Geelong defender Mark O’Connor may have missed out on this year's AFL premiership, but he softened some of the blow after claiming a drought-breaking championship back home in Ireland.
The 28-year-old Irishman has played 147 games for the Cats since his debut back in 2017, but had always intended to represent his home town club Dingle in the Kerry Senior Football Championship.
Just weeks after the grand final loss to the Lions, that opportunity arose and O'Connor took full advantage, ending 77 years of disappointment for Dingle with an emotional 2-13 to 1-12 victory over Austin Stacks in Tralee.
Despite spending 10 minutes on the sideline in the first half after receiving a black card for rough play, O'Connor helped Dingle secure a second-half comeback and a first title since way back in 1948.
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“We did, finally," he said after the game. "And it’s just extra special. We’re such a small town.
"Obviously, it’s been the same faces that have been in the crowd ever since I was under 10s.
“So giving a look up to the crowd before the game probably didn’t help me at all.
“It means everything. I kind of broke down. My voice is gone. I broke down. If I get into it now, I’ll probably start crying again. So I won’t do that on camera.
“But yeah, looking up, seeing my family in the stands. As I said, the same faces.
"It’s the parents of the lads that were playing out there today. And they raised us all the way through.
“So to see them, it’s very hard to keep a lid on things. And with our history, we’re not the biggest club, as I mentioned. So going back to 1948 was the last time.
“So trying to keep a lid on that is tough.”
O'Connor added the magnititude of the moment got to him in the first half, but that was now all behind him after the tear-soaked victory.
“My emotions were probably a bit too high," he said. "But look, that happens, and I don’t care, really, what we got through."