| Kevin O'Connor | |
| Fullname: | Kevin Patrick O'Connor[1] |
| Birth Date: | 7 May 1995[2] |
| Birth Place: | Enniscorthy, Ireland |
| Position: | Left back Midfielder |
| Youthclubs1: | St Patrick's Athletic |
| Years1: | 2013–2014 |
| Clubs1: | Waterford |
| Caps1: | 43 |
| Goals1: | 3 |
| Years2: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs2: | Cork City |
| Caps2: | 69 |
| Goals2: | 3 |
| Years3: | 2017–2020 |
| Clubs3: | Preston North End |
| Caps3: | 8 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2018 |
| Clubs4: | → Fleetwood Town (loan) |
| Caps4: | 4 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2018 |
| Clubs5: | → Crewe Alexandra (loan) |
| Caps5: | 6 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2019 |
| Clubs6: | → Cork City (loan) |
| Caps6: | 18 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Years7: | 2020 |
| Clubs7: | → Waterford (loan) |
| Caps7: | 4 |
| Goals7: | 1 |
| Years8: | 2020 |
| Clubs8: | Cork City |
| Caps8: | 13 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2021 |
| Clubs9: | Shelbourne |
| Caps9: | 25 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Years10: | 2022 |
| Clubs10: | Cork City |
| Caps10: | 28 |
| Goals10: | 2 |
| Nationalteam1: | Republic of Ireland U17 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalteam2: | Republic of Ireland U21 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2016–2017 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 19:26, 2 January 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 10:14, 19 October 2017 (UTC) |
Kevin Patrick O'Connor (born 7 May 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a full-back.
Born in 1995, O'Connor began his career with Waterford United in 2013. In his second season with the club, he scored twice, once in a 3–1 victory against Wexford and another goal in a 1–1 draw against Galway. After trialling with English Championship club Bournemouth, he signed for League of Ireland club Cork City on 28 April 2015.[3] On 31 August 2015, he scored his debut goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic.[4] On 22 July 2016, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Swedish club Häcken in the UEFA Europa League. He volleyed a free kick of Greg Bolger, which entered the goal following a deflection from Häcken defender Emil Wahlstrom.[5] On 6 December 2016, he renewed his contract with the club for the 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division season.[6]
On 30 June 2017, O'Connor signed for English Championship club Preston North End on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[7] On 8 August, he made his debut for the club, featuring in a 3–2 defeat against League Two club Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup.[8] He made his league debut in a 2–0 defeat against Aston Villa in November.[9] He received praise of club manager Alex Neil for his performance.[10]
In 2018, O'Connor had a loan spell at Fleetwood Town, making five first team appearances. In August 2018, he was signed on loan by Crewe Alexandra until January 2019,[11] making his Crewe debut in a 3-0 home win over Macclesfield Town.[12]
Cork City manager John Caulfield has described O'Connor as a "strong, quick, left-footed" player.[3] O'Connor has said that although he is a full back, he prefers playing as an attacking full-back.[13]
O'Connor won €1,000,000 in the Irish National Lottery's 2017 Christmas Millionaire Raffle, with a ticket bought as a Christmas present by his uncle.[14]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Waterford | 2013[15] | LOI First Division | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| 2014 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||||
| Cork City | 2015 | LOI Premier Division | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 39 | 2 | ||||
| 2017 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 | |||
| Preston North End | 2017–18 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Fleetwood Town (loan) | 2017–18 | League One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 2018–19[16] | League Two | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Cork City (loan) | 2019 | LOI Premier Division | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 2 | |
| Waterford (loan) | 2020 | LOI Premier Division | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | |||||
| Waterford Total | 47 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 4 | |||||
| Cork City | 2020 | LOI Premier Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Shelbourne | 2021 | LOI First Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||||
| Cork City | 2022 | LOI First Division | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |||
| Cork City Total | 128 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 158 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 218 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 240 | 13 | |||