ROCKING some imported footwear from Australia, Oisín O’Neill is hoping to help Armagh put the boot into another pretender to their All-Ireland throne this weekend.
For O’Neill, ankle reconstruction in 2019 was just the beginning of an injury-plagued period that left him fearing for his career.
He went under the knife again as consecutive Achilles injuries saw him miss most of the 2022 season and the entirety of 2023.
When O’Neill excelled in a January 2024 win over Tyrone in the McKenna Cup, soring 0-7, it was his first appearance in an Armagh jersey in 21 months.
The season culminated in the ultimate glory for the Crossmaglen Rangers ace, who played a vital role in the last quarter of the All-Ireland final.
Having been introduced in place of Rory Grugan, his fingerprints were all over Armagh’s final two scores as the Orchard prevailed to land the Sam Maguire for the first time in 22 years.
O’Neill’s sublime pass set up Niall Grimley to give Kieran McGeeney’s men a badly needed boost that ended their 15-minute dry spell.
With five minutes of normal time remaining, he then landed a brilliant — and ultimately decisive — score in his side’s one-point win over Galway.
O’Neill was back at Croke Park as Armagh’s representative for the recent launch of the knockout stages of the 2025 All-Ireland SFC.
He said: “They’re serious injuries to come back from. When you get days like we got here last year, it’s all worth it. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were dark days in there.
“That’s why last year I was so grateful just to be back and to be able to contribute in some part to the squad.
“I’m very grateful that Kieran and all the management team in Armagh showed a lot of faith in me, because probably for a while no one knew if I was going to get back.”
Used as an impact sub throughout last season, O’Neill featured off the bench in every game of Armagh’s triumphant campaign.
When he was given the nod for this year’s Ulster semi-final victory against Tyrone, it marked his first Championship start in four years.
He retained his place for the provincial decider, kicking 0-7 in the extra-time defeat to Donegal.
Nevertheless, O’Neill admits that there were lingering doubts about his chances of returning to this level of the game when luck seemed to abandon him on the injury front.
The business studies teacher said: “That rehab process can be difficult at times. It’s not a linear, straight line. You have setbacks and niggles and maybe you don’t know what the end result is going to be.
“But maybe something that Kieran has put in probably every player in that Armagh squad as a whole is that perseverance.
“We don’t like to quit or we don’t like to cry about what we can’t have, so you just try and push on as best you can and hope that those better days will come.
“I’m just delighted to be part of the group. It’s a great time for Armagh football. Seeing the joy and the buzz, especially in the young people in Armagh, even in school, at St Colman’s College in Newry where I teach, there’s a bit of craic with Armagh and the Down lads as well.
“But the Armagh boys have one up at the minute.”
KEEPING CAUTIOUS
A calf injury sustained in last month’s All-Ireland group-stage win over Derry forced O’Neill to sit out the games against Dublin and Galway. Yet while there has been no recent recurrence of the Achilles issues, he is still taking precautions to ensure that remains the case.
The 28-year-old said: “I actually wear Asics football boots from Australia that a lot of the Aussie Rules players wear, just to give an extra little bit of support to my Achilles.
“They reckon they’re the best boots for Achilles.
“It’s something that hasn’t bothered me since the second operation in Christmas 2022.
“Once I got back on the pitch that summer, I’ve been lucky enough with the Achilles and I’m happy with how they are.
“Anyone who I see is in Australia or is coming home, I try and get them to take me a pair home in the bottom of the suitcase.”
O’Neill’s long-range kicking ability is evidenced by the six two-pointers he kicked while racking up 0-16 in three games in this year’s Ulster Championship.
Like his brother Rian, he is well equipped to avail of the bonus points now on offer.
The new rules have ‘definitely improved the game as a spectacle’, O’Neill insists. But he also notes that the physical toll has significantly increased.
He said: “I think probably players need a little bit more breathing room through the Championship. It’s incredibly demanding on players, especially those in the middle eight who maybe don’t get the opportunity to stay in the three-up.
“The players would notice that it’s much more intense. I think the biggest example of it was extra-time in the Ulster final, where it was a really warm day in Clones and I think nearly every player on the pitch was down with cramp.
“Maybe that’s something that the GAA do need to look at because that was nearly unfair on both teams. It just turned that extra-time into a bit of a lottery.”
BOUNCING BACK
Another failed attempt to win a first Anglo-Celt Cup since 2008 notwithstanding, the manner of Armagh’s response was emphatic.
Despite again being placed in the so-called Group of Death, their place in the last eight was booked with a game to spare. In a rematch of the thrilling 2024 semi-final, Kerry are the opponents at HQ on Sunday.
Still, O’Neill explained that their status as Sam Maguire holders did not cushion the blow of a third Ulster final loss on the spin.
He said: “It definitely wasn’t easier. The only thing is unfortunately we’re used to it now at this stage.
“We’ve bounced back really well. That was a Saturday evening and we all gathered on the Sunday evening, had a bite to eat and said that we were going to go fully after the group stage.
“I think that first game against Derry was crucial for us.
“We knew we were at home and we knew there’d be a big crowd there to support us.
“In those first ten, 15 minutes, I think you could tell that we had got the Ulster final out of our system really well and that we were pushing really hard.
“That comes from the competition in our squad. Every night you go to training, you know that you’re under pressure to perform or else you might lose your spot in the 15 or in the 26 on a match day.
“No player wants that, so we’re very lucky that we have that squad that can keep standards high and drive the thing on.”
