Alan Connolly (hurler)

Alan Connolly (born 19 July 2001) is an Irish hurler. At club level he plays with Blackrock and at inter-county level with the Cork senior hurling team. He usually lines out at full-forward.

Early life
Born and raised in Blackrock, Barrett first played hurling to a high standard as a student at St Francis College in Rochestown. He progressed through the various age grades before joining the school's senior team. Connolly was top scorer with 0-07 when St Francis College beat Hamilton High School by 1-13 to 0-14 to claim the All-Ireland PPS SBHC title. He was a Dr O'Callaghan Cup runner-up in February 2020 after a 3-24 to 1-15 defeat by Midleton CBS, in what was his last game for Rochestown College. Connolly later studied at Munster Technological University Cork and was added to their Fitzgibbon Cup panel in 2023.

Club career
Connolly began his club career at juvenile and underage levels with the Blackrock club, before progressing to the club's senior team. He made his championship debut in a 1–25 to 2–16 defeat by Newtownshandrum in August 2019. Connolly won a Cork SHC medal in October 2020 after top-scoring with 0-13 in the 4-26 to 4-18 extra-time defeat of Glen Rovers in the final. He also claimed the man of the match award and was the championship's top scorer with 5-52.

Inter-county career
Connolly first played for Cork as a member of the minor team during their unsuccessful Munster MHC campaign in 2018. After a year with no inter-county activity, he joined Cork's under-20 team in 2020. Success in this grade was immediate with Connolly claiming Munster and All-Ireland U20HC medals in 2020 after respective defeats of Tipperary and Dublin.

Connolly had one more year of under-20 hurling, however, his inclusion on the senior team in 2021, after being an unused substitute the previous year, made him ineligible for the grade. He made his senior debut in May 2021 when he scored two goals after coming on as a substitute for Shane Barrett in a 5–22 to 1–27 National Hurling League defeat of Waterford. Connolly was part of the matchday panel when Cork suffered a 3-32 to 1-22 defeat by Limerick in the 2021 All-Ireland final.

Connolly was at full-forward when Cork lost the 2022 National League final to Waterford. He missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury, before a hamstring injury further delayed his return.

Personal life
Connolly's uncles, Tom and Jim Cashman, won six All-Ireland SHC medals with Cork between 1977 and 1990. His grandfather, Mick Cashman, was a substitute on Cork's 1952–1954 three-in-a-row team, while his granduncle, Jimmy Brohan, also lined out with that team.

Honours

 * St Francis College
 * Munster PPS Under-19 B Hurling Championship: 2019


 * Blackrock
 * Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship: 2020


 * Cork
 * All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship: 2020
 * Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship: 2020