Is anyone interested in a seat on a BBS table for the evening with Conor on the 3rd of April? £30 a ticket. I thought the club put on a decent night with Darrel Clarke, even if there were one or two tricky questions Myself, Hicksy and Loko formerly of this parish will be in attendance as well a few others. Details as follows. Drop me a PM or post below if interested! Evening with Conor Hourihane Thu 3 April 2025, 19:00 Oakwell Stadium Natural Cement Legends Suite Barnsley Football Club is delighted to announce a special event to celebrate the illustrious career of former captain Conor Hourihane, following his recent retirement from professional football and transition into coaching. On Thursday 3rd April 2025, we will host an Evening with Conor Hourihane in the Natural Cement Legends Suite at Oakwell. This evening will honour Conor’s achievements both on and off the pitch, as he settles into his new role as Assistant Head Coach under Darrell Clarke. The Republic of Ireland international, who recently announced his retirement from playing, will take centre stage during the evening. Guests can look forward to a live interview with Conor, where he will share insights and stories from his illustrious career and you will hear from some familiar faces from his time at Barnsley and beyond. This special evening will a chance to meet the man himself, a sumptuous two-course meal, raffle and auction. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage with Conor directly in a Q&A session on the evening and also time to grab a photo. Individual tickets are priced at £35 each, with tables of 10 available for £300. Dress code on the evening will be Smart Casual. Join us at Oakwell to celebrate the career of one of our most beloved captains and to wish him well as he embarks on this exciting new chapter in coaching. Please click HERE to book a table of 10 or contact our commercial team on commercial@barnsleyfc.co.uk Individual tickets can be purchased below. If you have any access or dietary requirements then please contact the Box Office via email to boxoffice@barnsleyfc.co.uk
It might be an evening with Conor Hourihane then when folk get there he’s changed his mind ! Bit like the player coach bit without the player bit. Loved Conor as a player winds me up seeing him fit as a lop stood in dugout when I’ve no idea what he brings.
Yeah, I would have more respect for Connor if he'd given playing a bit more of a crack before throwing the towel in.
It wasn't about throwing the towel in. It was simply the next stage in the well executed plan of training up Clarke's replacement after using his name to sell a few last minute season tickets when sales were down
Which our amazing recruitment team and medical team must have known when they asked fans to buy tickets on the back of signing him
I think everybody, including Conor, expected him to be an able back up and an experienced head to help out. It didn't work like that - I don't think there's anything wrong or some scandal, it just didn't happen as people hoped/expected. If anyone expected him to be the first name on the team sheet then that's on them.
Begs the question why he played in the pre season game against Derby when he had no desire to contribute for the rest of the season.
Exactly this. People constantly banging on about this huge conspiracy around his signing is the most tedious thing to happen this season. Booooorrriinnng.
Maybe he did at that point? Maybe he knew his body wasn't what it was but he was holding on to hope that his football career wasn't over?
I'm sure he came with every intention of being a player. Perhaps not 90 mins every week, but being available regularly. I think he soon realised he wasn't quite up to pace, not match fit, which is exacerbated further by not playing all the time. I'm sure it was a difficult decision for him to kiss goodbye to his playing career, and not one he will have taken lightly.
I think he answered it perfectly well in a club interview I saw a while back. He felt he’d be able to hit the levels needed initially, but with his off-field responsibilities increasing once Whitehead left, he found it difficult to marry both sides of the role. He sees his future (obviously) as a coach so made the decision to focus purely on that. It’s a red herring. And, if it was done to sell tickets, it’s worth noting that the vast majority were sold (as ever) before the end of the early bird deadline. I left not long after Conor returned and I don’t recall any kind of spike when he did. Lots of stuff worth bairning over but I don’t see this as relevant. And I’m sure the event listed in the OP will be a worthwhile one to attend as he’s got some great stories to share about his playing days at Oakwell.