Kevin O'Connor (footballer, born 1995)

Kevin Patrick O'Connor (born 7 May 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a midfielder and full back for FC Naples in the USL League One.

Kevin O'Connor

Personal information
Full name	Kevin Patrick O'Connor[1]
Date of birth	(1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 30)[2]
Place of birth	Enniscorthy, Ireland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Left back Midfielder
Team information
Current team	FC Naples
Number	14
Youth career
	St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2014	Waterford	43	(3)
2015–2017	Cork City	69	(3)
2017–2020	Preston North End	8	(0)
2018	→ Fleetwood Town (loan)	4	(0)
2018	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	6	(0)
2019	→ Cork City (loan)	18	(1)
2020	→ Waterford (loan)	4	(1)
2020	Cork City	13	(0)
2021	Shelbourne	25	(1)
2022	Cork City	28	(2)
2024	FC Motown	0	(0)
2025–	FC Naples	12	(0)
International career‡
2011–2012	Republic of Ireland U17	3	(0)
2016–2017	Republic of Ireland U21	4	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 10:14, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Club career

Republic of Ireland

Born in 1995, O'Connor began his career with Waterford United in 2013. In his second season with the club, he scored twice, once in a 3–1 victory against Wexford and another goal in a 1–1 draw against Galway. After trialling with English Championship club Bournemouth, he signed for League of Ireland club Cork City on 28 April 2015.^[3] On 31 August 2015, he scored his debut goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic.^[4] On 22 July 2016, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Swedish club Häcken in the UEFA Europa League. He volleyed a free kick of Greg Bolger, which entered the goal following a deflection from Häcken defender Emil Wahlstrom.^[5] On 6 December 2016, he renewed his contract with the club for the 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division season.^[6]

England

On 30 June 2017, O'Connor signed for English Championship club Preston North End on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.^[7] On 8 August, he made his debut for the club, featuring in a 3–2 defeat against League Two club Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup.^[8] He made his league debut in a 2–0 defeat against Aston Villa in November.^[9] He received praise of club manager Alex Neil for his performance.^[10]

In 2018, O'Connor had a loan spell at Fleetwood Town, making five first team appearances. In August 2018, he was signed on loan by Crewe Alexandra until January 2019,^[11] making his Crewe debut in a 3-0 home win over Macclesfield Town.^[12]

United States

After taking a year out of the game O'Connor moved to the United States and made 1 appearance for FC Motown on 22 March 2024 in a U.S. Open Cup defeat to New York City FC II.^[13] On 13 December 2024, it was announced that O'Connor would join third-tier US side FC Naples ahead of their inaugural season in the USL League One in 2025.^[14]

Style of play

Cork City manager John Caulfield has described O'Connor as a "strong, quick, left-footed" player.^[3] O'Connor has said that although he is a full back, he prefers playing as an attacking full-back.^[15]

Personal

O'Connor won €1,000,000 in the Irish National Lottery's 2017 Christmas Millionaire Raffle, with a ticket bought as a Christmas present by his uncle.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 17 May 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Waterford	2013[17]	LOI First Division	21	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		22	1
	2014[17]		22	2	0	0	1	0	—		—		23	1
	Total		43	3	0	0	2	0	—		—		45	2
Cork City	2015[17]	LOI Premier Division	21	1	3	0	1	0	2[c]	0	—		27	1
	2016[17]		28	1	3	0	2	0	6[c]	1	—		39	2
	2017[17]		20	1	0	0	0	0	4[c]	0	1[d]	0	25	1
	Total		69	3	6	0	3	0	12	1	1	0	91	4
Preston North End	2017–18[17]	Championship	8	0	0	0	1	0	—		—		9	0
Fleetwood Town (loan)	2017–18[17]	League One	4	0	0	0	0	0	—		1[e]	0	5	0
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	2018–19[18]	League Two	6	0	1	0	0	0	—		3	0	10	0
Cork City (loan)	2019[17]	LOI Premier Division	18	1	1	0	1	0	1[c]	0	2[f]	1	23	2
Waterford (loan)	2020[17]	LOI Premier Division	4	1	—		—		—		—		4	1
Cork City	2020[17]	LOI Premier Division	13	0	2	0	—		—		0	0	15	0
Shelbourne	2021[17]	LOI First Division	25	1	1	0	—		—		—		26	1
Cork City	2022[17]	LOI First Division	28	2	2	0	—		—		0	0	30	2
FC Motown	2024[17]	National Premier Soccer League	0	0	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
FC Naples	2025[17]	USL League One	9	0	3	1	1	0	—		—		13	1
Career total			227	11	16	1	8	0	13	1	7	1	254	14

1. Includes FAI Cup, FA Cup & U.S. Open Cup
2. Includes League of Ireland Cup, EFL Cup & USL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance in President of Ireland's Cup
5. Appearances in EFL Cup
6. 1 appearance, 1 goal in President of Ireland's Cup & 1 appearance in Munster Senior Cup