He arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he first linked up with the Cork minor team before later joining the under-21 side.
After enjoying championship success in the under-21 grade with Na Piarsaigh, Connery quickly joined the senior team.
Three years later Connery lined out in a fourth championship decider as North Cork minnows Ballyhea provided the opposition.
[3] Connery first played for Cork as a member of the minor hurling team on 15 May 1985 in a 1-12 to 1-8 Munster semi-final defeat of Limerick.
[citation needed] Connery joined the Cork senior panel in 1987 but didn't make his championship debut until 17 July 1988 in a 2-19 to 1-13 Munster final defeat by Tipperary.
Galway were once again the red-hot favourites and justified this tag by going seven points ahead in the opening thirty-five minutes thanks to a masterful display by Joe Cooney.
The game was effectively decided on an incident which occurred midway through the second half when Cork goalkeeper Ger Cunningham blocked a point-blank shot from Martin Naughton with his nose.