Liam O'Neill is a

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

administrator, who served as the 37th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He is from

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

Biography

A former chairman of the Leinster Council, O'Neill initially sought the GAA presidency at the 2008 Congress, but Christy Cooney defeated him. In June 2010, O'Neill became the first person to declare his candidacy to succeed Cooney. He became president

-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...

at the annual GAA Congress in April 2011 following the withdrawal of three other candidates, and succeeded Cooney in the post on 14 April 2012 at the Congress held at Killenard in Laois - becoming the 37th president of the GAA.Kerry GAA report on election
(Some reports refer to him as the 38th; the founding President, Maurice Davin, uniquely served a second term.) A primary school principal, O'Neill set out in his inaugural address a manifesto centred on sports issues (refereeing, discipline, fixtures planning and the promotion of hurling), organisation (finance, infrastructure and the development of officers) and growth (youth involvement, recruiting new members, forming new clubs and the challenge of urbanisation). Following the

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2012 All-Ireland Football Final, the 125th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 2012. Donegal and Mayo, widely considered "one of the mos ...

, O'Neill related that All-Ireland winning captain Michael Murphy, as they exchanged the Sam Maguire Cup, had offered his condolences on the sudden death of O'Neill's sister the previous day. President O'Neill went on to express his admiration for Murphy and called him an "exceptional young captain".

Post-presidency

Since departing as president, O'Neill has acted as a spokesperson for the GAA, such as in the aftermath of the Armagh eye-gouging incident in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Liam Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chairmen of Gaelic games governing bodies Heads of schools in Ireland Leinster Provincial Council administrators People from County Laois Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association