NAME: Conor O'Donovan DATE OF BIRTH: 19/7/74 HEIGHT: 5' 10" WEIGHT: 12st CLUB: Liam Mellowes/Mervue Football COUNTY: Galway HONOURS:All-Ireland Minor Hurling 1992; Connacht Senior Colleges (St Marys) Hurling and Football INTER COUNTY DEBUT: Under 14 (Tony Forrestal Tournament) Waterford PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Student at Maynooth College TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Tom Dunne (Tipperary) FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Ballinalsoe (Duggan Park), Galway; Croke Park FAVOURITE POSITION: Centre half back SPORTING AMBITION: To win a senior All-Ireland with Galway DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? Gaelic football BOYHOOD HEROES: Jimmy Barry Murphy, John Connolly FAVOURITE PLAYERS: Jim Cashman ANY GOOD SPORTING YARN: Lots that can't be repeated BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: My father - Con O'Donovan WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: If you changed the game in any major way, it wouldn't be the same DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: Attitudes towards soccer and rugby etc. BEST GAME SEEN: Galway versus Tipperary (1987 semi-final), Cork versus Tipperary (1990 Munster Final) PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Darragh Coen (Galway), Derek McGrath (Waterford) HOPES FOR 1993: Galway minors to retain All-Ireland and to make the Galway Under 21 panel TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB: Mellowes have won numerous (about eight) county hurling championships, but unfortunately, the last one they won was in 1970. A lot of our senior team are from outside of Galway, but there are some good underage hurling teams in the club and the future is looking bright A NUMBER OF BROTHERS HAVE PLAYED CLUB AND UNDERAGE COUNTY: I have three brothers, Tony (24) senior club with Liam Mellowes; Brian (23) former minor goalkeeper and also senior player with Mellowes YOUR FATHER IS HIGHLY INVOLVED IN THE GAA: Secretary of Mervue GAA club. Trains both hurling and football teams in the parish GALWAY SOURCES TELL US YOU HAVE CORK BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS: Yes. My father is from Clonakility in West cork which is really a football area A NUMBER OF FORMER GALWAY HURLING GREATS HAVE PULLED ON THE LIAM MELLOWES JERSEY: Over the years, Mellowes had numerous great hurlers who played for Galway - Seanie and Jimmy Duggan, Inky Flaherty, Joe Salmon, Niall McInerney are just some example YOU PLAY WITH A CITY CLUB. IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUNG HURLERS FROM GALWAY CITY AND THOSE COMING FROM THE SOUTH OF THE COUNTY? IS THERE A HIGHER STANDARD IN THE TRADITIONAL RURAL AREAS? There is a higher standard but there are plenty up and coming hurlers in Galway city. But, unfortunately they are not as plentiful as in south Galway. But after our victory, the fact that I was from the city has encouraged many young lads to start attending hurling HOW STRONG IS HURLING IN GALWAY CITY? ARE THERE MANY HURLING CLUBS? Not very strong. Mellowes are the only senior club. Castlegar are on the outskirts of the city, but there are three or four juvenile clubs - Mervue, Renmore, Rahoon/Newcastle YOU PLAY GAELIC FOOTBALL: Played Under 16 with Galway (captain) in Ted Webb Cup and was a member of St. Marys team for two years. I was also part of the 1992 Minor panel but missed the championship due to injury MERVUE IS A STRONG SOCCER AREA OF THE CITY OR IS IT? Yes. Soccer is the dominant sport in Mervue as well as in most parts of the city, while gaelic football is also strong YOU ENJOYED A MAGNIFICENT 60 MINUTES IN THE ALL-IRELAND MINOR DECIDER. YOU WERE OBVIOUSLY PLEASED WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE: Yes. Everything seemed to go right for me and the rest of the lads on the day. When you are playing at No 6 and you have wing backs as good as Nigel Shaughnessy, Michael Donoghue, as well as Shane Walsh and Frank Forde in midfield, it makes your game easier WERE YOU WORRIED WHEN WATERFORD SCORED THOSE EARLY GOALS AND TOOK A COMMANDING LEAD? No, not really. Matt Murphy (the manager) had constantly been telling us to keep our heads and keep hurling no matter what happens. There was a strong wind against us in the first half, so I was not really that worried. We had made a comeback against Kilkenny in the first semi-final THE GALWAY MINOR SQUAD HAD A NUMBER OF INJURIES PRIOR TO THE KILKENNY SEMI-FINAL: Yes, Shane Walsh, Michael Lynskey (back) and Diarmuid Moore (groin). Shane and Mike recovered for the replay WHO WERE THE MEN IN CHARGE OF THIS GALWAY MINOR SQUAD? Matt Murphy (manager), Gort; Martin 'Montie' Kearns, Clarenbridge; Paddy Madden, Mellowes; Brendan Maloney, Sylone; Eamon Kelly, Tommie Larkins; Mick Flanagan, Leitrim IT MUST HAVE BEEN A PROUD MOMENT GOING UP TO COLLECT THE CUP? Yes, it was the proudest moment of my life. It was a dream come true WE WERE TOLD YOU RECEIVED A RAPTUROUS WELCOME WHEN YOU RETURNED TO GALWAY: Yes. We got a great reception in all the towns we stopped in - Ballinasloe, Loughrea, Ardahan, Gort, Clarenbridge, Carnmore and Galway city. An enormous crowd turned out at Clarenbridge, as did, to my surprise and delight, my own area of Mervue/Ballybane in Galway city who gave me a great reception on our way into town OBVIOUSLY THE HEROIC DEEDS AT SENIOR LEVEL BY THE MEN IN MAROON DURING 1987/88 LEFT A BIG IMPRESSION ON ALL BUDDING STARS LIKE YOURSELF PLAYING HURLING IN GALWAY COUNTY: Yes. Those two wins along with 1980 done a lot of work for underage hurling in Galway and created great interest in the game in the county WHO FROM THE GALWAY MINOR CLASS OF 1992 COULD YOU SEE DEVELOPING INTO FUTURE SENIOR STARS? Francis Forde, Michael Spellman, Ton Healy, Michael Donoghue and his brother Liam. The majority of the team should reach senior level CONOR O'DONOVAN IN THE GALWAY SENIOR JERSEY IN THE NEAR FUTURE? Hopefully! Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 23rd October 1992 Vol 2 No 78 Tweet

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