Conor Whelan
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Conor Whelan (born 31 October 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays as a right corner forward for club side Kinvara and at senior level for the Galway county team.
Playing career
University of Galway
As a student at the University of Galway, Whelan has been a regular player on the university's senior hurling team in the Fitzgibbon Cup.
Kinvara
Whelan joined the Kinvara club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels before joining the club's intermediate team.[citation needed]
Galway
Minor and under-21
Whelan first played for Galway as a member of the minor hurling team on 28 July 2013. He made his first appearance in a 1-19 to 0-13 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat of Laois. On 8 September 2013, Whelan was at right corner-forward in Galway's 1-21 to 0-16 defeat by Waterford in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park.
Whelan's second and final season with the Galway minor team ended with a 1-27 to 2-09 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Limerick on 17 August 2014.
As a member of the Galway under-21 hurling team, Whelan made his first appearance on 22 August 2015 in a 1-20 to 0-17 All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Limerick.
On 10 September 2016, Whelan scored two points in a 5-15 to 0-14 defeat by Waterford in the All-Ireland final.
Whelan ended the 2017 championship by being named on the Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year.
Intermediate
On 1 July 2015, Whelan made his first appearance for the Galway intermediate hurling team. He later won a Leinster Championship medal following Galway's 1-20 to 0-11 defeat of Wexford in the final.
Senior
Whelan made his debut for the Galway senior team on 26 July 2015, scoring 1-02 from play in a 2-28 to 0-22 All-Ireland quarter-final defeat of Cork. On 6 September 2015, Whelan scored two points from right wing-forward in a 1-22 to 1-18 defeat by Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final.
On 23 April 2017, Whelan scored five points from play when Galway defeated Tipperary by 3-21 to 0-14 to win the National Hurling League. Later that season he won his first Leinster Championship medal after Galway's 0-29 to 1-17 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 3 September 2017, Whelan started for Galway at right corner-forward when they won their first All-Ireland in 29 years after a 0-26 to 2-17 defeat of Waterford in the final. He ended the season by winning an All-Star award as well as being named All Stars Young Hurler of the Year.
On 8 July 2018, Whelan won a second successive Leinster Championship medal following Galway's 1-28 to 3-15 defeat of Kilkenny in the final. On 19 August 2018, he scored a goal from right corner-forward in Galway's 3-16 to 2-18 All-Ireland final defeat by Limerick.
Career statistics
As of match played 21 June 2025
| Team | Year | National League | Leinstser | All-Ireland | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | Apps | Score | ||
| Galway | 2015 | Division 1A | 0 | 0-00 | 0 | 0-00 | 3 | 1-06 | 3 | 1-06 |
| 2016 | 6 | 0-06 | 3 | 1-05 | 2 | 0-02 | 11 | 1-13 | ||
| 2017 | Division 1B | 7 | 3-12 | 3 | 0-12 | 2 | 0-05 | 12 | 3-29 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 2-05 | 6 | 2-13 | 3 | 1-06 | 14 | 5-24 | ||
| 2019 | 5 | 1-07 | 4 | 1-10 | — | 9 | 2-17 | |||
| 2020 | Division 1A | 5 | 3-06 | 2 | 0-06 | 1 | 0-01 | 8 | 3-13 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 2-11 | 1 | 1-02 | 1 | 0-03 | 7 | 3-16 | ||
| 2022 | 4 | 0-07 | 5 | 1-13 | 2 | 1-04 | 11 | 2-24 | ||
| 2023 | 4 | 1-04 | 6 | 6-11 | 2 | 1-07 | 12 | 8-22 | ||
| 2024 | 5 | 0-11 | — | 5 | 0-11 | |||||
| 2025 | 6 | 0-08 | 1 | 0-01 | 7 | 0-09 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 12-58 | 41 | 12-91 | 17 | 4-35 | 99 | 28-184 |
Honours
Galway
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 2017
- Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (2): 2017, 2018
- National Hurling League Division 1 (2): 2017, 2021
- Leinster Intermediate Hurling Championship (1): 2015
Club
Awards
- All Stars Young Hurler of the Year (1): 2017
- GAA GPA All Stars Awards (2): 2017, 2023
- The Sunday Game Team of the Year (2): 2017, 2023