Oisín McConville (; born 13 October 1975) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player. He has been manager of the Wicklow county team since 2022. McConville played at senior level for the Armagh county team in the 1990s and 2000s. He won an

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

medal, seven Ulster Championships and a

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

title with the county. He was also awarded two

All Stars An all-star is an individual with a high level of performance in their field. All-star or All Star may also refer to: Awards * GAA GPA All Stars Awards, annual awards given to practitioners of Gaelic games ** Camogie All Stars Awards ** Ladies' ...

. McConville played club football for

Crossmaglen Rangers Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Athletic Club () is a GAA club in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They cater for Gaelic football and camogie. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett Park, which was opened in 1959. In 1971 the ...

and won six

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

s, ten

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Senior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition was first held in 1968 an ...

s and 16

Armagh Senior Football Championship The Armagh Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh GAA, Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1889. Clann Eireann GAC, Clan ...

s with the club. McConville played as forward. He was one of the game's best point-scorers and an expert free-taker. He was consistently a high scorer for Armagh and is the all-time top Ulster scorer in Championship football with a tally of 11–197 (230). He is widely considered one of Armagh's best ever players. In 2009, to mark the 125th anniversary of the

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

, he was named by ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'' as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster. Despite his success on the field, McConville's personal life has been plagued by gambling problems. He now works as an addiction counsellor.

Background

McConville was born in

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ir ...

, South Armagh. His uncle Gene Morgan played for Armagh and played in the 1953 All-Ireland final. McConville's brother Jim is also regarded as one of Armagh's best ever footballers. He also appeared in a New Year's Eve ''

Celebrity Jigs n' Reels ''Celebrity Jigs n' Reels'' was an Republic of Ireland, Irish reality television, reality entertainment television show broadcast on RTÉ One. It was produced by Mind The Gap Films. Format The series started out with seven celebrities paired with ...

'' special.

Playing career

Inter-county

McConville made his Armagh Senior debut in the

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

final at Clones on 25 September 1994. He played in the half forward line for

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

in their 2002 All-Ireland winning year. In the 2002 All Ireland Final against Kerry, he overcame the setback of having his first half penalty saved, to step up and score the vital second half goal that was instrumental in Armagh winning a tight contest. As well as his All Ireland Senior medal, McConville holds two All Star awards (2000 and 2002), seven Ulster Senior Championship medals (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008) and a National League Winners medal (2005). He also holds the record for the highest individual score in an Ulster Final, when he notched 2-07 against Down in the 1999 Ulster Final. He has also won Under 12, Under 14, Under 16, Minor League and Championship, and two U-21 Championships. During his schooldays at Abbey CBS in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

, he won D'Alton, Corn na nÓg, and Rannafast Cups, and was a

MacRory Cup The MacRory Cup is an inter-college (school) Gaelic football tournament in Ulster at senior "A" grade. The MacLarnon Cup is the competition for schools at senior 'B' grade. Players must be under nineteen at the start of the tournament. The winn ...

runner up whilst at Saint Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh. He won six All-Ireland Club titles with Crossmaglen in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011 and 2012, and was top scorer in four of those years. McConville retired from inter-county football after the 2008 season.

Club

McConville was part of the Crossmaglen team that won 13

s in a row between 1996 and 2008. This equalled the national record for consecutive county football championships set by Ballina Stephenites of Mayo between 1904 and 1916. He also won the

seven times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

), and the

six times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011 and 2012) with the club. McConville, along with Paul Hearty, John McEntee, Tony McEntee, Francie Bellew and Cathal Short is one of six Cross players to have shared in all these successes since 1996. When McConville missed the 2009 Armagh Championship semi-final against Armagh Harps through injury, it ended a run of 103 consecutive Championship games for Crossmaglen. McConville announced his retirement from Crossmaglen Rangers after their All-Ireland Club SFC semi-final defeat to St Brigid's on 16 February 2013.

Province

School

McConville attended the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School,

before taking his

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh St Patrick's Grammar School () is a Roman Catholic boys' voluntary grammar school in Armagh, Northern Ireland. The present‑day school was officially opened on Thursday, 27 October 1988, by the late Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal Tomás Ó Fi ...

Media career

He has interviewed people who are involved in Gaelic games for the '' Sunday Life'' newspaper, including Barry Cassidy and

Tomás Corrigan Tomás Corrigan (born August 1, 1990) is a Gaelic footballer who has played for the Fermanagh GAA, Kinawley, Dublin GAA,St Oliver Plunketts/Eoghan Ruadh GAA, St Oliver Plunketts, and the Fermanagh county football team, Fermanagh county team. Ca ...

Managerial career

McConville managed

Meath GAA The Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for Meath county teams. Football County team ...

club Seneschalstown and Dundalk IT, and was managing

Monaghan GAA The Monaghan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Monaghan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Monaghan and the Monaghan county football and hurling tea ...

club Inniskeen Grattans when he was appointed manager of the senior Wicklow county team ahead of the 2023 season.

Honours

;Club * 17

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 * 10

1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 * 6

1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2012 ;As manager * 2

2014, 2015 * 1

2015 ;Inter-county * 1

2002 * 7

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 * 1

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

2005 ;Individual * 2

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

2000, 2002 * Amongst highest scoring players in All-Ireland Senior Football Championship history.

References

External links

Details on Oisín McConville
{{DEFAULTSORT:McConville, Oisin 1975 births Living people Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Gaelic football managers Gaelic games writers People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh People educated at Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School Wicklow county football team non-playing personnel Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football)