Stephen O'Neill has decided to call it a day with rumours that more of our team could follow. What can you say about Stephen? Stephen O'Neill won an All Ireland minor, 2 All Ireland U21 and 3 Senior All Ireland Titles ( although he refused to accept a medal for 2008 feeling he did not earn it.) He also won 2 National Leagues, 2 Minor Ulster, 2 U21 Ulster, 5 Senior Ulster and 3 All Stars. Stephen broke onto the Tyrone team in 1999 under the guidance of Art McRory and Eugene McKenna. By 2001 he had won his first Senior Ulster Championship and went onto win his first All Star award. In 2003 he won his first All Ireland medal and repeated this 2 years later. That year was probably his best in a Tyrone shirt as he finished the year with 5-49 and winning the Footballer of the Year award.

Stephen always lit up a game be it McKenna Cup, National League of Championship. Croke Park always brought the best out of him with some memorable scores against Dublin under lights in league and Kildare in league off the top of my head.

Good luck Stephen with whatever path you take in the future.

http://vimeo.com/64086311

tir_eoghain_abu (Tyrone) - Posts: 773 - 14/11/2014 13:49:27    1672245

An unreal player at his peak but seemed to fade away somewhat over the last few years - im sure his injury problems had a lot to do with this. I think he has made the right call here.

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 14/11/2014 13:57:12    1672250

The term "great" is used to often when describing players but Stephen O Neill was a great player. I always said if there was a transfer market in the GAA he would have been one of the first on my list.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11230 - 14/11/2014 13:58:36    1672253

A great player.Probably the best I've seen at scoring from tight angles.Such a pity we didn't get to see him at his best for long enough as injuries seemed to hold him back a bit but in the mid noughties he was pure class.

uibhfhaili1986 (Offaly) - Posts: 1296 - 14/11/2014 14:02:36    1672257

At his peak Stevie was the sort of player you could watch day in day out, always had something in the locker for every occasion, expect the unexpected. He will be missed but I hope he continues to contribute to the future success of Tyrone GAA in other ways.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 14/11/2014 14:08:52    1672262

Yes. A great player indeed. It was a pleasure to have seen him play.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 14/11/2014 14:15:44    1672267

Fantastic player, had the mis-pleasure of watching him score some of the best points Croke Park has ever seen against Dublin over the years

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4624 - 14/11/2014 15:18:05    1672304

Unreal player. Pure pure class.
Was hoping he'd get a decent break from the injuries these last few years.
So many savage scores to pick from.
Outside of the boot on end line vs Dublin in league or the dummy he sold the Kildare fella in croke park were a couple of many gems.
Good luck to him in his retirement

Superglue (Kerry) - Posts: 1283 - 14/11/2014 15:41:11    1672312

Class Class player and broke our hearts on many's an occasion, still think his introduction for Peter Canaven in 2003 changed the game for the Tyrone Men we simply had no answers that day

Horsebox77 (Kerry) - Posts: 5491 - 14/11/2014 15:54:57    1672315

An absolutely amazing player and will go down as one of the great forwards in gaelic football. He really was a joy to watch. Best of luck in his retirement.

JimTheLegend (Donegal) - Posts: 247 - 14/11/2014 15:56:06    1672317

In terms of the whole of Ireland, He is the in the top 3 players that i've seen. And the best player ive seen come out of Ulster. In my humble opinion.

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13650 - 14/11/2014 16:22:52    1672332

Unreal forward...pure class , plus seemed like a really down to earth guy too (unlike Mulligan)!!

in 2005 I was in the Canal End and the second half was pure torture. Anytime himself or Mulligan got the ball in that second half I was chewing my undies with the havoc they were causing.

Felt things just didnt go his way the last numebr of years but he will always remain one of my favourite footballers

woops (Kerry) - Posts: 2073 - 14/11/2014 16:48:00    1672339

Would echo the sentiments of the previous posts. A complete class act and in his prime was right up there with the best I've ever seen. A true great.

benjyyy (Donegal) - Posts: 1422 - 14/11/2014 17:05:07    1672345

A truly top class forward but what strikes me about him was how he carried himself. A real role model for any person young or old to look up to. Humility was his greatest strength. A real credit to his family, club and county.

Inthrough (Donegal) - Posts: 32 - 14/11/2014 17:43:49    1672355

When fit,a joy to watch.Beautiful balance,could kick sublime scores off both feet.And often did.No malice or nastiness to him.A credit to himself and his county.Cheers for the memories.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 14/11/2014 18:08:47    1672359

A great player. Great balance, a real eye for the posts and knew his angles. Only dampener for me personally was his arm clamping antics against Dublin in 2011 when he dived trying to get a Dublin player booked. Really he was above all of that stuff but I felt he let himself down that day. I wouldn't let that incident taint what was otherwise a great career. As a Dublin fan I'll be glad to see the back of him as he increased the danger levels no end.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 14/11/2014 18:26:13    1672360

A brilliant footballer on the pitch and an absolute gentleman off the pitch. A real role model for young people. a great ambassador for Tyrone. there were so many great scores from this man and he played a huge roll in Tyrones greatest victories. One of my best memories is his contributions against Armagh and Dublin and Kerry in the mid noughties. however one night that stands out for me is against Dublin in the centenary celebrations I think it was. his points that night were supherb. Also he was so modest off the pitch and was always available to help promote positive activities for youth. thank you Stephen for the huge joys you brought, your brillance will be missed by Tyrone.

border Gael (Monaghan) - Posts: 894 - 14/11/2014 18:41:02    1672363

Good luck to the man, he was a very gifted player, and has 3 all irelands to look back on. Despite his injuries, that is some going.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3830 - 14/11/2014 19:05:22    1672370

Good luck to Stephen o'neill in his retirement , a total class act on the field and I'm sure off the field as well, it was a pity he suffered so many injuries but he has his Celtic crosses so I'm sure there is no regrets.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 15/11/2014 11:09:16    1672433

unfortunatly for us Monaghan people Stephen O Neill got around 5 man of the match performances. no wonder so many Monaghan fans are relieved to see him retire from Inter county.

border Gael (Monaghan) - Posts: 894 - 15/11/2014 21:31:39    1672564