Frank O'Neill (born 13 April 1940) is an Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who spent most of his career at Shamrock Rovers. As an international he also played for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

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 Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

County FA XI at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...

, 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 Arsenal Football Club Academy is the youth system of Arsenal Football Club based in Hale End, London, England. It is often referred to as Hale End eponymously by the club, sports media, and fans. The academy teams play in the Professional Dev ...

, 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 Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and then played again in a home game against Blackpool.

Shamrock Rovers

O'Neill signed for Shamrock Rovers for £3000 in September 1961 after playing well on Rovers' tour of North America that summer. He scored twice on his debut against

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

on 17 September, in a 4–0 win in the

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

. He went on to become 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 teammates at the club during this era included Liam Tuohy,

Johnny Fullam John Rowan "Johnny" Fullam (22 March 1940 – 10 June 2015) was an Irish association footballer. Career Born in Dublin, Fullam began his career at Home Farm before signing for Preston North End in 1958. He scored 6 goals in 49 league appea ...

Pat Dunne Patrick "Pat" Dunne (9 February 1943 – 25 September 2015) was an Irish professional football goalkeeper. He played internationally for the Republic of Ireland and professionally in both Republic of Ireland and England. Dunne played in Dublin ...

, Bobby Gilbert,

Mick Leech Mick Leech (born 6 August 1948 in Dublin) was an Irish professional football player who made his name with Shamrock Rovers in the 1960s. He was signed by Paddy Ambrose and Liam Tuohy for Rovers in September 1966 from junior side Ormeau. He ...

and

Paddy Mulligan Patrick Martin "Paddy" Mulligan (born 17 March 1945 in Dublin) is an Irish retired footballer who played mainly as a right-back. Mulligan started his senior career playing for Bohemians in 1963. However, after only two games he signed for Shamr ...

. During the 1965–66 season O'Neill scored 6 goals during the FAI Cup run including one in the final against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. 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. During the summer of 1967, O'Neill also played for Rovers when they competed as

Boston Rovers Boston Shamrock Rovers (also known as Boston Rovers) were an American soccer team that competed in the United Soccer Association (USA) league in 1967. The team was based in Lynn, Massachusetts and played their home games at the Manning Bowl. T ...

in the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...

league. O'Neill also scored 2 goals for Rovers, one in each game, during a

European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...

tie against

CA Spora Luxembourg CA Spora Luxembourg was a football club, based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is now a part of Racing FC Union Luxembourg. History Spora was founded in 1923 as an amalgam of Racing Club Luxembourg and Sporting Club Luxembourg, ...

, helping them to an 8–2 aggregate win. In total he played 18 times in European competition.

Other clubs

Frank signed for

in September 1974 and scored twice on his debut. He won the

Texaco Cup The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions. It wa ...

after scoring the only goal in the first leg in November 1974. O'Neill signed for

Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...

as assistant manager in 1978. He moved to St Patrick's Athletic in January 1980.

Republic of Ireland

Between 1961 and 1971, while playing for Shamrock Rovers, O'Neill made 20 appearances and scored 1 goal for the

. He holds the record for the number of international caps won by a League of Ireland player. He made his international debut on 8 October 1961 in a World Cup qualifier against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

. O'Neill finished on the losing side as the Republic lost 3–1. He scored his only goal for the senior national team on 11 November 1966 in a 2–1 home win against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

in a European qualifier. He made his last appearance for the Republic of Ireland on 10 October 1971 in another European qualifier, a 6–0 loss away to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Managerial career

He served as player-manager for Shamrock Rovers after being appointed to the position on 19 October 1969. He guided the club to the league title play-off at the end of the 1970–71 season. O'Neill was later assistant manager of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

between 1978 and 1979, winning the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

and FAI Cup double.

Honours

: 2 :: * Shamrock Rovers 1963–64 *

1978–1979 FAI Cup: 7 :: * Shamrock Rovers 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

: 5 :: * Shamrock Rovers 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68 *

Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...

: 2 * Shamrock Rovers 1963–64, 1966–67 *

Blaxnit Cup The Blaxnit Cup, is a defunct club football competition which featured teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland, in a similar format to the later Setanta Cup. It was inaugurated in 1967 as a cross-border competition between c ...

* Shamrock Rovers 1967–68 *

Top Four Cup The Top Four Cup was an association football super cup featuring the top four clubs in the League of Ireland. It was first held in 1955–56 and last played for in 1973–74. It was played at the end of the season. Shamrock Rovers were the i ...

* Shamrock Rovers 1965–66 * Leinster Senior Cup: 2 * Shamrock Rovers 1964, 1968/69 *

1974/75

References

Sources

* ''The Hoops'' by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins () *''Who's Who of Arsenal'' (2007): Tony Matthew

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Frank 1940 births Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers Waterford F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players League of Ireland players League of Ireland managers Shelbourne F.C. managers United Soccer Association players Boston Rovers players Association footballers from County Dublin Living people League of Ireland XI players Association footballers from Dublin (city) Stella Maris F.C. players Association football forwards Republic of Ireland football managers