Barry living the dream on Aussie Rules scene
Sydney swan song a long way down the tracks if pleasing progress continues
IT TAKES real ambition and self-belief to uproot to the other side of the world to chase your dream of becoming a professional sportsman.
For Barry O’Connor, the easy route would have been to remain in Wexford and keep playing with distinction for St. Martin’s and the county footballers, but instead he had the confidence and single-mindedness to navigate almost uncharted waters.
When the Sydney Swans came calling, the Piercestown man was always going to take the road less travelled by, and he dived in head first and open-armed to tackle a fresh challenge.
‘At the start, during the whole trial process, and I think a lot of Irish guys are in the same boat, you don’t really take it massively seriously because a lot of guys do get asked to do trials,’ he said.
‘Obviously the majority, the vast majority, don’t get anything out of it. They don’t get offered a contract, they don’t even get offered a proper trial by a club.
‘As far as I knew, I was going to be playing football for Wexford for many years to come. I suppose it was only when I stepped off the plane in Sydney and really saw what it was like and went into the stadium and I got a taste of it that I really started to fully realise that this is what I wanted to do.
‘Being a professional athlete is a pretty unique job. I love playing sport, I’ve played a lot of sports throughout my life so I think it would be pretty silly to turn an opportunity like that down,’ he said.
O’Connor’s path to the Swans began when he impressed at an AFL Combine in Dublin, prompting the club’s general manager, Kinnear Beatson, to express his interest in the young St. Martin’s man, but O’Connor admitted that he hadn’t expected much to come of the trial and he was more concerned with helping his club to glory.
‘At the Combine I actually had to leave it early because we had an Under-20 game against Bunclody, a county final. It was my last under-age game, so that took preference that weekend.
‘I didn’t really realise the opportunity that I had until Kinnear sent me an email asking me to go to Sydney for a trial. I was obviously delighted to get the chance. I went out and did the trial and got on well, and a few months later I got offered a contract,’ he explained.
After signing a two-year contract as an International Category B Rookie, O’Connor made the big move down under last October and, although he quickly settled into his new surroundings, his focus was still firmly on the green, green grass of home, with his mind elsewhere as he kept a close eye on how his former St. Martin’s team-mates were faring in the county hurling final against St. Anne’s.
‘I had a pretty sleepless night, the night of the county final. Obviously it was the middle of the night over here. I told myself I wouldn’t stay up for it, but I ended up waking up anyway.
‘I had my first day of training the next day but I woke up in the middle of the night and I was hooked on the phone. They managed to get over the line, but they seemed to make hard work of it. I was pretty relieved when they got the job done,’ he said.
The settling in process was made easier having got to know his future team-mates during his trial the previous April, as well as having assistant coach Tadhg Kennelly from Kerry and team-mate Colin O’Riordan from Tipperary to help him to acclimatise.
‘Colin’s kind of like my big brother over here. He’s a couple of years older than me and he’s done really, really well so far. He’s been able to guide me in the right direction. I’m really lucky to have him, to be honest.
‘Obviously you wouldn’t be as skilful as the rest of the lads when you arrive over and it takes a while to get to grips with the game, because these guys have been playing it all their lives.
‘Colin is a big help if you’re getting frustrated or anything. I haven’t really suffered with homesickness too much yet, but with that kind of stuff he’d be able to help you out massively.
‘Tadhg’s been great too. We go over to Tadhg’s for dinner every now and then, well pre-corona virus we could. He’s done it all really, he’s won an AFL Premiership and he’s won an All-Ireland medal with Kerry.
‘I’m not sure if that will ever happen again, but he’s a big help too. He’s been there and done it all, so it’s good to have someone like him in your corner,’ he said.
O’Connor’s final game for Wexford, before switching sports, was a Leinster championship loss to Louth last year, and the 21-year-old, who turns 22 next month, is determined to carve out a successful career for himself in his adopted home.
‘Absolutely. That was always the intention when I signed the contract. It wasn’t something I was going to try for a couple of years and see whether I liked it.
‘I knew it was what I wanted to do and that’s very much the aim, to have a successful career here. I love living out here and I love being a professional athlete, so that’s absolutely what I want to do,’ he said.
If it wasn’t for the Covid-19 shutdown, O’Connor would have been honing his craft for the Sydney Swans reserves against the likes of GWS Giants, Brisbane and Gold Coast, which would, all things going well, be a stepping stone to the first team.
