THE LAST WORD: We need to make more of a fuss about West Cork’s greatest-ever soccer player

CONOR Hourihane convinced his parents, John and Helen, to make the trip to Derby last weekend for the Rams’ final League One game of the season. As Derby County closed in on automatic promotion to the Championship, he told them they needed to be there. And they were.

‘When you’re 33 years old, you don’t know how many more days like this you’ll have, so it was important for them to be there because they have been through the whole journey with me,’ Conor explains.

He was just 16 years old when he swapped home in Bandon for the Sunderland Academy as he chased the dream of becoming a professional footballer. He is one of they very few to have made it his reality.

Seventeen years later, Conor is still living the dream, and still adding more chapters to his incredible story. Like last Saturday, as he captained Derby to promotion to the Championship after their 2-0 home win against Carlisle saw them finish second in League One. Another magical moment – and he wants to share these with those who are closest to him. 

He stood on the pitch afterwards with his wife Olivia and their two young daughters, both decked out in white Derby County kits, as his team-mate Nathaniel Mendez-Laing snapped a family photo on his phone. It’s one that should hang on a wall at home. Conor’s older sister and brother, Elaine and Patrick, were in Pride Park, too, all extra layers on a special day for their baby brother who is at the stage of his career where he appreciates the good days, knowing this doesn’t last forever.

Conor Hourihane lifts the cup after Derby County secured League One automatic promotion.
(Photo: dcfc.co.uk)

That’s a lesson we should heed back here at home, too, and enjoy and appreciate and celebrate the success of the greatest soccer player West Cork has ever produced – because he is the best in the west, a Bandon boy wonder blessed with a magical wand of a left foot but also with the work ethic, dedication and maturity to navigate his way through the cut-throat reality of English football for 17 years.

Perhaps it’s because Conor has now lived more of his life in the UK than in West Cork, and because many of his greatest hits have come across the water, that his success doesn’t appear to resonate as deeply here at home with some as it should. We need to make more of a fuss about Conor, who has genuine star quality, and champion the success of a West Cork man who has never forgotten his roots, and has connections across the region. His dad John is from Leap, his mom Helen originally from Dunmanway, and Conor has aunts and uncles in Skibbereen, Leap, Dunmanway and Ballineen. Home will be always be West Cork, and he travels home every summer, and it will be the same this summer when he’ll spend time in Bandon, and that’s where this journey all started.

Conor was like thousands of other kids in West Cork, dreaming of playing football professionally – and he is the one that made it. Think about that for a moment: he is the only West Cork man to ever play in the Premier League, the self-titled greatest league in the world. He scored match-winners for Villa in the Premier League. Started against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Played against a Manchester City midfield that included Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri and David Silva. Lined up against a Liverpool team with the terrible trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino. The Bandon man mixed it with the best.

He is also the only West Cork man to play at senior level for the Republic of Ireland. Earlier this season he made his 500th career club start, highlighting the longevity and consistency of his career. He’s also aware that this won’t last forever, and we’ve seen him become more involved in coaching in recent years – that’s where his future lies once he hangs up his boots.

‘I think because of the coaching which has obsessed me, it may have brought the line forward a little bit,’ Conor told the BBC earlier this year. ‘When I left Villa when I was 31, I was probably scared of retiring. I'm not that scared anymore.’

The Derby midfielder has shown this season that he still has plenty to offer, scoring five goals and providing eight assists as he featured in 41 of the club’s 46 league games. How close that finish line is depends on him, but it’s why he savoured every moment of Derby’s promotion, and wanted to share it all with his family. When Conor was named in the Sky Bet League One Team of the Season for the 2022/23 campaign (he scored seven goals and had ten assists that campaign), his dad John was his guest at the EFL Awards 2023 night at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Again, another moment to share. Another photo that means a lot.

Conor Hourihane and his dad John after the Derby County midfielder was named in the Sky Bet League One Team of the Season for the 2022/23 campaign.

We’re all guilty of not appreciating what we have until it’s gone, and that’s relatable to all facets of life, including sport. Think of the moments Paul O’Donovan has given us since he burst on the scene. Magic. And Phil Healy. And Conor’s good friend, Cork football captain Brian Hurley. Three of West Cork’s top sportspeople of the last decade who are still producing the goods at the highest levels. All trailblazers in their various sports, and all tremendous ambassadors for a sports-mad region that has produced a number of the country’s finest sportspeople in recent times. Conor’s right up there at the top of the list, too. His highlights reel is worth checking out.

Won his first senior international cap for Ireland in 2017. Played 36 times for the boys in green. Scored the match-winner against Georgia in a 2020 European Championships qualifier. Has won three promotions in English football – captained Barnsley to League One play-off final glory in Wembley 2016, helped Aston Villa win the Champonship play-off final at Wembley in 2019, and now captained Derby County to automatic promotion to the Championship. The 2019 West Cork Sports Star of the Year. Was made captain at Plymouth Argyle when he was just 22 years old. Barnsley, where he became a cult hero, made him captain when they signed him. Derby County players voted Conor as their captain last summer. He also captained Aston Villa in his last game for the club – that speaks to his character and leadership qualities that clubs choose him as captain. Was named Championship Player of the Month. And the list goes on. Last weekend’s promotion, and the celebrations, will rank high as well.

‘When you get that little bit older you cherish it a bit more because you know this doesn't last forever,’ Conor says, but while the end will come at some stage, it’s the moments that will endure. And the Bandon man has given us more moments to celebrate than most, and that’s why we need to celebrate his success: the West Cork man who put West Cork soccer on the map.