Munster and Barrs make it a special Páirc double for Ben O'Connor

So it will be no surprise to see the All-Ireland minor and U20 winner back at Páirc Uí Chaoimh the following afternoon when the Barrs meet Glen Rovers for the 2026 Cork Premier SHC title.

O’Connor, 22, joined the Munster academy a year after helping the Barrs to their most recent senior championship but the ties to his club and former team-mates remain strong while a couple of his pals are kicking on with Cork, just as he has for the province.

“Every weekend I've been at my club St Finbarr's, so all the hurling and football games and in the summer then I'll go to the Cork games,” O’Connor said. “I love doing that on the weekend, just going and watching them.

“William Buckley, he'd be my best friend from the club and Cork, so we've always played together. He had a brilliant season last year, he's an All-Star nominee this year, and for Young Hurler of the Year. 

“(Diarmuid) Duds Healy would have kicked on as well and there's a few lads on the squad but they're two lads playing all the championship games.” 

O’Connor admitted that watching the Cork hurlers these days was “a small bit” strange, “but it makes it easier when (Buckley's) playing. Just supporting him, when he's winning I'm happy.” Now playing professional rugby alongside more than a few squad mates supporting current All-Ireland hurling kingpins Limerick, can also be a little tough but the Corkman added: “I reckon they'll bounce back.”

There are no regrets at the choice of code, having combined schools rugby for PBC with hurling for club and county but the underage success with Cork made it harder.

"Obviously we had such a good group of players coming up and they're all kicking on to the senior stage now, which I knew would happen but leaving such a strong squad and a winning squad is hard to leave."

He added: “It was a very, very tough decision. It was a few months long where I was kind of going back and forth and pros and cons. I was still playing both at the time, so when I was playing hurling I was leaning towards hurling then when I was playing rugby I was leaning towards rugby.

“But just chatting to my hurling coaches at the time and my rugby coaches and I just thought I really wanted to be a professional rugby player, well, a professional sports player in general ever since I was a kid and I said I'd give it a crack and haven't looked back yet.

“I'd be very happy with my decision and I still talk to all my hurling coaches and friends from hurling and all sorts of support.

“I loved both and I couldn't pick a favourite, they were both equal and pros and cons were the same, it was just dedicating my life to playing sports and trying to get to a top level was the decision in the end.” His hurling coaches, said O’Connor, were “very supportive”.

“Sure, they put in their arguments and stuff but every single one of them was very supportive to me and helped make the transition much easier.

“It would have been very hard if I'd had fallings out and stuff but even to this day I'm still in contact with them and they're very supportive.” O’Connor is now beginning to establish himself in the Munster back three. He scored from the left wing in the season opener at home to Glasgow Warriors and started at full-back in last Saturday’s URC round three draw at Ulster and he believes the skill set he brought from hurling has been instrumental in his progress with the oval ball.

“The big one would be coordination. I've always said that coordination from GAA, hurling and football both sides, especially my position for high balls and fitness side of it, is a big thing.

“You get comfortable picking up a lot of distance and living in the high pressure zone when you're very fatigued but just the coordination and ball skills I think is very important.

“I revert back to what I've learned in GAA a lot and just add in a lot of just the rugby side of it but my main parts come back to my GAA.” 

Having described that development as “gradual enough” from his senior debut at home to Dragons in November 2023 to the end of last season, during which he started against Gloucester at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last December, O’Connor continued: “I think there was definitely a step up this year when I came into the senior squad. Just higher standards holding myself to and the coaches holding me to, which is always good. Trying to push on in the squad and really fight for position on the team every week.” 

O’Connor will be hoping this Saturday against Racing will be the perfect opportunity on a memorable stage to advance his case.

“It's amazing playing at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. I won a county final there so I'll always have nostalgia going back but it's such a good stadium and it's always such a good crowd down in Cork. It's a brilliant stadium.”