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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Eoghan O'Connell
Eoghan O'Connell (born 13 August 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Wrexham. He began his youth playing career in the Republic of Ireland, joined the academy of Scottish club Celtic in 2011 and made his first-team debut three years later. While at the club he was loaned to Oldham Athletic, Cork City and Walsall. In 2017, he signed with English third-tier club Bury and after two seasons with The Shakers, he moved in the summer of 2019 to Rochdale before moving to Charlton Athletic in 2022. On 31 January 2023, Deadline Day, he moved to Wrexham.

O'Connell is a cousin of former Irish rugby captain Paul O'Connell and has been capped at youth international level.

Club career

Celtic

O'Connell played for the College Corinthians and Avondale United Irish academy teams, before switching to the Celtic Academy in 2011. On 9 January 2014, he made his first-team debut in a 3–1 victory over Turkish club Trabzonspor in the Turkish Airlines Antalya Cup. In March, he made his competitive debut against Ross County in a 1–1 draw in the Scottish Premiership. Speaking in April 2015 about his debut, he said, "Making my debut at the end of last season was a good thing as it gave me a good platform coming into the next season and show what I could do".

O'Connell started the 2014–15 season by scoring an own goal in a 1–0 league defeat against Inverness CT. After making four appearances for the club in the season and captaining the youth team in a friendly against Sparta Prague, on 2 February 2015 he signed a contract extension that would keep him at Celtic until mid-2017. Commenting about the new contract, he said, "I'm delighted and just happy to get it done". At the end of the season, he was named as the club's Academy Player of the Year. Irish newspaper TheJournal.ie included Connell in their list of "10 most promising young Irish footballers".

O'Connell played his first match of the 2015–16 season, a 3–1 victory over Dundee United, in August. He moved to English League One club Oldham Athletic on a six-month loan deal on 1 September. Five days later, he made his first-team debut, playing the entirety of a 2–1 victory over Bradford City. He was injured after featuring in another match for Oldham, and returned to his parent club in November.

In February 2016, O'Connell went on-loan to his home-town club, League of Ireland side Cork City. Manager John Caulfield said O'Connell's signing "injects extra competition into the squad". He made his debut on 27 February, playing the whole match, in which Cork defeated Dundalk 2–0 in the President's Cup. He played five times for Cork, scoring once in a 2–2 draw with Galway United, before being recalled to Celtic at the end of April 2016 after sustaining a groin injury.

"I've been particularly impressed by young Eoghan. He's a good size, wants to do well and he's good in the air. He has been around the first team for a few years and had some loan experience."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers on O'Connell.

On 27 July 2016, O'Connell made his UEFA Champions League debut, playing the whole ninety minutes of a 1–1 draw against Kazakh club FC Astana in the qualifiers. Speaking about his debut, manager Brendan Rodgers said O'Connell was "outstanding" and added; "For a young player, he has been on the fringes for a few years, coming into that environment, under pressure, he had very few mistakes in the game". He featured for the club in the return leg and again earned the praise of Rodgers.

After playing six matches for Celtic during the 2016–17 season, on 12 January 2017, O'Connell was loaned to English League One club Walsall for the rest of the season. He debuted in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield United; Walsall manager Jon Whitney said O'Connell "grew into the game and showed why we brought him in." On 21 January, he scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over Bristol Rovers. He made 17 appearances for the club.

Bury

O'Connell signed a three-year contract with English League One club Bury on 8 June 2017. He said about his move; "I have come to the stage in my career where I just want to play football all the time. The manager made it clear that he had a big interest in me and wanted me to come to the club." He added that he was happy with the move and he wanted to start playing. O'Connell was injured during the pre-season and was ruled out of play for up to ten weeks. In October he made his first-team debut in a 1–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Trophy. Wearing the number six shirt, he has become a first team regular in 2018–19 under manager Ryan Lowe.

Rochdale

On 4 July 2019, O'Connell signed a two-year contract with Rochdale.

On 22 June 2021, O'Connell signed a new one-year contract.

Charlton Athletic

On 20 June 2022, O'Connell signed a three-year contract with Charlton Athletic on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Rochdale.

Wrexham

On 31 January 2023, O'Connell signed for Wrexham. He started Wrexham's 3-1 win over Boreham Wood on 22 April 2023, which secured the club's return to the English Football League after 15 years in the National League.

International career

O'Connell made his Republic of Ireland under-19 debut against Norway in August 2013. In September 2016, he was called to the Republic of Ireland under-21 national football team by manager Noel King for 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Slovenia and Serbia. On 2 September, he made his under-21 international debut in a 2–0 win against Slovenia.

Style of play

O'Connell plays as a centre back. During his time with Celtic, the Herald Scotland described him as "an assured ball-playing centre-half with an air of calmness around him which has belied his lack of experience." His manager at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers, said O'Connell had an "in-built brain for the game."

