Conlon first played Gaelic football as a minor with the O'Connell's club in 1941. The following year he played with the Ardee minors and was also a member of the beaten Mid Louth side in the county final. Conlon was still eligible for the minor grade when he won a Louth JFC medal with Stabannon Parnells in 1943 before winning a Cardinal O'Donnell Cup title in 1945.[1] He captained the club their inaugural Louth SFC title in 1949, before claiming a second winners' medal in 1954.[2]
Conlon first appeared on the inter-county scene as a substitute with the Louth minor team in 1942. He was just 19-years-old when he made his senior team debut against Meath in 1944. Conlon made his championship debut as captain during Louth's Leinster SFC-winning season in 1950, however, they lost the subsequent All-Ireland final to Mayo.[3] He claimed a second Leinster medal in 1953 before retiring from inter-county activity. Conlon was coaxed back to the Louth team and won a third Leinster medal in 1957. He was at full-back when Louth beat Cork in the 1957 All-Ireland final.[4][5]
Personal life and death
Conlon spent his entire working life as a farmer in Stabannon. He died after a period of illness on 23 January 1990, aged 64.[6]