: ‘Can we go and play the way we play?’ And that’s to be brave on the ball and keep possession and play under pressure. From our point of view, we weren’t really doing too much different from what we would have done all season.”
Playing an attractive style will be even more challenging next year in the Premier Division, where UCD will have vastly inferior resources to their rivals.
When they last competed in the top flight, they looked out of their depth, picking up only 11 points from 36 games.
O’Connor is determined to avoid history repeating itself.
“We’re under no illusions whatsoever about the task,” he says. “But not too much will change. Our training schedule is probably as maxed out as it can be.”
Normally, the team train on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, plus gym on Monday and Wednesday, and a recovery session on Friday.
So while they are technically considered part-time, the schedule is still full-on, and they can avail of the college’s top-class facilities.
That exposure to professionalism and the greater opportunities for young players, compared with most clubs, are among the reasons UCD consistently produce many highly regarded footballers.
Ex-Students Liam Scales and Adam Brennan have won senior Ireland caps in recent times.
Others, including Tommy Lonergan, Neil Farrugia, Cathal McCarthy, Gary O’Neill, Colm Whelan and Liam Kerrigan, have enjoyed success both elsewhere in Ireland and abroad.
Because of their unique structure and financial limitations, UCD inevitably fail to retain their best players.
But O’Connor stresses that none of the current squad are finished university yet, and so he says they will stick around for the 2027 campaign.
“It’s a no-brainer to stay on and finish your degree, and especially now, with Premier Division football, and you’re also going to get your qualifications and the importance of that and the security it gives you going forward in your career.”
For O’Connor too, promotion is a reward for years of toil. Like many successful coaches, he never played at a high level.
Early in his career, the Donegal native coached the Ulster and Irish schools.
The late Ollie Horgan was a big influence – O’Connor joined his Finn Harps team as a technical coach in 2014.
He spent a couple of months coaching underage at Shelbourne thereafter before being appointed assistant to Andy Myler in 2021, and taking charge of UCD for the last three seasons.
A Uefa Pro Licence holder since 2020, O’Connor also soaked up plenty of information working alongside the likes of Ian Morris, Alan Reynolds and Damien Duff at Shels, while developing “my own beliefs” on how football should be played.
Ultimately, he sees plenty of similarities to his day job.
“You’re trying to teach the boys certain ways to play football – what they do and how they take all information and how you present stuff and explain stuff and different types of learners.
“It’s about what way you can get your point across best. And not just how you get it across best, but the simplest way to put it across, so it’s easy to understand. I do think they very much go hand in hand.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Interview League of Ireland LOI Soccer Drogheda United UCD Willie O'Connor