Daniel O'Neill (1933 - 8 January 2015) was an Irish Gaelic footballer. His league and championship career at senior level with the Mayo and Louth county teams lasted a decade from 1953 until 1963.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Dónall Ó Néill | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Midfield | ||
| Born |
1933 Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland | ||
| Died |
8 January 2015 (aged 81) Kingston, Galway, Ireland | ||
| Occupation |
Garda Calor Gas Area Manager Regional Manager at Ireland West Tourism | ||
| Club(s) | |||
| Years | Club | ||
|
Castlebar Mitchels Oliver Plunketts St. Dominic's Naomh Mhuire Fr. Griffins | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Mayo titles | 5 | ||
| Inter-county(ies) | |||
| Years | County | ||
1953-1956 1957-1962 1963 |
Mayo Louth Mayo | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Connacht titles | 1 | ||
| Leinster titles | 1 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| NFL | 1 | ||
Born in Castlebar, County Mayo, O'Neill first played competitive Gaelic football with the Castlebar Mitchels club. He was just eighteen-years-old when he won the first of four successive county senior championship medals in 1951. O'Neill first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Mayo junior team. He won a Connacht medal in that grade in 1953, before making his senior debut during the 1953-54 league. O'Neill won a Connacht and National League medals with the team, however a dispute with the County Board over expenses saw him walk away from the side in 1956.[2]
O'Neill played with several clubs in Drogheda, County Louth after moving there in 1954 to serve as a member of the Garda Síochána. After leaving the Mayo set-up, he was soon selected on the Louth senior team and won All-Ireland and Leinster medals in 1957, while playing club football with St Dominic's. In 1959, he joined south-side Drogheda club Naomh Mhuire and played in the 1961 Louth Senior Football Championship final, losing to Newtown Blues.
His last appearance for Louth came in a 1962 Leinster Championship defeat to Dublin. He subsequently returned to Mayo and played his final game for the county side in 1963. That same year he won a fifth county SFC medal after rejoining Castlebar Mitchels. By then he had resigned from the Garda Siochana to join Calor Gas as Area Manager.[3] He would later work in management positions with Ireland West Tourism.[4] O'Neill ended his club career with Fr. Griffins in Galway.
In 2008, his autobiography 'Divided Loyalties' was released.[5]
Honours
edit- Castlebar Mitchels
- Mayo Senior Football Championship (5): 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1963
- Mayo
- Connacht Senior Football Championship (1): 1955
- National Football League (1): 1953-54
- Connacht Junior Football Championship (1): 1953
- Naomh Mhuire
- Old Gaels Cup (Subsidiary league) (1): 1961
- Louth
References
edit- ^ "Tributes paid to great Gael Dan O'Neill". The Mayo News. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "A compelling read from Dan O'Neill". Galway Advertiser. 28 November 2008.
- ^ "O'Neill, Dan". Hogan Stand. 16 April 1993.
- ^ "Further adventures of our Dan". Galway Advertiser. 10 June 2010.
- ^ "Former regional tourism manager puts pen to paper". Sligo Champion. 5 November 2008.