Shamrock Rovers’ O’Neill on a year of ups and downs
Shamrock Rovers’ Gary O’Neill knows more about life’s ups and downs than most of us
LIFE is a rollercoaster, you just got to ride it... So sang Ronan Keating back in 2000 when he released this single from his debut album. It pretty much encapsulates what everybody has had to put up with during the present time of Covid-19.
And it’s certainly an expression that Tralee’s Shamrock Rovers midfielder, Gary O’Neill, is more cognisant of than most people after the course of his last twelve months.
The 25-year-old has gone from leaving UCD to sign for the biggest club in Irish football, to slotting home the winning penalty in the FAI Cup Final, to dealing with one of the most heart-breaking situations in his family life, to being stuck in lockdown unable to do his job.
Life is a rollercoaster alright... WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2019: Shamrock Rovers complete the double signing of O’Neill and teammate Neil Farrugia from UCD.
“That was an unbelievable moment. I was at UCD for four and a half years. I could not speak highly enough of that club,” said the Tralee midfielder this week.
“UCD is an unbelievable place to go and learn the game. Everything is done right there, between the superb facilities and the standard of coaching. The only thing missing, of course, is the ability of the club to pay players.
“Last summer, the move to Shamrock Rovers had been in the pipeline for a while. Certainly for the three or four weeks before it happened.
“I tried my absolute best to push the move through, because it was an opportunity that I just could not turn down. I had already had five or six chances to leave UCD, but none of those potential moves felt right.
“But, a club like Shamrock Rovers, with the type of manager that we have in Stephen Bradley, it was perfect for me. You can see that by how good they have been to us during the pandemic.
“I am in the second year of my contract, and I have another year to go after this. I am so, so happy to be a Shamrock Rovers player. It’s the best move that I could have made in the Airtricity League.”
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2019: FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium. Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers. It ends 1-1 after 90 minutes with late goals from Aaron McEneff (penalty) for the Tallaght side with a spectacular Michael Duffy equaliser for the league champions. There are no further goals in the 30 minutes of extra-time. The destination of the spoils is decided by a penalty-shoot-out. Gary O’Neill ends up firing home the winning spot-kick.
“That was just a really proud day for myself and my family. My relations from Tralee and Ballylongford all came up for the big game, and most of them probably hadn’t even seen me play before. I was so excited to have them there.
“In the week leading up to the game, I was just hoping that I would start. Then, the day before, the manager put up the team, and I am in it! I was sharing a hotel room with Aaron and that night I was just mentally exhausted. The lights were out at eleven!
“We were up early on the Sunday for breakfast and the build-up was brilliant. It was my favourite part of the whole thing. Wearing the cup final suit, arriving into the Aviva Stadium, walking out onto the pitch, seeing my family in the crowd, the National Anthem, everything.
“The game to me is a complete blur. I know that 120 minutes is a long time, but I couldn’t tell you if I played well or played badly. I haven’t watched the full match back yet.
“I thought we were home and dry after the penalty from Aaron. Obviously, Dundalk had one last attack, and Michael Duffy scores the best goal that has ever been conceded by any team I played with when I’ve been on the pitch. Given the circumstances, the minute, the technique, on his weaker left foot . . . it was a special strike.
“We just had to regroup after that. The manager had brought on Greg Bolger to try and shut up shop after we took the lead. We were competing for a place and, maybe if the game had been 0-0, he might have taken me off just to freshen things up. That’s how these things sometimes align for you.
“Nothing much happened in extra time. The pitch in the Aviva is massive, and you don’t realise that until you are out there. Extra time just passed people by.
“Penalties are penalties. I know people say to me that you will go down in history after scoring the winning penalty, but it wasn’t like I banged in a 91st minute late winner. My penalty was no more important than the earlier ones from Jack Byrne, Joey O’Brien and Greg. I was just lucky enough to score the last one.
“I’ve always taken penalties. For Wolves in the youth team, for Port Vale in the under-21s, I scored 36 goals for UCD and probably 50 per cent of them were penalties. I have always been the designated player until I came to Rovers and you have lads who have been there longer like Jack and Aaron, who are excellent at them.
“Our director of football Stephen McPhail came up to me and said you are taking one. What number? I said ‘number four.’ I am delighted I picked that number now! Your heart would be going a little bit faster alright but, to be honest, I fancied myself to score. I was in no way out of my comfort zone.
“When I was walking up to take it, the referee said to me ‘if you score this, it’s over.’ I didn’t even know! Penalties are one of the easiest chances that you have to score in a game. I just did my little run-up, put it to Gary Rogers’ right, and the rest is history.”
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2020: Noreen O’Neill, Caherslee, Tralee, husband of Tony, and mother of Gary and his brother Christopher, tragically passes away suddenly after suffering a heart attack at the age of 54.
“I am quite open in talking about it. It happened, and I cannot pretend that is hasn’t,” said Gary.
“I was up here in Dublin, it was a Sunday afternoon, Everton were playing Arsenal on the TV, I was doing a session in the gym, and I missed two calls from Dad. When I got out of the gym, I texted him, but he rang again, and I knew that something was up. Dad couldn’t even talk, he was just very emotional.
“My auntie Denise, who has
always been like a second mum to me, had to be the bearer of the bad news. She told me that I had to get back to Tralee as soon as I could.
“My brother and my cousin Amy came up to get me. That was the longest four and a half hours of my life. The news was just lingering in my mind until they got to Dublin. I am lucky that I’m surrounded by great friends up here, and they came over to keep me company.
“Then you go home, and you are faced with the reality of the situation. There is no point hiding behind it. It was a week of no sleep, no food, lots of tears, lots of grieving. Without a doubt, it was the hardest week of my life.
“Shamrock Rovers were so good to me. We had an open casket in the house, and seven of the lads came down. The manager, the chairman, the assistant coach came down. There was a representative from the club there every day.
“The funeral was on the Thursday and I went back to Dublin on the Friday. I wanted to be among the lads for the match against Dundalk that night, even though I didn’t want to play. I did a little bit of training on the pitch beforehand, and there was a minute’s silence for Mum.
“You just realise that time waits for nobody. If I was to spend another four or five weeks in Kerry, then that would have been four or five weeks of somebody getting ahead of me and into the team at Rovers. Mum wouldn’t have wanted that. I just had to roll with the punches and try and carry on.
“Every day now is just different, it’s still so raw. You will only ever have one mum. I miss her every single day. You will never get over it. You just have to learn to deal with each day a little bit better.
“Mum always wanted to be cremated, so we put some of her ashes into three lockets for three necklaces for Dad, Christopher and myself, and we have the rest in an urn at home. Now I am bringing her with me every day, she is with me all the time. That is giving me a huge amount of comfort.
“If I could flick a switch and give up everything that I have to get her back tomorrow, I would do it. But I can’t, so I just want to make her as proud of me as I possibly can.”
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020: Players from Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians and Derry City return to socially distant training in small groups, as they prepare to take part in a four-team tournament towards the end of July/start of August.
This is the start of the so-called ‘new normal’ for Irish soccer and its return-to-play protocols. But, as everybody knows when they lose a parent, there is never a return to normal. You just take one day at a time as you plough on as best you can. Like Gary O’Neill is doing. Making Noreen proud of him every day of his life.
Then you go home, and you’re faced with the reality of the situation. There’s no point hiding behind it. It was a week of no sleep, no food, tears