Johnny O'Connor was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 sportsperson. He played hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

 with his local clubs Abbeyside, Clonea

Clonea-Power/Rathgormack GAA

Rathgormack GAA is a GAA club based in the Rathgormack region of County Waterford. Originally two clubs, Clonea-Power and Rathgormack amalgamated in 1987 to form one club.-History:...

, UCD

UCD GAA

UCD GAA or University College Dublin Gaelic Athletic Association club is a Dublin based Gaelic games club in University College Dublin. The UCD hurling club was founded in 1900 and boasted the motto's "Ad Astra" and "Cothrom Féinne". The first team was an amalgamation of students from UCD and...

, Castletownroche and Avondhu

Avondhu GAA

Avondhu GAA is a Gaelic football and Hurling division in the north of Cork, Ireland. The division includes towns such as Charleville, Mallow, Fermoy, and Mitchelstown. It is one of eight divisions of Cork County Board. It organizes competitions for the clubs within the division, from Under 12 up to...

, and was a member of the Waterford

Waterford GAA

The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

 senior inter-county team from 1947 until 1958. He also won a Railway Cup medal with Munster in 1955. He won 4 County medals with Abbeyside (Waterford) SHC, UCD (Dublin) SHC 1948, Castletown Roche (Cork) IHC 1961 & Avondu (Cork) SHC 1961. He is also a Greyhound Owner/Trainer. His dog Patricia Hope won the English Greyhound Derby

English Greyhound Derby

The English Greyhound Derby, also known as the williamhill.com Greyhound Derby for sponsorship purposes, is the most prestigious race on the UK calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927...

 twice to equal Mick the Miller

Mick the Miller

Mick the Miller was a male brindle Greyhound. He is celebrated as the first great racing greyhound to compete in England. Despite a short three year racing career, his achievements were highly publicised around the world and by the end of his career he had become an icon in the sport...

record. Patricia Hope also won the English, Scottish and Welsh Derby the same year in 1972.