Frank O'Neill (Irish footballer)

Football player infobox
playername= Frank O'Neill


fullname = Frank Simon O'Neill
dateofbirth = April 13 1940
cityofbirth = Dublin
countryofbirth = Ireland
position= Outside Right / Forward
youthyears = 1952-1956
1956-1958
youthclubs = Stella Maris F.C.
Home Farm
years = 1958-1961
1961-1971
1967
1974
19xx
19xx
clubs= Arsenal
Shamrock Rovers
→ Boston Rovers "(guest)"
Waterford F.C.
Athlone Town
St Patrick's Athletic F.C.
caps(goals) = 2 (0)x (2)
nationalyears = 1961-1971
1961-1969
nationalteam = Republic of Ireland
League of Ireland XI
nationalcaps(goals) = 20 (1)
15 (1)
manageryears = 1969-1971
1981
managerclubs = Shamrock Rovers
Shelbourne|

Frank O'Neill (born April 13 1940, Dublin, Ireland) is a former Irish footballer who spent most of his career at Shamrock Rovers. As an international he also played for the Republic of Ireland.

Playing career

Early years

O'Neill joined Stella Maris at the age of twelve before moving onto Home Farm. He also played for an FAI Youth Selection against a Liverpool County FA XI at Goodison Park, and in 1958 he played against the youth teams of some of the leading European clubs in a tournament in Germany.

Arsenal

O'Neill signed for Arsenal as an eighteen year old, initially as an amateur but subsequently turned professional in April 1959. He spent the next two seasons playing for Arsenal Reserves, making just 2 appearances in the English League. On both occasions, during the 1960-61 season, he deputised for the injured Danny Clapton. He made his senior debut for Arsenal on New Year's Eve 1960 in a 5-3 away win against Nottingham Forest and then played again in a home game against Blackpool.

hamrock Rovers

O'Neill signed for Shamrock Rovers in September 1961 after playing well on Rovers' tour of North America that summer. He scored twice on his debut against Waterford on September 17, in a 4-0 win in the League of Ireland Shield. He went on to became a prominent member of the Rovers team that won the FAI Cup six times in a row during the 1960s. He, along with Pat Courtney, is a holder of the six in a row medals. During his career with Rovers he played over 300 games. His team-mates at the club during this era included Liam Tuohy, Johnny Fullam, Pat Dunne, Bobby Gilbert, Mick Leech and Paddy Mulligan. [ [http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/history.php www.shamrockrovers.ie] ] During the 1965-66 season O'Neill scored 6 goals during the FAI Cup run including one in the final against Limerick. In 1967 he also scored a penalty in the final, a 3-2 win against St. Patrick's Athletic. He scored a further 2 goals during the 1968-69 cup run. [ [http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/match-by-match-guide-to-six-of-the-best-477349.html Rovers and FAI Cup] ] During the summer of 1967, O'Neill also played for Rovers when they competed as Boston Rovers in the United Soccer Association league. [ [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dulyjs/strikers/nasl/bos1.html Boston Rovers] ] O'Neill also scored 2 goals for Rovers, one in each game, during a European Cup Winners Cup tie against CA Spora Luxembourg, helping them to an 8-2 aggregate win. [ [http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/europeanresults.php Shamrock Rovers in Europe] ] . In total he played 18 times in European competition. He later served as player-manager for Rovers after being appointed to the position on October 19 1969. He guided the club to the league title play-off at the end of he 1970-71 season.

Republic of Ireland

Between 1961 and 1971, while playing for Shamrock Rovers, O'Neill made 20 appearances and scored 1 goal for the Republic of Ireland. He holds the record for the number of international caps won by a League of Ireland player. He made his international debut on October 8 1961 in a World Cup qualifier against Czechoslovakia at Dalymount Park. O'Neill finished on the losing side as the Republic lost 3-1. He scored his only goal for the Republic on November 11 1966 in a 2-1 home win against Turkey in a European qualifier. He made his last appearance for the Republic on October 10 1971 in another European qualifier away to Austria. On that day the Republic lost 6-0. [ [http://www.soccerscene.ie/sssenior/player.php?id=155 Republic of Ireland international] ]

Managerial career

O'Neill was later assistant manager of Dundalk between 1978 and 1979, winning the League of Ireland and FAI Cup double [http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/eircom-league/down-memory-lane-frank-oneill-1389698.html] .

Honours

Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk & TEK Utd

*League of Ireland
**"1963-64: 1978-1979 2

*FAI Cup
**"1962,1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1979: 8

*League of Ireland Shield
**"1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68: 5

*Dublin City Cup
**"1963-64, 1966-67: 2

*Blaxnit Cup
**"1967-68: 1

*Top Four Cup
**"1965-66: 1

*Leinster Senior Cup
**"1964, 1969: 2

*Leinster Senior League
**"1976-1977: 1

References

Sources

* "The Hoops" by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins (ISBN 0-7171-2121-6)
*"Who’s Who Of Arsenal" (2007): Tony Matthews [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whos-Who-Arsenal-Tony-Matthews/dp/184596232X]