| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 January 1995 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland [1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kingdom Boys | |||
| 2009–2013 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| 2013–2014 | Port Vale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Port Vale | 0 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Southport (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Hereford United | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2019 | UCD | 116 | (32) |
| 2019– | Shamrock Rovers | 146 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 6 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:08, 27 August 2025 (UTC) | |||
Gary O'Neill is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers.
O'Neill moved to England as a teenager and came through the Academy at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was signed to Port Vale and played on loan at Southport. He returned to Ireland after leaving Hereford United in 2015, at which point he signed with UCD. He spent four years with UCD, helping the club to the League of Ireland First Division title in 2018, before he moved on to Shamrock Rovers. He won the Premier Division in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. He also won the FAI Cup in 2019 and the President of Ireland's Cup in 2022 and 2024.
A native of Caherslee, Tralee, County Kerry, O'Neill played for Kingdom Boys as a youth. [2] His father, Tony, was a founding member of Tralee Dynamos. [3] Following impressive displays in the Kennedy Cup, he joined the Academy at English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers at Wolverhampton Wanderers. [4] [5] He spent four years with Wolves, where manager Mick McCarthy had an influx of Irish youngsters. [6]
He joined Port Vale, though was released by manager Micky Adams at the end of the 2013–14 season without playing a first-team game. [7] [8]
In September 2014, O'Neill joined Hereford United. [9] He left Hereford in December 2014, when they were wound up as a club, with all league results and league appearances expunged. [10] He was not paid his full wages. [11]
O'Neill returned to Ireland in February 2015, signing with UCD where manager Pat Devlin was a friend of his father. [6] He obtained a degree in sports management whilst at the university. [6] He made his senior debut for the club in a Leinster Senior Cup tie against Dundalk on 10 February 2015. O'Neill scored on his league debut, a 3–0 victory over Cobh Ramblers on 7 March 2015. [12]
In June 2019, O'Neill signed with Shamrock Rovers. [13] Manager Stephen Bradley expressed his delight at the acquisition, highlighting O'Neill's fit within the team's playing style and his potential for further development. [14] On 3 November 2019, he scored the winning penalty in the 2019 FAI Cup final in a shootout victory over Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium. [15]
O'Neill is renowned for his exceptional passing ability, boasting a passing accuracy above 90%. In 2019, he was the only player to complete over 2,000 passes in the season, averaging 71 completed passes per game, accounting for 13% of Shamrock Rovers' total passes. [16]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup [a] | League Cup [b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 2013–14 [17] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Southport (loan) | 2013–14 [18] | Conference | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Hereford United | 2014–15 | Southern League Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 [c] | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| UCD | 2015 [18] | LOI First Division | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 [d] | 0 | 3 [e] | 0 | 34 | 3 |
| 2016 [18] | LOI First Division | 27 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 [f] | 2 | 34 | 16 | ||
| 2017 [18] | LOI First Division | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 [f] | 2 | 21 | 8 | ||
| 2018 [18] | LOI First Division | 27 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 10 | ||
| 2019 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 19 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 116 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 141 | 39 | ||
| Shamrock Rovers | 2019 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 3 [d] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | |
| 2020 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 [d] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2021 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 [g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2022 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 [h] | 1 | 1 [i] | 0 | 47 | 1 | ||
| 2023 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 [j] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| 2024 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 [k] | 0 | 1 [i] | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2025 [18] | LOI Premier Division | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 [l] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Total | 146 | 1 | 14 | 1 | — | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 206 | 4 | |||
| Career Total | 266 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 354 | 44 | ||
Individual
UCD
Shamrock Rovers