Time at home 'fills up the soul' for Ballincollig's AFL star O'Connell

O’Connell himself reckons his benefit to Ballincollig is less as a footballer and more the person he has become on the far side of the world.

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025 - 06:30

Eoghan Cormican

Ballincollig are delighted to have home Liam O’Connell the footballer.

O’Connell himself reckons his benefit to Ballincollig is less as a footballer and more the person he has become on the far side of the world.

O’Connell is 22 years of age. His articulacy is immediately striking. There’s no small picture thinking here.

O’Connell is home in Ballincollig while the AFL is in off-season mode. His AFL allegiance is to St Kilda.

The Melbourne establishment know the importance of his allegiance to his first and forever club, and so permission was granted to line out in the Cork football championship during his two months back in Ireland.

He was only two weeks back when Podsie O’Mahony threw him in from the off for Ballincollig’s must-win group decider against Douglas.

O’Connell hadn’t played a game of competitive Gaelic football in exactly 12 months. Rusty is his choice of word. His kicking, passing, and shooting with a round ball, he surmised, all in need of sharpening.

We explore the inverse of that comment. What has he picked up in Australia that’s a positive to his getting back on the local fields where he grew up and made the name for himself that first caught Aussie attention?

“Probably just my natural development as a person. I am two years over there now, so a bit more comfortable in my own skin,” he begins.

“The football is the easy thing over there. Well, it's hard, but it's probably the easier thing. It's the life outside of football is probably a bit harder, trying to settle in, trying to set your roots, because taking the emotional risk of living there is hard.

“You are developing away from your family on the other side of the world, away from any kind of fall back safety, so, yeah, leadership is a bit stronger coming back.”

Born in this time zone, he was four when the family moved to Perth. His primary school years were spent in Western Australia, his secondary school years at Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig.

Liam O'Connell of the Saints during a training session at RSEA Park. Pic: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Performances for the Cork U20s in the spring of 2023 piqued St Kilda's interest. By November of the same year, he was starting a new chapter and a new sport.

His AFL debut was achieved in March, against Adelaide Crows on the opening weekend, O’Connell making seven appearances in total this season.

Landing over as a 20-year-old rookie, there was no guarantee of AFL involvement. O’Connell knew such. He also knew what he wanted and was willing to be patient and persevere for however long his apprenticeship required.

“It's probably something I've always wanted to do from when I was a kid, so that's the one thing about it, you have to be clear on your purpose and the why of what you're doing because when you go to the other side of the world, you go from being one of the better players over here for your age to being 45 of 45 on the panel, so you need to be strong on your purpose and why you're doing it. So, I think I've been strong enough with that.

“The last two years of developing and growing have been really positive. I've got some great coaches over there. Damien Carroll, he's just an absolute superstar. Cares more about the person than the player, which is so important. They all do.

“I was lucky to play a few games this year, which was class. But even the year before when you're not playing AFL games, you're playing VFL, but you can just see yourself improving every week, which is really rewarding. There's understanding as well that progress isn't linear. The ups and downs of it are part and parcel.

“It's been a great experience. I’ve really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to what the future holds.”

His uncle, aunt, and two cousins live less than half an hour from him in Melbourne, and so being able to spend so much time with them has made the move all the smoother.

Similarly, he’s built a friendship with Meath’s Eamonn Armstrong, who joined St Kilda last year.

“Being away from home and having that other Irish connection, I've loved having him over there.”

He’ll be at home for roughly 10 weeks in total. Home to lend a hand.

Ballincollig were last county semi-finalists in 2022. They fell tamely to Nemo. The gap to the big three has since closed. Both Castlehaven and St Finbarr’s were pushed and peppered with difficult questions in subsequent quarter-finals.

The Barrs again stand opposite them tomorrow. If O’Connell felt he was rusty against Douglas, a new word of appraisal had to be reached for following his quarter-final contribution against Duhallow.

“The AFL clubs are really understanding now with Irish players and what it means to line out for our clubs here. You're on the other side of the world when in Australia, you nearly couldn't be further away, so I was delighted to get clearance to play with Ballincollig.

“The lads have been so good at helping me and look at the way Luke [Fahy] is leading us at the minute, just fabulous. It's been really enjoyable coming home and spending time with my two parents and three siblings.

"Time at home is really important to me. It fills up the cup, fills up the soul.”