Gary O'Neill (footballer, born 1995)
Irish footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gary O'Neill is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 January 1995[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kingdom Boys | |||
| 2009–2013 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| 2013–2014 | Port Vale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Port Vale | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Southport (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Hereford United | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | UCD | 116 | (32) |
| 2019– | Shamrock Rovers | 149 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 6 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10:31, 6 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
O'Neill moved to England as a teenager and came through the Academy at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was signed to Port Vale and played on loan at Southport. He returned to Ireland after leaving Hereford United in 2015, at which point he signed with UCD. He spent four years with UCD, helping the club to the League of Ireland First Division title in 2018, before he moved on to Shamrock Rovers. He was named in the PFAI Team of the Year three times whilst in the second tier. He won the Premier Division in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025. He also won the FAI Cup in 2019 and 2025, and the President of Ireland's Cup in 2022 and 2024.
Career
Early career
A native of Caherslee, Tralee, County Kerry, O'Neill played for Kingdom Boys as a youth.[2] His father, Tony, was a founding member of Tralee Dynamos.[3] Following impressive displays in the Kennedy Cup, he joined the Academy at English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers at Wolverhampton Wanderers.[4][5] He spent four years with Wolves, where manager Mick McCarthy had an influx of Irish youngsters.[6]
He joined Port Vale, though was released by manager Micky Adams at the end of the 2013–14 season without playing a first-team game.[7][8] He spent a month on loan at Southport, playing four Conference games.[9]
In September 2014, O'Neill joined Hereford United.[10] He left Hereford in December 2014, when they were wound up as a club, with all league results and league appearances expunged.[11] He was not paid his full wages.[12]
UCD
O'Neill returned to Ireland in February 2015, signing with UCD where manager Pat Devlin was a friend of his father.[6] He obtained a degree in sports management whilst at the university.[6] He made his senior debut for the club in a Leinster Senior Cup tie against Dundalk on 10 February 2015. O'Neill scored on his league debut, a 3–0 victory over Cobh Ramblers on 7 March 2015.[13] He was named on the PFAI Team of the Year for 2015, alongside teammates Thomas Boyle, Robbie Benson, and Ryan Swan.[14] He was again voted onto the PFAI Team of the Year for 2016, along teammates Maxi Kouogun and Ryan Swan, with Limerick players making up the other eight names on the teamsheet.[15] He was named onto the PFAI Team of the Year for the First Division for a third time in 2018, alongside teammates Liam Scales, Daire O'Connor and Georgie Kelly.[16] He also won the division's Player of the Year award.[17] UCD secured promotion that season as champions of the First Division.[18]
Shamrock Rovers
In June 2019, O'Neill signed with Shamrock Rovers.[19] Manager Stephen Bradley expressed his delight at the acquisition, highlighting O'Neill's fit within the team's playing style and his potential for further development.[20] On 3 November 2019, he scored the winning penalty in the 2019 FAI Cup final in a shootout victory over Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium.[21] He was an unused substitute in the 2021 President of Ireland's Cup final defeat to Dundalk.[22] He did manage to play in the 2022 President of Ireland's Cup, which finished as a 1–1 draw, and converted his penalty in the 5–4 shootout victory.[23] He went on to feature as a half-time substitution the 2024 President of Ireland's Cup, a 3–1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic.[24] He missed 11 games of the 2024 campaign due to injury.[25] He was not in the matchday squad for the 2025 FAI Cup final win over Cork City following a cancer diagnosis, but recorded a video message of support for his teammates in the run up to the game.[26][27]
Style of play
O'Neill is renowned for his exceptional passing ability, boasting a passing accuracy above 90%. In 2019, he was the only player to complete over 2,000 passes in the season, averaging 71 completed passes per game, accounting for 13% of Shamrock Rovers' total passes.[28]
Personal life
In April 2026, O'Neill revealed that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in October 2025 and had undergone chemotherapy treatment, with the treatment and recovery period keeping him out of action for a long-term period.[27][29]
Career statistics
- As of match played on 5 October 2025
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 2013–14[30] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Southport (loan) | 2013–14[31] | Conference | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Hereford United | 2014–15 | Southern League Premier Division |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| UCD | 2015[31] | LOI First Division | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| 2016[31] | LOI First Division | 27 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 2 | 34 | 16 | ||
| 2017[31] | LOI First Division | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[f] | 2 | 21 | 8 | ||
| 2018[31] | LOI First Division | 27 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 10 | ||
| 2019[31] | LOI Premier Division | 19 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 116 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 141 | 39 | ||
| Shamrock Rovers | 2019[31] | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 3[d] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| 2020[31] | LOI Premier Division | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2021[31] | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 6[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2022[31] | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 13[h] | 1 | 1[i] | 0 | 47 | 1 | ||
| 2023[31] | LOI Premier Division | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[j] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2024[31] | LOI Premier Division | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13[k] | 0 | 1[i] | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2025[31] | LOI Premier Division | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 3[l] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| 2026[31] | LOI Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 149 | 1 | 16 | 1 | — | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 211 | 4 | |||
| Career Total | 269 | 33 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 359 | 44 | ||
- Includes EFL Cup, Southern League Cup & League of Ireland Cup
- Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
- 2 appearances in the 2015 League of Ireland First Division Playoffs; 1 appearance in the Leinster Senior Cup
- Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
- 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances in the UEFA Conference League
- 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances, 1 goal in the UEFA Europa League; 5 appearances in the UEFA Conference League
- Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
- 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 2 appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa League; 5 appearances in the UEFA Conference League
- 2 appearances in the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League campaign; 1 appearance in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League campaign
Honours
Club
UCD
Shamrock Rovers