Mark O'Connor has been granted an extended Christmas break by his AFL club the Geelong Cats, which will allow the Daingean Uí Chúis star to turn out for his hometown club in the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final on 18 January.
O’Connor, who turns 29 on the eve of the Croke Park decider, has already made a major contribution to his side's run to the final.
The former Kerry minor star figured in the side that ended a 77-year wait for a county title in October's win over Austin Stacks and scored a point as Daingean Uí Chúis saw off St Finbarr's of Cork in the Munster final in early December.
Last Sunday, O'Connor was again on the scoresheet to help his side over the line against Ballyboden St Enda's at the penultimate stage of the competition.
After the win, Daingean Uí Chúis manager Pádraig Corcoran said of the player: "I don't want to hear anything about him going back. We need him. He’s a massive player for us.
"We lost Barry O’Sullivan there this year, which is a huge loss for us. Just delighted that we were able to get Mark coming in.
"It was great to have him for the few games in the county championship. We didn’t think we’d have him for Munster, and then he stayed back, and it was a huge bonus for us. It gave the lads a great lift when he did come in for the game."
O'Connor, who signed for Geelong in 2016 and subsequently became one of only three Irish-born players to win an AFL title, will return Down Under after the final to begin pre-season training with the Victoria club.
