Remembering Conor Round

26th October 2002-9th March 2024

Appearances: 53

Starts: 46

Goals: 17

“On the 9th of March, 2024, Conor Round, aged 21, passed away. Conor was a beautiful soul. A lad who could always make you laugh through thick and thin, and never took himself too seriously. Conor had been a part of the team for years, and had some truly special moments for us that we will never forget. Conor played over 50 games for The Hill, always keeping everyone entertained on and off the pitch at every single one. We hope moments like this make you appreciate the people you have around you and remember, we are people. The stigma around speaking up about mental health is so so tragic and costs so many young men their lives every year. We are truly shocked and devastated that such a loving, carefree man would feel this was his answer, and hope you all know you can speak to us, your friends, family, or any lines that are available to help with troubling thoughts. It’s never too late. Once a tangerine, always a tangerine.
Rest in peace, Rounder.”

About Conor

It was May, 2021 when Conor was brought down by Sean Doherty among a group of 16-18 year olds for our seconds team, Conor stood out in an intersquad friendly the same day as a tricky wide man with an ounce of flair to his game, and maybe he’d be able to play for the first team if the squad got smaller. Right before our first ever league game, that opportunity arose, and suddenly the seconds team were washed in with the first team. On the day, it came down to a 50/50 between Conor, and Chris Kenny on who would start on our left side, and for his pace, we opted with Conor. This is where his Hill story really got started. Conor put on a show, showing his tricky nature against men years older than him leaving them in his dust. After turning around a 1-0 trail to lead 2-1, Conor burst forward with Ryan Glynn, and between the two of them, Conor scored his first goal for the team. Suddenly, Conor became an instant starting name. It only took two more games before Conor had scored his first hattrick. Whip across the box from Devon Cummins and lashed in off of his head for goal number one, link up play with Liam Molloy, feeding him out wide, goal number two. Corner falls outside the box, preceding the showpiece finish, held up along the outside of the box before he lashed the ball from the left into the far right corner. He even managed to add a fourth late into the second half for a 5-2 victory. This was Conor in full swing, enjoying his football.

This was Conor’s crowning moment for The Hill, a semi final against Pedoborough FC, who’d beaten us on penalties the summer before, and the match felt like it could reignite a season to forget. It didn’t start to plan, despite coming out and wanting it, we leaked a goal to trail 1-0, but unlike most of the season, the heads never dropped. The energy remained as Owen Cooney bolted down the left wing, beating one, then another, and another before lashing the ball into none other than Conor, who smashed in a goal to draw us level right at half time. That wasn’t where his contribution ended. Similar to the first half, we leaked a goal again, this time, it felt like the nail in our coffin, but one man didn’t feel the same. Devon played some link up football with Conor out on the right wing, before from nowhere, Conor lashed a shot all the way into the far left top corner. BANG. Thanks to Conor’s heroics, we went on to reach our first ever final on penalties, and we wouldn’t have gotten close to it if it weren’t for him. Although we wouldn’t go on to lift it on that occasion, Conor gave us that memory, and performed as well as always in the final.

Slowly, Conor’s face became less frequent down on matchdays, but he always stayed in the loop. Coming down when he was needed, and doing a job. Conor played a part in the quarter final stages of the UCD Cup in Summer 2023 and despite leaving before we eventually won it, earned his medal. That medal was waiting for him, but sadly, he will never wear it.

Conor remained ever present that season, scoring in our round of 16 penalty shootout as we reached the UCD Quarter Finals in our first season. Following into our second, Conor was willing to play anywhere to help us win, even playing part in wins from left-wing-back. Conor was such a vital figure in that 2021-22 season, ever present as we reached the semi finals, with Conor netting his penalty in our eventual shootout loss. It hurt, but one man who always had a smile on his face, was Conor. Nothing seemed to ever get him down, it didn’t matter what the scoreline was at the end of the game, so long as he’d played a part, he was happy. It was a turbulent period for us, morale was tough to keep, but it seemed like no one need worry about Conor’s, he was too busy having a laugh with everyone. That bled into the Summer 22’ season. It felt like we couldn’t win for love nor money, but Conor didn’t care. He’d show up, use his bag of tricks and walk away happy, that was that. Suddenly that takes us back to the semi final.

The outpouring of support for Conor in the aftermath of his passing, showed how loved, appreciated and cherished he was to everyone who knew him. Conor’s story received wordwide attention, and really showed how much people can struggle in silence. Conor was loved by his partner, family and friends, who have all been so strong and inspiring in how they have coped in the following weeks. His funeral was on the 15th of March, 2024, and was beautiful. An amazing turnout for a boy who touched everyone’s heart if he had the chance, and he will not only be sorely missed, but forever remembered. His iconic 10 shirt will never be worn by anyone for the club again, as it will always be his. All of our purpose, goals and success will be in championing Conor Round, who is Forever A Tangerine.