GEELONG'S Irish recruit Mark O'Connor has defended the role of Tadhg Kennelly in scouting the best young Gaelic football talent and offering them opportunities to play professionally in Australia.

There has been an ongoing, and heated, conversation in Ireland about the AFL and international talent scout Kennelly poaching young talented Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) players over the last few years.

The discussion reached a critical point last week when former GAA star Tomàs Ó Sé wrote an article in the Irish Independent newspaper expressing his concern about Kennelly and the AFL draining the country's talent pool.

O'Connor, 20, a junior star with County Kerry in Gaelic football, made his debut for the Cats against Essendon in round eight, just seven months after moving to Australia and having played just four VFL games in the lead up.

"The thing is back home no-one's been slighting me, they've only been supportive," O'Connor told AFL.com.au.

"The attitude toward Tadhg Kennelly and what he's actually doing is something I can't agree with. The opportunities that are provided for young players like myself out here are something that can't be passed up or frowned upon.

"The opportunities aren't the same back home as they are here, and for people back home in our own county to be slighting one of our own is not something that really sits well with me."

There have been suggestions that Kennelly has been actively pursuing 18-year-old Kerry prospect David Clifford, one of the brightest up and coming Gaelic stars in the country, a claim the Sydney premiership player denies.

While GAA officials have a fight on their hands to retain their most talented players, O'Connor gave an insight into what appeals to Gaelic players in pursuing an AFL career in Australia.

"The fact you can do it (play AFL) professionally," O'Connor said, when asked why he decided to leave Ireland.

"Gaelic football back home is completely amateur at all levels, so you would have had to go to university at the same time and only play football as a pastime.

"On top of that we had to have a job as well. It was just the thing of playing football full-time, and I love running around the place with a ball in my hand so it really appealed to me."

O'Connor's journey to get to Geelong started when Kennelly first made contact and asked him to attend the International Combine in Ireland during 2016.

Despite not being able to test as he was carrying chronic knee tendinitis at the time, O'Connor was invited out to the NAB AFL Combine at Etihad Stadium last October.

After O'Connor came fourth overall in the 3km time trial with a time of 9:56, Geelong, North Melbourne, Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton were all chasing his signature.

A trial at Geelong convinced him that that was the place he wanted to begin his AFL career, with the Cats signing him as a Category B rookie in October last year.

"I knew when I came down to Geelong the first day for a trial, there were some special people here," O'Connor said.

"It was complete and utter mayhem at the time with all the stadium renovations going on, but the atmosphere was amazing as soon as I walked through the door."

Known to teammates as "Merrick" because the Geelong players thought that was his name when he introduced himself as Mark in his thick Irish accent, O'Connor quickly adjusted – faster than he even thought – to his new environment.

The 189cm midfielder's work ethic and willingness to learn instantly endeared him to teammates and the club's coaches, with fellow Irishman Zach Tuohy helping him to learn the finer points of the game.

Not even O'Connor could believe coach Chris Scott when he informed him that he would be playing his first game against the Bombers, sure that he was the "butt of a joke".

"I never could have dreamed of that," O'Connor said of making his debut in round eight.

"My goal was to play this year but I was definitely thinking it would have come later in the year, if at all.

"For it to come this soon is a little bit overwhelming."

Although he was omitted for Thursday night's game against Port Adelaide, O'Connor is well on the way to a successful AFL career at Geelong.

"There's great people here and it's just a friendly environment, so I can definitely see myself being here long-term," O'Connor said.

"You never know how things will turn out, but at the minute I'm very happy to be at Geelong.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with the game yet, but I'm really trying to work hard, and I know that the coaches here will give it everything to make us the best players we can be, and that's really what my aim is."