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 The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. 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 The Leinster Council is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County ...

, O'Neill initially sought the GAA presidency at the 2008 Congress, but

Christy Cooney Christy Cooney ( Irish: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland) is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress o ...

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 Maurice Davin (29 June 1842 – 27 January 1927) was an Irish farmer who became co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president. Sports Davin was bo ...

, 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 Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

, as they exchanged the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

, 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