O'Connell played for over an hour during the 36-10 win over the Ospreys at Thomond Park before leaving the field unscathed and is now able to concentrate fully on leading the Lions to a series victory in South Africa.
"I've been training away for two weeks since we got knocked out of the Heineken Cup semi-final but it's great for my match fitness to play. You can't get that without games," said O'Connell, whose Munster side had already been crowned Magners League Champions last month.
"It was a fabulous reception from the fans and we've got a great home crowd here. They will have felt the disappointment of two weeks ago so it was very important to put on a big performance.
"We were sloppy and played too much rugby at times but by and large, I thought it was a good performance.
"It was a great to play and a really tough game especially in the first half before we cut loose in the second half."
Importantly for the Lions, the five Munster players who took the field on Friday night (Keith Earls, Ronan O'Gara, Donncha O'Callaghan, David Wallace and O'Connell) all came through the game unscathed, meaning they will all be free to join up with the Lions for the pre-tour training camp in Surrey this Monday.
