Diarmuid O'Connor: Jack Barry's one of most under-rated players in country

Diarmuid O'Connor is good friends with Jack Barry’s younger brothers Fergal and Andrew and so there was many an afternoon spent over at the Barry household as a child

RETURN: Kerry's Diarmuid O'Connor in action against Roscommon in the league. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady

Diarmuid O’Connor and Jack Barry roomed together during Kerry’s recent Quinta do Lago training camp in Portugal. No surprises there. The county’s midfield pair are never out of each other’s company for too long.

The pair, as no Kerry person needs telling, are clubmates. The O’Connor’s and Barry’s, by pure coincidence, both live on the opposite side of Tralee town to the Na Gaeil club they lifted to senior status in recent seasons but are only down the road from each other.

Diarmuid is good friends with Jack’s younger brothers Fergal and Andrew and so there was many an afternoon spent over at the Barry household as a child.

O’Connor graduated to the adult ranks in 2017. Having known Jack since he was five or six, here was a first opportunity to line out alongside the elder Barry brother.

Two years further on again, green and white became green and gold. Diarmuid was a late addition to the Kerry starting team for the first round league visit of Tyrone to Killarney. Jack at midfield, his younger clubmate at corner-forward. It represented the first time the pair lined out together for the county.

Having someone on the field he already knew and trusted, Diarmuid said this week, was of great comfort to a 19-year-old greenhorn just beginning their senior inter-county journey.

It would be another three years before they’d occupy the number eight and nine shirts for a championship game, that being last May’s Munster semi-final win away to Cork.

Although Jack was first in the door of the Kerry dressing-room, it is the younger clubmate who has seen more championship minutes in the four summers they’ve been county colleagues. The 13 games O’Connor has started since 2019 is four up on Barry.

“He’s probably one of the most under-rated players in the country, in my opinion,” said Diarmuid of his neighbour, clubmate, and warm-weather training camp roomie. “But the way the game has gone now as regards midfield, there’s not too many high kick-outs, you’re not getting forward as much, and there’s a lot of defensive work. That’s just the way the game has gone, so midfielders all over the country probably aren’t getting huge credit.

“That’s okay as long as you’re doing your job for the team. The other thirteen fellas on the team, they’ll be happy out if you’re doing your job.” 

So, how would the 24-year-old describe the redefined job spec of those wearing eight and nine?

“It’s between the two ‘45s you’re doing a lot of work. You’re tracking runners and covering defensively, but you’re getting forward then to support the forwards as well.” 

David Moran’s retirement during the off-season means O'Connor and Barry will be sharing these midfield duties with far greater frequency this summer and the ones beyond.

A glimpse of that future was provided in the second half of last year’s All-Ireland final. Moran was withdrawn at half-time. Under the throw-in for the restart was the Na Gaeil duo.

“Things worked out for us, so we can only take confidence from that in terms of how we got on in the second half as a team and as a unit.

“Then again, you do have to back that up as well, so we’re looking forward to Saturday and the rest of the championship.” 

Picking up where they left off was not an option for the pair in the opening pages of 2023. A quarter of an hour into Kerry’s McGrath Cup game against Clare on January 8, O’Connor had to be helped from the field. He was on crutches departing Fitzgerald Stadium. He wasn’t seen again until the 51st minute of the Round 6 League win over Roscommon two and a half months later.

“Went up for the kick out and landed on the other midfielder’s boot,” the PE and Irish secondary school teacher said. “There was talk of surgery, but thankfully I didn’t have to go that route. It was a lonely couple of weeks running up and down the sideline while the boys were in the thick of training.

“It was frustrating too because we’d a nice break after the club finished. It was the first time in a long time that I’ve had a good couple of months off. September 21 was the last full game I played before we came back and played McGrath Cup.

“I’d a nice bit of time to do a pre pre-season. And then to come back in and get an injury straightaway was very frustrating.” 

Full fitness regained, O’Connor is ready to saddle up alongside a familiar face in the middle of the field and go again.