‘In normal circumstances that’s where I’d be getting my games in and that would be the plan for this year and hopefully until I made the breakthrough into the first team.
‘We don’t actually know what’s happening at the moment. Hopefully we’ll have reserve games to play when it does come back because it’s an important part of our development,’ he said.
While it’s clear that first team football is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for young, wide-eyed Irish players looking to make their name in the AFL, O’Connor pointed out there’s no hard and fast rule that guarantees success.
‘It depends on the player to be honest. I’m not sure what the statistic is, but I think something like one in three Irish players that join a club actually play an AFL game. A lot of guys suffer homesickness and stuff and adapting to a new game and a new country isn’t easy.
‘For example, Colin played in his third year, but he’s very much a first team player now and he’s a pretty important player for the team. You’ve got other guys that might play in their first year but might not actually have a long career out here, so it just depends on the situation,’ he said.
O’Connor had certainly shown an aptitude for sport at the highest level on these shores before making the 17,000 km trip south, having starred for club and county, although it’s winning a Leinster title and reaching an All-Ireland final with his school, St. Peter’s, in 2017 that he looks back on with most fondness.
‘The club thing is incredible and you can’t replace playing with the guys you grew up with but, to be honest, that year with the school was probably the most memorable team I’ve ever been a part of.
‘Getting to an All-Ireland final in foot- ball with a Wexford school is a great achievement. Going on the journey to win Leinster and sitting in the classroom with these lads.
‘You’d be in a stadium and nearly the whole school would be there chanting our names. That’s definitely something I’ll never forget. It was a special couple of months that campaign,’ he said.
However, O’Connor, whose sisters, Katie and Ella, won a Leinster club camogie title with St. Martin’s two years ago, knows he owes a lot to his club, and thanks his lucky stars that he was surrounded by quality players and friends in his form- ative years.
‘I was blessed to grow up where I did grow up. From primary school we happened to have a good bunch of lads. I suppose in my age group you had Rory [O’Connor] and Conor Firman and a few other guys that have played inter-county level. Above my age you had the likes of
Joe Coleman, Joe O’Connor, Jake Firman, Aaron Maddock, we all played on teams together growing up. We happened to forever, have a lot really. of success, which I’ll cherish
‘It was a great period of my life and I had a lot of fun doing it as well. It was a great place to grow up and play. I probably took it for granted at the time.
‘We got used to winning games and having all the success, but it was just a great bunch of friends and something that you only realise how special it is
when you’re out here, because obviously this is a bit different and has a different dynamic,’ he said.
He cites his father, George, an All-Ireland winner with Wexford in 1996, who was also a top-class footballer, as being a massive influence on him and others, although he stressed there was never any pressure put on him to choose one sport over another.
‘Dad always stood back and let me do what I wanted. He encouraged me, whether it was playing hurling or football, tennis or whatever. He was just happy as long as I was having fun, which was the best way to do it I think.
‘There was never really any pressure and it was just always about enjoyment. You probably develop more quickly and in a better way, because it’s left up to you and you can make your own decisions about it.
‘He’s a brilliant coach. He just always had a way, especially with the younger kids, they all seem to take a shine to him.
‘I’m not sure if it’s the moustache or the smile or the broken fingers that they’re fascinated by, but he has a great way of developing young players and giving them enjoyment out of it as well,’ he said.
One of the many sports O’Connor dabbled in growing up was rugby, developing as a player for almost a decade at Wexford Wanderers, before having to sidestep the oval ball game to commit to Gaelic games, but he believes it may have aided him slightly when trying to adapt to Aussie Rules.
‘I got great enjoyment out of rugby as well, there’s really good people in the club and it was another big part of my development. I’d be a firm believer that playing as many sports as possible as a child is only going to help you in the long run.
‘I suppose having played rugby it does help with reading the bounce and stuff. It’s not going to prepare you that well but it gives you a little bit of help.
‘Being familiar with kicking it and handling it and stuff is nice to have, but you probably need a bit more preparation than just having a rugby background when you come over here. It’s almost like a baptism of fire when you arrive at first, but you get to grips with it slowly,’ he said.
Despite the restrictions, O’Connor has been keeping himself busy trying to stay in peak condition for when sporting action resumes, and with his team-mates returning to Sydney, including his three housemates, he’s starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.
‘All the lads are just after getting back to the house from all over Australia, which is good. I was on my own for a few weeks so it’s good to have them back. The club have asked everyone to come back.
