George O'Boyle (born 14 December 1967 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

) is a Northern Irish former professional

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 le ...

and now manager.

Playing career

Club football

O'Boyle, a striker, began his career in 1984 as a youth-team player with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. He was part of the

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...

club's youth academy before earning a two-year contract."Alex Mills interview with George O’Boyle in Sunday Life"
- Linfield F.C., 30 September 2018 After being released by City when he reached the age of 18, he returned to his native Belfast, finding a home on the

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast a ...

, to join

Distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

, then managed by Roy Welsh, in November 1985. The club won the

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...

in his first season. He moved to Linfield in 1986. O'Boyle left Northern Ireland in 1988 to join French club

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. He returned to Linfield on loan in 1989. In 1989 he joined

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

, initially on loan for a year, before signing permanently for £250,000. In 1994, he was signed by

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

manager

Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former association football, football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances betwe ...

for a tribunal-decided £200,000 fee. He reached both the high and low points of his career during his seven years at

McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of . As well as St Jo ...

. However, injury struck again; O'Boyle once more ruptured a cruciate ligament, while he required two operations on a groin problem. O'Boyle played in the 1998 Scottish League Cup Final defeat by Rangers. On 5 January 2001, O'Boyle and St Johnstone teammate Kevin Thomas were sacked following drug-taking allegations. The two players, it was alleged, were found using an unidentified white powder (allegedly

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) at the club's Christmas 2000 party in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

's That Bar. The SPL attempted to overturn the sacking but it was over-ruled by the SFA. After leaving St Johnstone, O'Boyle joined

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...

for four months, before moving on to

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

and Queen of the South, with whom he finished his professional career. He returned to Northern Ireland to play for Glenavon and

Ards Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin color ...

, only to return to Scotland in 2004 to play for

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clubs

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

and

Kelty Hearts Kelty Hearts Football Club is a football club based in the village of Kelty in Fife, Scotland. Formed in 1975 and nicknamed ''the Hearts'', ''the Maroon Machine'' and ''the Jambos'', they play their home games at New Central Park. Their home ...

. He failed to make an appearance for the latter club, due to injury.

International football

O'Boyle's international career spanned four years. In 1996, he scored his only

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

goal in a 1–1 draw with

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in his hometown of Belfast.

Honours

Distillery *

: 1986 Linfield *

NIFL Premier Intermediate League The NIFL Premier Intermediate League is the third division of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and the highest intermediate division in Northern Ireland, occupying level three in ...

: 1986–87, 1988–89 * Gold Cup: 1988–89 *

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

: 1986–87 Dunfermline Athletic *

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

: 1988–89 * St Johnstone * Scottish Football League First Division: 1996–97

Coaching career

O'Boyle managed Carnoustie Panmure, the final club for which he played. He would leave football altogether until 2015, when he became assistant to manager Colin McIlwaine at

Northern Amateur Football League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...

club Albert Foundry. In the summer of 2016 O'Boyle followed McIlwaine to

Lisburn Distillery Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, County Down. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of t ...

, again taking up the role of assistant. The duo resigned in April 2019. O'Boyle and McIlwaine became the new joint-managers of

NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...

side Harland & Wolff Welders just a couple of days after departing Distillery. They both left the club in December, seven months after their appointments."H&W Welders part company with management team Colin McIlwaine and George O'Boyle"
- BelfastLive, 9 December 2019

Outside of football

O'Boyle started his own oven-cleaning business in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

in 2010.

References

External links

*
Profile at Queen of the South (archived version)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oboyle, George 1967 births Ards F.C. players Association football forwards Association footballers from Northern Ireland Bo'ness United F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Carnoustie Panmure F.C. managers Carnoustie Panmure F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Expatriate association footballers from Northern Ireland Expatriate footballers in France FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Football managers from Northern Ireland Glenavon F.C. players Kelty Hearts F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Lisburn Distillery F.C. players Living people Manchester City F.C. players Northern Ireland B international footballers Northern Ireland international footballers Queen of the South F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Premier League players Association footballers from Belfast St Johnstone F.C. players Lisburn Distillery F.C. managers