Seán O'Neill (born 1938, Newry) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

with his local club John Mitchel 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 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 Champion ...

in his career, and was a key figure in the county’s All-Ireland victories of 1960, 1961 and 1968. O'Neill's credits include eight

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

senior football medals and eight

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) 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 ...

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

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

medals, in 1960, 1962 and 1968, as well as six All Star awards. Other honours include a Sigerson Cup medal with the

Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in 1958, whom he later coached to further wins. He played club football with John Mitchel GFC Newry, winning the Down Senior Football Championship 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. 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; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

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 province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

(8) 1959 1960 1961 1963 1965 1966 1968 1971 *

Dr Lagan Cup The Dr Lagan Cup was an inter-county Gaelic football competition in the province of Ulster. The competition was discontinued in 1967 when Donegal won the competition. The Lagan Cup was the trophy for a Senior Football League, which at the time wa ...

(5) 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 * Dr McKenna Cup (4) 1959 1961 1964 1972 * Cú Chulainn Awards (4) 1963 1964 1965 1967 * Down Senior Football Championship (4) 1960 1964 1967 1968 * All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (3) 1960 1961 1968 * National Football League Division 1 (3) 1960 1962 1968 * GAA GPA All Stars Awards (2) 1971 1972 * Sigerson Cup (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 f ...

(1) 1968 Manager * Ulster Minor Football Championship (2) 1977 1979 * All-Ireland Minor Football Championship (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