John O'Connor (1 July 1899 – 11 December 1955), known politically as Johnny Connor, was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1954 to 1955.
During the Emergency (the era by the which World War II was referred to in Ireland), he was once again jailed (February 1941) with Jim Crofton on charges of still being active in the IRA, this time by a Fianna Fáil government.
He was, however, elected to Kerry County Council in October 1948, which was seen as both a boost to him personally but also Clann na Poblachta, signalling an appetite for change amongst the voters.
His funeral was attended by numerous high-profile politicians from across the country, including Taoiseach John A. Costello, Richard Mulcahy and leading figures from all the major political parties.
[4] Following the funeral, Seán MacBride asked Connor's widow to stand in the forthcoming by-election for her husband's seat.
When she refused, MacBride turned to Kathleen and pleaded with her to stand, saying that she was Clann na Poblachta's only hope for survival, as the party's fortunes had greatly soured after the first Inter-Party Government of 1951.