Edward O'Connell

Edward 'Marie' O’Connell was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Blackrock and with the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1920s and 1930s.

Born in Cork O’Connell first tasted hurling success in the 1920s when he won several county titles with Blackrock. This success with ‘the Rockies’ paved the way for O’Connell to join the Cork senior hurling team. He won a National Hurling League medal at the start of 1926 before later collecting his first Munster title following a three game series against Tipperary. O’Connell later captured his first All-Ireland medal following a final victory over Kilkenny at a snow covered Croke Park.

O’Connell won his second Munster title in 1927, however, Cork were soundly beaten by Dublin in the subsequent championship decider. The following year Cork retained their provincial title before defeating Galway by 6-12 to 1-0 in the championship decider, giving O’Connell his second All-Ireland medal. In 1929 he added a fourth consecutive Munster medal to his collection before capturing a third All-Ireland medal following a second consecutive victory over Galway. Cork lost their provincial crown in 1930, however, the team bounced back in 1931 with O’Connell collecting his fifth Munster medal. He later went on to capture a fourth All-Ireland title following a three-game marathon with Kilkenny. O’Connell was appointed captain of the Cork team in 1932, however, the glory days were now gone. He retired from hurling shortly after.

O'Connell died on January 28, 1971.