Tributes paid to former Omagh and Tyrone Chairman Declan O’Neill

By Niall Gartland

TRIBUTES have been paid to the late Declan O’Neill, the renowned former footballer and administrator who passed away on Thursday.

A lifelong gael, O’Neill achieved a tremendous amount with his club Omagh St Enda’s in both his playing days and later life.

He was part of the Omagh team that claimed Tyrone Senior Championship honours in 1963, while he also served in various administrative roles at the club, including President, Chairman and Secretary.

In his position as Omagh St Enda’s chairman, Declan oversaw the fiftieth anniversary of the club and the development of the Healy Park clubrooms alongside Jackie Martin in 1984.

With Tyrone, Declan was a member of the county’s trailblazing All-Ireland Junior Championship winning team in 1968, playing alongside fellow Tyrone greats like Art McRory and Frankie Donnelly.

He also became the first Omagh St Enda’s man to rise to the position of County Chairman, a seat he held from 1993 to 1995, and he also served on the Ulster Council.

O’Neill, who was the beloved husband of the recently deceased Agnes, also won a prestigious President’s Award in 2009.

In a statement released this afternoon, Tyrone GAA paid tribute to O’Neill:

“The death of Declan O’Neill takes from Gaelic Tyrone another of those significant people who over more than half-a-century did so much to bring the GAA here from ‘beyond the wings to centre stage’.

“Declan more than played his part with Omagh St Enda’s, with Tyrone, and with Ulster, on and off the field. A Tyrone Senior Champion with St Enda’s in 1963, he was also part of Tyrone’s mould-breaking 1968 All-Ireland Junior Championship-winning team.

“From 1993 to 1995 he served as our Tyrone County Chair, and over time held all the key offices within his St Enda’s Club.”

Omagh St Enda’s also paid tribute: “A regular at the Omagh club, at AGM’s and events sadly in the recent past he wasn’t able to be out as much but always kept a close eye on club and County affairs. The loss of his Wife Agnes was a heart-breaking blow to Declan and his family. With the help of God he is with her again.

“Declan’s contribution to Omagh St Enda’s to Tyrone and the wider GAA family can not be underestimated. Throughout his life he worked hard for the association, a player and administrator with a wonderful ability to get things done”