Personal life

O'Connell hails from Cork and is a supporter of local side Cork City. He is a cousin of former Irish rugby captain Paul O'Connell. Both his father Damo O'Connell and brother Andy O'Connell have played for Cork City.

Career statistics

As of match played 16 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 2013–14 Scottish Premiership 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2014–15 Scottish Premiership 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
2015–16 Scottish Premiership 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2016–17 Scottish Premiership 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 7 0
Celtic total 7 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 13 0
Oldham Athletic (loan) 2015–16 League One 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Cork City (loan) 2016 LOI Premier Division 7 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 9 1
Walsall (loan) 2016–17 League One 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 1
Loan club total 26 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 28 2
Bury 2017–18 League One 12 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 17 0
2018–19 League Two 31 2 1 0 1 1 2 0 35 3
Bury total 43 2 2 0 1 1 6 0 52 3
Rochdale 2019–20 League One 31 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 38 0
2020–21 League One 39 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 43 2
2021–22 League Two 45 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 50 1
Rochdale total 115 2 10 0 5 1 1 0 131 3
Charlton Athletic 2022–23 League One 19 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 22 1
Wrexham 2022–23 National League 15 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 2
2023–24 League Two 30 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 33 0
2024–25 League One 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Wrexham total 58 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 62 2
Career totals 268 9 14 0 14 2 12 0 308 11
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League.
  2. ^ Appearances in President of Ireland's Cup.
  3. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy.

Honours

Cork City

Bury

Wrexham

Individual

References

  1. ^ "UEFA Youth League - Eoghan O'Connell". UEFA.com. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. ^ uefa.com. "UEFA Youth League - Eoghan O'Connell – UEFA.com".
  3. ^ Emmet Malone (16 February 2016). "Cork City sign Celtic's Eoghan O'Connell on loan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. ^ PJ Browne (26 April 2015). "Cousin Of Irish Rugby International Rewarded For His Progress At Celtic". Balls. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. ^ Fintan O'Toole (9 January 2014). "Cork youngster Eoghan O'Connell made his debut for Celtic tonight in Turkey". The 42. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  6. ^ Gavin Berry (31 March 2014). "Celtic starlet Eoghan O'Connell watched rugby hero cousin's rise to top... now he hopes to follow in his footsteps after making Parkhead debut". Daily Record. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
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  12. ^ Robert Gledhill (5 September 2015). "Oldham 1 Bradford City 2: Cole nets Bantams winner". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell set for Oldham debut against Bradford". Euro Sport. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  14. ^ Sheldan Keay (24 September 2015). "Oldham Athletic look set to lose Celtic loanee Eoghan O'Connell". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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  18. ^ Eoghan O'Connell at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
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  31. ^ Mikael McKenzie (4 October 2017). "SHAKERS MATCH VERDICT: Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Bury". Bury Times. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell Joins Rochdale". Rochdale AFC. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell Signs New Deal". Rochdale AFC. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  34. ^ "DONE DEAL: Ball-playing defender Eoghan O'Connell joins the Addicks". Charlton Athletic. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  35. ^ "EOGHAN O'CONNELL JOINS WREXHAM". Charlton Athletic. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  36. ^ O'Connell, Dylan (22 April 2023). "Hollywood ending for Cork's Eoghan O'Connell as Wrexham promoted with Ryan Reynolds and Paul Rudd watching". Echo Live. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  37. ^ "Ireland U19s lose friendly game by a single goal". Football Association of Ireland. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  38. ^ "Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad named for European qualifiers". RTE. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  39. ^ "Ireland U21s leave it late to seal important European Championship qualifying win". The Journal. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  40. ^ Neil Cameon (10 August 2016). "Eoghan O'Connell told to show he is good enough to be offered a new deal at Celtic". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  41. ^ "Paul O'Connell's Cousin Named Celtic Academy Player Of The Year". Balls.ie. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  42. ^ Ben Blake (16 February 2016). "Celtic defender O'Connell joins Cork City on loan". The Journal. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  43. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  44. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  45. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  46. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  47. ^ "Eoghan O'Connor". scoresway.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  48. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  49. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  50. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  51. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell | Football Stats | Rochdale | Season 2020/2021 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  52. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell | Football Stats | Rochdale | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  53. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  54. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  55. ^ "Games played by Eoghan O'Connell in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  56. ^ "League Two: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
    "Bury: Squad details: 2018/19". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  57. ^ "Mullin the hero as Wrexham win to earn promotion". BBC Sport. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  58. ^ https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/2024/april/end-of-season-gallery--relive-the-red-dragons-memorable-season/
  59. ^ "Eoghan O'Connell Named Supporters' Player Of The Year". Rochdale AFC. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  60. ^ "2021/22 Award Winners". rochdaleafc.co.uk. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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