Seán O'Neill (born 1938,

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

) is an Irish retired

Gaelic footballer Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

. He played with his local club

John Mitchel John Mitchel (; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist writer and journalist chiefly renowned for his indictment of British policy in Ireland during the years of the Great Famine (Ireland), Great Famin ...

and was a member of the Down senior inter-county team from the 1950s until the 1960s. O'Neill is one of only four Down players to win three

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

titles.

Career

O'Neill scored 85 goals and over 500 points for

Down senior football team The Down county football team represents Down GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Champi ...

in his career, and was a key figure in the county’s

victories of 1960, 1961 and 1968. O'Neill's credits include eight

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

senior football medals and eight

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medals in 1960, 1963 to 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1971. He won three

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

medals, in 1960, 1962 and 1968, as well as six All Star awards. Other honours include a

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

medal with the

Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

in 1958, whom he later coached to further wins. He played club football with

John Mitchel GFC John Mitchel GFC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. Established in 1956, it is named after the Irish patriot John Mitchel. The club has won the Down Senior Football Championship four times, win ...

Newry, winning the

Down Senior Football Championship The Down Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Down GAA clubs. The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1903. Kilcoo are the title holders (2024) de ...

in 1960, 1964, 1967 and 1968. He also won the Down Minor Championship with Newry Mitchels in 1956 - the year the club was formed. His brother Kevin won an all Ireland with down in the 1960s. Along with Joe Lennon, Dan McCartan and Paddy Doherty, he was one of four Down men who won all three All-Ireland medals in the 1960s.

Later life

O'Neill was the Down minor team coach, winning the 1977

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...

. Sean coached the Queen's University Belfast senior team in the early 1980s. As coach, he won the Sigerson Cup in 1982 and the Ryan Cup in 1984 and 1985. In 1984, the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

centenary year, he was honoured by being named on their Football Team of the Century. In 2000 he was again honoured by the GAA by being named on their Gaelic Football Team of the Millennium. O'Neill is a solicitor by profession.

Honours

(8) 1960 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1970 1971 *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

(8) 1959 1960 1961 1963 1965 1966 1968 1971 * Dr Lagan Cup (5) 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 *

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

(4) 1959 1961 1964 1972 * Cú Chulainn Awards (4) 1963 1964 1965 1967 *

(4) 1960 1964 1967 1968 *

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

(3) 1960 1961 1968 * National Football League Division 1 (3) 1960 1962 1968 *

GAA GPA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one play ...

(2) 1971 1972 *

(2) 1958 1964 * Down Division 1 Football League (2) 1965 1968 *

Texaco Footballer of the Year The Texaco Footballer of the Year was a Gaelic football award, created in 1958, that honoured the achievements of a footballer of outstanding excellence. The award was part of the Texaco Sportstars Awards, in which Irish sportspeople from all fi ...

(1) 1968 Manager *

Ulster Minor Football Championship The Ulster Minor Football Championship is the Minor "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council. The trophy for the winning side is T ...

(2) 1977 1979 *

(1) 1977

References

External links

Down’s historic All-Ireland win remembered 60 years on
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Sean 1938 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Down inter-county Gaelic footballers Newry Mitchels Gaelic footballers People educated at Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School Sportspeople from Newry Ulster inter-provincial Gaelic footballers Queen's University Belfast Gaelic footballers