Career
O'Connell first came to prominence as a winger in 1959 with Shamrock Rovers when his balance and ball skills made the league sit up and take notice. He made his first team debut in a tie on the 9th of September 1959. There was interest from England in Tony but he snubbed them to move to America where he was nominated for an "All Star" during his spell at New York.
He also played for Toronto City alongside Tony Book and Malcolm Allison. He made a total of 7 appearances in Europe for Rovers. He got sent off at Prater Stadium against SK Rapid Wien on the 16th of September 1964.
However Dundalk lost to Rovers in the FAI Cup semi-final in 1967 and 1968. His form hadn't gone unnoticed and he earned his first full international cap for Republic of Ireland against Spain in October 1966. In March 1969, he took the revolutionary step of buying out his contract with Dundalk to sign for Bohemians.
In doing so, he became Bohs first ever professional after the club's members changed their 79-year-old constitution to allow payment to players. He made his debut for the club on March 16 in a 1-1 draw against his former club Dundalk. Within a year of this success however, Tony hung his boots and retired from playing after 42 league appearances and 10 league goals for Bohs.
This was not to be the end of Tony's association with Bohs though as he initiated the first ever shirt sponsorship in Irish football when his "Jodi" company appeared on the famous red and black jerseys. He would later sponsor the new stand in Dalymount Park that opened in October 1999 and is still known as the "Jodi Stand". He also had a spell as Manchester City's Irish scout.
In 1993, he was elected as Club President by the Bohemian members. During his tenure in that position, the club finished league runners-up on 2 occasions. A further honour followed in November 2007 when Tony was inducted into the Bohemian F.C. Hall of Fame.
Tony appeared at the Big Bohs Gig at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin alongside RTE's Joe Duffy and ex-boxer Bernard Dunne on 19 February 2011. Shield XI.
