Bandon FC very proud of what Conor Hourihane has achieved in football

CORK'S Conor Hourihane added another promotion success to his stellar playing career recently when his Derby County side secured a return to the English Championship.

Bandon native Hourihane captained Derby as they helped their nerve to secure promotion on the final day of the League One season with a 2-0 home win over Carlisle United.

Hourihane joined Derby in the summer of 2022 and he was also named on the 2022/2023 English League One Team of the Season. 

This campaign gone by, he made 41 league appearances and scored five goals in the process as Derby earned promotion.

The Corkman played a key role in helping Aston Villa return to the English Premier League in 2019, where he formed a decent midfield combination with England and current Manchester City star Jack Grealish.

Hourihane has been a man that has produced on the big occasion throughout his career, including being on the successful side at Wembley on multiple occasions, including twice with Barnsley (League One playoff final and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in 2015/2016) and the Championship playoff final victory of 2019 with Villa.

While of course he also has featured and made an impact at international level with Ireland, including scoring a sublime free kick in a 1-0 win over Georgia at the Aviva Stadium in 2019.

Back on his native Leeside, it was at his local schoolboy club in Bandon where Hourihane commenced his footballing journey. 

One of first to coach the Ireland international on his footballing journey was Tony O’Leary of Bandon AFC, who has proudly followed the playing career of Conor Hourihane.

Chatting with The Echo, O’Leary recalls his memories of coaching Hourihane with Bandon in underage schoolboys football.

“I had him from when he was aged 9 onwards to about 15. He was a great young fella to work with.

“He was a serious young fella. A couple of things would stand out to me. At that age, he had the hardest shot I ever saw a fella have at a young age. 

"One time we were training and practicing penalties, one of the coaches went into goal and he broke his wrist.

“With Bandon, Conor always was taking the free kicks, penalties, corners. He could put a ball on a sixpence for you. 

"He scored an awful lot of goals from free kicks.

“I used to play him in midfield all of the time because he had a great range of passing and as you know he had a great left foot on him. 

"But he was the type of young fella you could put him centre half or centre forward, he’d play in all of the positions.

“What was a great help to him in his career was his parents. His parents were very down to earth and they kept him well grounded.

“We are all very proud of him. Another thing is Conor has never forgotten his roots. 

"He has been so good to Bandon AFC, giving us things for auction, signed jerseys and balls, all those kind of things."

Throughout his playing career Hourihane has risen to the challenge. 

His leadership and experience was crucial in helping Derby earn promotion this term back to the Championship.

In fact, Hourihane has been a natural born leader throughout his career, highlighted by him being captain of Plymouth Argyle at the age of 22.

Although still very much focused on his playing career, the ingredients look to be there for a potential promising coaching career for Hourihane in the years ahead also.

Former Republic Of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, out of all the players he coached in the Boys In Green, namechecked Hourihane as one who stood out and is potentially best placed to become a good football manager.

O’Leary also echoes with this sentiment and thinks Hourihane has a promising coaching career ahead of him as well.

“I think he will be a better coach than he was as a footballer. He is highly intelligent, a good talker and I think he has all of his badges done at this stage, except for one which you can’t do until you are retired.

“Niall O’Regan (FAI Head of Education & Development ) , said to me Conor will be an extraordinary coach."

Conor Hourihane has definitely throughout his playing career made an impact at various levels of English League football.

Without question an outstanding ambassador for Bandon and for Cork football in general.