Frank O’Connor was a native of Cahersiveen, County Kerry. He joined the Army as a cadet in 1941 and was commissioned in 1943. O’Connor was active in the sports of basketball and football, playing for a Kerry-based football team in the 1940s. He was stationed at Custume Barracks with Western Command as in 1948 when he was selected as a member of the Irish Olympic basketball team to compete in London. His later military assignments included being with the 1st Western Battalion in Galway, at the training depot at Athlone, Army Headquarters Staff as a Records Officer and Officer Commanding Support Company, 1st Battalion, Galway. He also served overseas with the United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon and the Middle East in the 1960s. O’Connor retired from the forces at the rank of Colonel and later resided in Athlone.
Ireland