Niall O'Neill played on three championship-winning teams
This photograph from Louth’s 1953 All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry shows goalkeeper, Niall O’Neill, clearing his lines. Other Louth players pictured are: Peter Judge, keeping a watchful eye, and further back, Paddy McArdle. On the ground is Jack Bell.
Niall O’Neill, whose death took place last week at the age of 92, was the last surviving member of the Louth team that lined out that day. (Peter Judge and Fintan Wynne, both happily still with us, came on as subs.)
The Dundalk Gaels clubman had played a major part in the team’s successful Leinster campaign, conceding just one goal in four matches. The final with Wexford ended with a 1-7 to 0-7 scoreline.
The All-Ireland semi-final is best remembered for a near successful Louth comeback, initiated by the introduction of Fr Kevin Connolly (aka Kevin McArdle that day) for the second half.
In preparing for the semi-final, Louth had a two-week training camp at St Michael’s College, in Omeath. It wasn’t all sprinting, exercising and putting moves together, however.
As the inset photo shows, there was work to be done on the college grounds, and provided with spades, there was no-one better than the able-bodied Louth players to do it.
Pictured leaning their backs into it are Kevin Beahan and Niall, with, in the background, Jim Quigley and Brother Hayes, of the St Michael’s community, filling a supervisory role.
Though an All-Ireland medal eluded him in 1953, Niall’s career wouldn’t end without a Celtic Cross. On his transfer to Cork for work training purposes in 1955, he lined out with the famous St Finbarr’s club, and soon caught the attention of the junior county team selectors.
He would go on to play a part in the Rebel County’s All-Ireland success that year, and among his colleagues on the panel was Eric Ryan, midfield on the Cork senior team that played Louth in the 1957 All-Ireland final.
Before heading south, Niall had a county senior championship medal to his credit. He was a regular in the Gaels goals, having a particularly fine match in the 1952 semi-final defeat of Young Irelands.
However, he sustained an injury on the lead up to the final, and couldn’t line out against Dowdallshill. In his absence, Paddy McGee was between the posts. There are now no survivors of the Gaels team of 72 years ago. Just a few weeks ago, another member, Bertie Dullaghan, passed away.
Bertie was one of the Jettisoned Six, those who were with the county team throughout the 1957 Leinster Championship, but omitted when it came to naming the panel for the All-Ireland series.
Paddy Butterly (Stabannon Parnerlls), Tommy Carroll (Young Irelands), Paddy Cheshire (Dundalk Gaels), Noel Loughran (St Dominic’s) and Cormac Breslin (Cooley Kickhams) were the others.
A fine all-round sportsman, Niall O’Neill took a keen interest in angling and was also an avid follower of greyhound racing and coursing. He played soccer in his youth, along with following the fortunes of his older brother, Billy, who was an FAI Cup winner with Dundalk in 1942, and in a wonderful career won 11 International caps, a number that would have been greater but for World War Two.
Niall will be fondly remembered by an older generation of sports followers, and by the many hundreds of students he tutored at Dundalk Vocational School and later Ó Fiaich College.
Main photo courtesy of Fintan Malone, Ardee, and the inset, Gerry Kerley, Dundalk.
