In an ongoing series we are highlighting the young players who are part of the JD Academy, the Irish Football Association’s elite development programme. Today Conleth O’Neill is in the spotlight…
Name: Conleth O’Neill
DOB: 4 May 2011
Position: Winger
Club: Linfield
School: Campbell College, Belfast
Hometown: Kilrea
Conleth is enjoying his first year as part of the academy – and experiencing the international stage.
Back in October he was part of a Northern Ireland Under-15 team that participated in a UEFA U15 development tournament staged in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The U15s played against the Bosnians (1-0 win), Slovenia (2-1 defeat) and Latvia (2-0 win).
O’Neill started two of the games and scored Northern Ireland’s goal in the 2-1 loss to Slovenia.
The winger has had a knack for finding the back of the net ever since he scored two free-kicks in one match when he first started playing football. However, his biggest accomplishment to date was making the JD Academy.
“It means a lot to be a part of the academy,” he said. “When I see past academy graduates move on to professional clubs, it motivates me to be like them.”
While O’Neill enjoys playing and training at the academy, his favourite part of the set-up is hanging out with his teammates. He believes his most memorable moment once he leaves will be meeting the academy boys again for the first time.
The winger says Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal is a huge inspiration, particularly pointing out the Spaniard’s ability to dominate on the right wing.
But the first player he looked up to was his uncle and striker Eoin Bradley, an Irish League stalwart for many years with both Glenavon and Coleraine.
O’Neill also finds motivation in the popular saying “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”. Desiring to improve his dribbling skills, the winger often sets up cones to dribble around to help with his development.
Over the next 12 months he is aiming to excel in part one of his GCSEs and consistently secure a place in Northern Ireland development squads.
