Footballer killed in crash ‘next big household name’

THE young north Cork footballer killed in a tragic car crash over the weekend has been described by one of his coaches as the “next big household name in Gaelic football”.

Rory O’Connor, who had recently made his way onto the Cork under-21 team, had been at the 21st birthday party of one of his teammates in the hours before his death.

At approximately 6am, the car he was driving left the road on the N72 Mallow to Killarney Road at Ballymacquirke. He was pronounced dead at the scene. It is understood the north Cork area was badly hit with surface water, which may have contributed to the accident.