Ballymena United confirm arrival of former Cliftonville and Glentoran winger

The News Letter reported on Wednesday that Ballymena had won the race to seal O’Connor’s signature, fighting off competition from Coleraine, Glenavon and Portadown to land his services in what is a huge statement of intent prior to next season.

O’Connor first arrived in the Premiership with Cliftonville in 2020 after leaving Cork City and scored six times in 36 league appearances before joining Scottish side Ayr United.

After two years in the Scottish Championship, O’Connor returned to Northern Ireland with Glentoran ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and enjoyed the best season of his career to date, netting 15 goals and providing a further 14 assists across all competitions.

That form earned O’Connor a move back across the Irish Sea with Hamilton Academical, signing a two-year contract, but he found opportunities limited, making only four league appearances before joining East Kilbride on loan, where he won three trophies and helped them seal promotion into League Two.

Speaking to the News Letter last month, O’Connor reflected fondly on his time in the Irish League and felt it brought the best out of his game.

"I've always done well in the Irish League,” he said. “I think I've played 80 or 90 games and have something like 50 goals and assists.

"It's the league I've had most success in throughout my career - a lot of players seem to come into the league and take a while to adapt but for some reason I've been able to adapt very quickly...it seems to suit me for some reason.

"I have given Scotland a go twice and it has never gone fully to plan.

"My family are in Belfast so you're always leaning towards going home at some stage and you do miss home.

"We have a house there, a lot of ties and family nearby...you play your best football when you're happy and ultimately I wasn't very happy for most of this season."