‘For every AFL team, guys are from all over Australia. It’s not like the G.A.A., where you play for where you’re from, so we have a lot of guys in Melbourne and Perth and stuff. Everyone’s coming back this week.
‘I think the plan is, depending on a government announcement, that we’ll get back into small group training next week. It will be groups of eight or ten and hopefully just build it up from there,’ he said.
Despite a minor blip, things had been going quite well for O’Connor prior to the enforced hiatus, and after a good pre-season, he was relishing getting a taste of competitive action.
‘I had a very good pre-season. In my second week I had a little bit of a small calf tear, so that kept me out for a couple of weeks. I’ve just been learning as much as I can about the game. Your first couple of months is just about learning and settling in.
‘They’re not expecting you to be a world-beater in your first couple of months, so it’s just about improving all your skills and getting a good base of fitness, because these guys are all elite athletes. It’s just about trying to get yourself up to that level as quickly as possible,’ he said.
O’Connor, whose cousins Rory, Jack and Joe are pivotal members of Davy Fitzgerald’s Senior hurling panel, is no stranger to being in tip-top shape from his dedication to Gaelic games, and he says the main difference between being a professional athlete and an amateur is that precious commodity: time.
‘I wouldn’t say there’s massive differences. It’s more your time. When you’re professional it’s your job so you’re kind of doing it all day, whereas when you’re an amateur you’re in college or at work for the day and then you rush down to training, sit in a car for two hours, train and go back to Dublin or Wexford or wherever you are.
‘It’s just the time you have on your hands to do little extra bits, do extra strength and conditioning and obviously more kicking. We’ve got better access to facilities. We’re a professional team so everything is there for you.
‘Back home nutrition, recovery, and even just getting training in can be a struggle sometimes with all the other stuff going on in people’s lives.
‘That distraction is kind of out of the way. There’s no magic formula, there’s no different training methods, you just do more of it really,’ he said.
O’Connor painted a picture of what it’s like on a day-to-day basis training at the club’s headquarters at Sydney Cricket Club, although he has yet to experience the daily routine when an AFL season is in full swing.
‘Pre-season is very different to in-season. I haven’t experienced much of in-season yet, but in pre-season on Monday, Wednesday and Friday we put in a pretty big session.
‘You’d arrive in at maybe 7 a.m. to the club and get ready, do all your strapping and foam rolling and stretching. After a meeting you’d be out on the pitch at about 8:30 and train for two and a half or three hours. Usually there’s a lot of running involved in the heat, which takes a bit of getting used to.
‘You go in, get your lunch, and do your weights in the afternoon. They’d be the main training days. Tuesday and Thursday, you’d always do a bit of skill work and kicking as well. On top of that you’ve a lot of meetings, one-on-one stuff with your coaches.
‘It’s not all just football stuff, they work a lot on personal development as well. It’s a big part of it, it’s a business at the end of the day so you’ve got to be able to communicate and get on well with people or it won’t work.
‘The days fill up very quickly, it’s not as simple as just going in training and going home. You could be in from seven until 4 o’clock, 4:30 some days, other days might be a little bit shorter but that’s the main week in pre-season,’ he said.
Turning attentions back to the Emerald Isle and the Model county, in normal times he would be keeping a close eye on how the Wexford teams are progressing in their respective championships, in particular taking a keen interest in the exploits of his extended family.
‘I talk to Rory every day. He’s the same age as me and we grew up together. There’s not a whole lot to chat about right now as regards the G.A.A., and the AFL as well, but I’m sure the lads will be ready to go when they get back in action, whether it’s going to be this year or next year,’ he said.
One match his cousins won’t want to dwell on too much is last year’s heartbreaking defeat to Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final, but with Barry’s new team-mate, Colin O’Riordan, being a Premier county man, he’s had to relive it on more than one occasion.
‘Colin let me know about it a few times and I suppose previous successes of the two counties over the years is also mentioned. I try not to mention that match too much to the lads [his cousins] though.
‘I was showing a few of my team-mates the highlights of that game a few weeks ago. One or two of the guys were in the house with me and they were wondering what the stick was in the corner of the room, so I gave them a little bit of a lesson on the game of hurling and I showed them a few highlights. I thought that game would be a good one to pick for excitement,’ he said.
For O’Connor, the excitement is still all ahead of him in the exhilarating world of Australian Rules football, and here’s hoping his swan song for Sydney won’t be for many years to come.