Rugby legend joins the United backroom team
GALWAY United have announced a number of signings for the 2017 season, but perhaps one of the most significant is to the backroom team of new manager, Shane Keegan, with the news this week that former Connacht and Irish rugby international, Johnny O’Connor, has come on board as strength and conditioning coach.
O’Connor – who played 137 times for Connacht and also won 12 senior caps for Ireland, including in the Triple-Crown-winning year of 2006 – joins United from the Academy of English Premiership side, Arsenal. Though he admits he had planned to take a year away from sport after a change in structures at the London club.
“I thought I was going to take a complete year out, but Shane got in touch with me, we met up, and he got me interested.
“It’s great to be back home,” said the Galway City native. “I thought long and hard about joining the club and it’s an opportunity for me. Adrian Cradock was here before me and he did great work and now it’s my job to build on that and put my own influence on it.
“The key thing was Shane was very supportive and he wanted to get someone involved not just for lip service but to actually make an impact in the club. I’ve only got my foot in the door and I have to start building relationships with the players, but it’s a two-way thing. I’ll expect certain things of them but I want them to expect certain standards of me also,” O’Connor said.
On the playing front, Keegan has added three new faces to the squad, with Castlebar native, midfielder David Cawley (25), joining from St Patrick’s Athletic; central defender Lee Grace (24) follows Keegan to Galway from Wexford Youths, turning down interest from Cork City; while another Mayo native, striker Ronan Murray (25), joins from Notts County – he and Cawley have played together previously, having moved to Ipswich together in the summer of 2007.