Mark O’Connor: Dingle emotion, Tom O’Sullivan’s best position, his future with Geelong

O'Connor's journey ended in the ultimate dream. It started with a rare sensation.

Mark O'Connor of Dingle celebrates after the AIB GAA Football Senior Club Championship final. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.

Mark O’Connor has come home to represent Dingle before, but it never felt as raw as this. The sense around the team was different this season; they could see the path to the summit.

The Geelong AFL star previously played for his home club in 2018, without permission from his employer. That relationship blossomed to the extent that Geelong granted him permission to play through the Kerry county championship, Munster championship and All-Ireland series.

The journey ended in the ultimate dream. It started with a rare sensation.

“It felt slightly different in the sense that the stars felt like they were aligned in terms of personnel,” said O’Connor, speaking on the Irish Examiner’s podcast.

“You talk about the storylines in this group. The Three O’Connor brothers, all coming home at the same time. Tadhg Browne stepping up there, he was phenomenal. He was playing Bs a few years ago when we weren’t strong.

“We brought in new faces (coaches), Aidan O’Shea made a huge difference and James Weldon. They were just brilliant. They gave a different feel and brought a different style to our play that we weren’t as mature at.”

His worlds collided powerfully in Croke Park. In the stand beside his family were five current or former Geelong team-mates. The procession into the ground is one he will remember for the rest of his life.

“Definitely for me, bottling up that emotion was tough, basically Dingle people organised outside of Philly Ryan’s pub and the Hogan Stand that they would line the streets, basically in the red and white to cheer the bus while it went by as Croke Park was up to the left.

“As we were driving through, I was on the left side of the bus, I looked down and there was just a row of Dingle people we all knew. People crying and clapping, blowing the horns and all of that. That was obviously very special.

"I didn’t realise that on the other side of the bus was where the vast majority of people were. Thank God I didn’t see them because it would have been harder to fight back the tears.

“There wasn’t a word spoken on the bus when it happened; everyone obviously noticed it because of the noise. You could see the red and white. You couldn’t miss it. But I kind of looked around the bus after that and caught Matthew Flaherty’s eye, he just smiled. We nodded. Then I said, ‘Jeez, I have to say something here. ‘Wow, that was class’ or whatever and had a giggle.

“Then Tadhg Browne turned around and said, Oh my god! That was class.’

“Fellas started to chat about it a bit more. Everyone felt like a need to express it. It was such a special moment. We knew that would be one we would hold onto forever. I made a point of saying when we got to the changing rooms, while it was special, it was time to park it.”

Not only did the stars align, they all shone in their extra-time victory over St Brigid’s. Dylan Geaney and Paul Geaney combined for nine points between them. O’Connor kicked a terrific two-pointer and produced a crucial block. Tom O’Sullivan was immense, finishing with five points.

For his lifelong friend O’Connor, it was yet another demonstration of what the attacking defender could do. He knows where he would like to see him feature for Kerry in 2026.

“Wing-back. He was (for us), but he was expected to be the man in our attack. He was running our attack and running our defence.”

As for O’Connor, he arrived back in Melbourne with a new sense of purpose and full of gratitude for the club’s flexible stance. Their season starts at the beginning of March and he is in the final year of his contract. For now, he is content to let the moment breathe. Is this his last year in Australia? “I am unsure,” he said.

“I probably phrase things badly when it comes to this stuff because I just know, I saw the couple of headlines. A heap of people came up saying it to me, oh you are coming back. I was like, did I say that? 

"What I said was this was the last year of my contract with Geelong and it has to be worked through. I don’t know. I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about that and I haven’t spoken to the club yet.”