Conor Browne

Conor Browne

Personal information
Irish name	Conchur de Brún
Sport	Hurling
Position	Midfield
Born	(1996-05-18) 18 May 1996 (age 28) Kilkenny, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nickname	Worm
Occupation	Primary school teacher
Club(s)
Years	Club
2014-present	James Stephens
Club titles
Kilkenny titles	0
Colleges(s)
Years	College
2015-2016 2016-present	Cork Institute of Technology University College Cork
College titles
Fitzgibbon titles	1
Inter-county(ies)*
Years	County	Apps (scores)
2018-present	Kilkenny	9 (0-03)
Inter-county titles
Leinster titles	2
All-Irelands	0
NHL	1
All Stars	0
*Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 22:53, 17 July 2021.

Conor Browne (born 18 May 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays for Kilkenny Senior Championship club James Stephens and at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a midfielder.

Playing career

St. Kieran's College

Browne first came to prominence as a hurler with St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny. He played in every grade of hurling before eventually joining the college's senior hurling team. On 9 March 2014, he was an unused substitute when local rival Kilkenny CBS defeated St. Kieran's College by 2-13 to 0-13 to win the Leinster Championship. ^[1] Browne was again listed as a substitute when the two sides faced each other again in the All-Ireland final on 5 April 2014. He was introduced as a substitute for Eoin Walsh at left wing-back and collected a winners' medal following the 2-16 to 0-13 defeat. ^[2]

Cork Institute of Technology

Browne spent a year studying at the Cork Institute of Technology and was included on the freshers' hurling team during that time. On 3 March 2016, he captained the team from midfield when CIT defeated Dublin City University by 1-13 to 0-13 to win the All-Ireland title. ^[3]

University College Cork

On 23 February 2019, Browne was joint-captain of the University College Cork that faced Mary Immaculate College in the Fitzgibbon Cup final. He scored 1-01 play in the 2-21 to 0-13 victory. ^[4]

James Stephens

Browne joined the James Stephens club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels before joining the club's top adult team. He made his first appearance on 12 October 2014 in a 1-20 to 0-18 defeat by Clara.^{[ citation needed ]}

Kilkenny

Minor and under-21

Browne was selected for the Kilkenny minor team for the first time during the 2014 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 21 June 2014 and scored 0-02 from midfield in a 1-21 to 0-16 defeat of Laois in the semi-final. ^[5] Browne was again at midfield for the Leinster final against Dublin on 6 July and collected a winners' medal following the 2-19 to 2-10 victory. ^[6] On 7 September, he won an All-Ireland medal from midfield following Kilkenny's 2-17 to 0-19 defeat of Limerick in the final. ^[7] It was his last game in the minor grade.

Browne was drafted onto the Kilkenny under-21 team for the 2016 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance on 25 May 2016 when he lined out at midfield in a 1-11 to 0-12 defeat by Westmeath. ^[8]

Browne failed to secure a place on the starting fifteen for the 2017 Leinster Championship but was retained as a member of the extended panel. On 5 July 2017, he won a Leinster Championship medal as a member of the extended panel following Kilkenny's 0-30 to 1-15 defeat of Wexford in the final. ^[9] On 9 September, Browne failed to be included on the 24-man panel for the 0-17 to 0-11 All-Ireland final defeat by Limerick. ^[10]

Senior

Browne joined the Kilkenny senior team prior to the start of the 2018 National League. He made his first appearance for the team on 25 February 2018 when he lined out at left wing-back in a 2-22 to 2-21 defeat of Tipperary. ^[11] Walsh remained as a member of the extended panel for the Leinster Championship. Browne made his first Leinster Championship appearance on 20 May 2018 when he came on as a 52nd-minute substitute for Lester Ryan at midfield in a 2-19 to 1-13 defeat of Offaly. ^[12]

On 30 June 2019, Browne was an unused substitute when Kilkenny suffered a 1-23 to 0-23 defeat by Wexford in the Leinster final. ^[13] On 18 August 2019, he was selected at midfield when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final, however, Browne ended the game on the losing side after a 3-25 to 0-20 defeat. ^[14]

Personal life

Browne's grandfather, Shem Downey, was an All-Ireland medal-winner with Kilkenny in 1947. His mother, Angela Downey-Browne, and his aunt, Ann Downey, won 12 All-Ireland medals each with the Kilkenny senior camogie team between 1974 and 1994. ^[15]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 July 2021.

Team	Year	National League			Leinster		All-Ireland		Total
		Division	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score	Apps	Score
Kilkenny	2018	Division 1A	2	0-01	1	0-00	0	0-00	3	0-01
	2019		4	0-01	0	0-00	3	0-01	7	0-02
	2020	Division 1B	2	0-00	2	0-02	1	0-00	5	0-02
	2021		4	0-02	2	0-00	0	0-00	6	0-02
Total			12	0-04	5	0-02	4	0-01	21	0-07

Honours

St. Kieran's College

• Dr. Croke Cup: 2014

Cork Institute of Technology

• All-Ireland Freshers' Hurling Championship: 2016 (c)

University College Cork

• Fitzgibbon Cup: 2019 (captain)

Kilkenny

• Leinster Senior Hurling Championship: 2020, 2021
• National Hurling League: 2018
• Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship: 2017
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship: 2014
• Leinster Minor Hurling Championship: 2014

References

1. Cormican, Eoghan (10 March 2014). "Byrne the hero as CBS grab the glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
2. Spillane, Trevor (5 April 2014). "19th All-Ireland for St. Kieran's after win over Kilkenny CBS". The 42. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
3. O'Callaghan, Therese (4 March 2016). "O'Keeffe inspires CIT to All-Ireland freshers glory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
4. "Fitzgibbon Cup final: UCC in a different class". Hogan Stand. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
5. "Leinster MHC semi-final: Murphy goal critical for Cats". Hogan Stand. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
6. Kelly, Niall (6 July 2014). "Kilkenny power past Dublin to retain their Leinster minor crown". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
7. O'Riordan, Ian (7 September 2014). "Kilkenny minors savour All-Ireland success against spirited Limerick". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
8. "Warren Casserly's goal helps Westmeath shock Kilkenny". Irish Times. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
9. O'Brien, Kevin (5 July 2017). "Kilkenny land 30 points en route to completing U21 and minor Leinster hurling double". The 42. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
10. Cormican, Eoghan (11 September 2017). "Limerick savour that September excitement in U21 hurling final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
11. Fallon, John (25 February 2018). "Michael Breen bags 2-9 but finishes on losing side as Kilkenny edge Tipperary in thriller". The 42. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
12. Keane, Paul (20 May 2018). "Blanchfield nets another crucial goal as Kilkenny pick up second win in Leinster". The 42. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
13. O'Brien, Kevin (30 June 2019). "Wexford land first Leinster title in 15 years with thrilling victory over Kilkenny". The 42. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
14. McGoldrick, Seán (18 August 2019). "Tipperary are All-Ireland champions as Liam Sheedy's men see off 14-man Kilkenny in Croke Park". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
15. Keys, Colm (9 March 2018). "Major Kilkenny rebuild well ahead of schedule". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2019.