Clan Rising

O'Neill Family Champion

Martin O'Neill(1952–)

Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE

The Kilrea man who won a European Cup as a player and three Scottish titles as a manager, carrying the great Gaelic name of O'Neill back to the front of the game.

Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill was born on 1 March 1952 in Kilrea, County Londonderry, one of a large family, and was clever enough to read law at Queen's University Belfast before football took him. He carried out of Ulster the surname of its oldest royal dynasty, the O'Neills of Tyrone, and he carried it well.

As a player he was an intelligent, driving midfielder. He won the Irish Cup with Distillery, then in 1971 joined Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough and was central to the most remarkable run in English club history: the First Division title in 1978, two League Cups, and back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980. For Northern Ireland he won sixty-four caps and captained the side at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where they beat the hosts one to nil in Valencia and reached the second round.

Management revealed the fuller talent. He took Wycombe Wanderers out of non-League football and up through the divisions, winning the FA Trophy along the way, then after a short spell at Norwich took charge of Leicester City in 1995. He won them promotion through the 1996 play-off final, kept them established in the Premier League, and won two League Cups, in 1997 and 2000, with regular European football for a club of modest means.

In 2000 he went to Celtic, and in his first season won the domestic Treble of Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and League Cup. He took the league title again in 2002 and 2004, won further Scottish Cups, and in 2003 led Celtic to the UEFA Cup final in Seville, a campaign that moved tens of thousands of supporters across Europe and is remembered as one of the club's great modern adventures.

He later took Aston Villa to three successive sixth-place finishes and a League Cup final, and from 2013 to 2018 managed the Republic of Ireland, qualifying for Euro 2016 and beating Italy one to nil in Lille to reach the knockout stage. Few men have carried the O'Neill name through the game with more credit, as a European Cup winner on the pitch and a serial title winner in the dugout.

Achievements

  • ·Won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest as a player in 1979 and 1980, with the 1978 First Division title
  • ·Captained Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup; sixty-four caps
  • ·Won two League Cups with Leicester City, 1997 and 2000
  • ·Won the Scottish Premier League with Celtic in 2001, 2002 and 2004, with the 2001 domestic Treble
  • ·Led Celtic to the 2003 UEFA Cup final; qualified the Republic of Ireland for Euro 2016

Where this story lives

Frequently asked

What is Martin O'Neill famous for?

The Kilrea man who won a European Cup as a player and three Scottish titles as a manager, carrying the great Gaelic name of O'Neill back to the front of the game. Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill was born on 1 March 1952 in Kilrea, County Londonderry, one of a large family, and was clever enough to read law at Queen's University Belfast before football took him.

When was Martin O'Neill born?

Martin O'Neill was born in 1952 in Kilrea, County Londonderry. The full biographical record sits on the dedicated page on Clan Rising, set alongside the wider history of the O'Neill family.

Where was Martin O'Neill born?

Martin O'Neill was born in Kilrea, County Londonderry, in Ireland. The atlas links the birthplace to its tile page so the surrounding geography and other families of the area can be explored from the same record.

Where in Ireland did Martin O'Neill live and work?

Martin O'Neill's life and work were concentrated in Derry. Each location has its own page on the atlas with the broader historical context for the area.

What is Martin O'Neill's connection to the O'Neill family?

Martin O'Neill is recorded on Clan Rising as a O'Neill Family Champion, a figure whose life is inseparable from the surname. The O'Neill family page sets the wider context for the name and links through to every other notable bearer.

What did Martin O'Neill achieve?

Headline achievements recorded for Martin O'Neill include Won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest as a player in 1979 and 1980, with the 1978 First Division title, Captained Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup; sixty-four caps, Won two League Cups with Leicester City, 1997 and 2000 and Won the Scottish Premier League with Celtic in 2001, 2002 and 2004, with the 2001 domestic Treble. The full list and the surrounding biographical record sit on the dedicated champion page.

Was Martin O'Neill a O'Neill?

Yes. Martin O'Neill is filed on Clan Rising under the O'Neill family. The naming convention follows the surname a diaspora reader would search for today; titles, particles and pen names sort under that same canonical surname.