The long road to the top – Callum O’Neill’s rise through the ranks

SIX weeks ago, not many people outside the Orchard County knew much about Callum O’Neill. But they know him now. The Belleek clubman has been one of the finds of the season for Kieran McGeeney’s Armagh men.

Having only made two brief substitute appearances in the opening six rounds of the National League, O’Neill looked to have been struggling to break into that starting 15. He was in from the start against Derry in round seven, and hasn’t looked back.

Like a lot of newbies in the Armagh setup, O’Neill grasped his chance with both hands when it arrived. As Armagh prepare for a third consecutive Ulster final appearance, O’Neill is almost guaranteed a starting berth.

In their two championship victories over Antrim and Tyrone, he has arguably been Armagh’s best player. Not only has he kicked 0-4 and 0-3 respectively but he’s like an old head on young shoulders around the middle of the field.

Any keen viewer of Armagh club football won’t be surprised by his emergence. When fit, he has been the star of a rising Belleek team that has climbed through the divisions in recent years. Injury has halted his input at county level.

Last year, having made the 30-man squad for the Galway encounter during the group stages of the All-Ireland series, O’Neill lined out in a club league game for Wolfe Tones the night before. That encounter ended his season.

He shattered his shoulder, a recurring problem. O’Neill has endured surgeries on both shoulders but has come back fighting. In 2021, when Belleek won their first Junior Championship title in 20 years, O’Neill was on the bench having damaged his shoulder.

He was introduced in the final few minutes and fittingly kicked the last score in their 12-9 win over Crossmaglen IIs. “The year Belleek won the championship, he did the shoulder in the semi-final against Dorsey,” recalls then Belleek manager Gareth Thornton.

“Two week’s later we played Cross and we assumed he was out but the week of the championship final, he landed to training with it strapped up and wanted to give it a go. He couldn’t reach above his head but he could catch the ball low and could still use his feet.

“He wanted to play and I think he had his father’s blessing but he didn’t have his mother’s blessing! We brought him on in the final with maybe 15 minutes to go – the game was nip and tuck and he kicked a couple of points, set up one and he was the difference that day.”

The following season, at Intermediate grade, O’Neill unfortunately suffered the same fate. In the opening round of the championship, Belleek’s main man damaged the same shoulder and was sidelined but once again showed his unbelievable resolve and determination.

“We played Forkhill at the Athletic Grounds and he did his shoulder again,” added Thorton.

“That was a draw and he didn’t play in the replay in Crossmaglen. He was in a sling and similar to the year before, he made himself available for the next round.

“We brought him on against Tullysaran and my instruction for him was to not catch the ball above his head but the first ball he went for, he caught it above his head and again he kicked 0-3 when he came on.

“There was no chance he wasn’t playing. He knew there were going to be repercussions, he knew he had to get surgery at some stage, but his attitude was that he was still able to help the team and that’s just the character of him.”

2024 was the same scenario. Another shoulder injury, the other one this time, saw him back in rehab mode but he came back bigger and better than ever. “It was no surprise to see how he has grabbed his opportunity.

“He has shown plenty of patience to wait his turn and it’s testament to Callum as a person, that’s the type of character that he is. He’s headstrong and he’s stubborn and he’s reaping his rewards now I suppose. He’s waited his turn and now he’s got it and it’s great to see.”

Coming up through the ranks, O’Neill was always leadership material. In 2018, he captained the Armagh u-20 squad to the Ulster final, but they came up against a seriously strong Derry squad on the day.

That Armagh panel however was filled with future All-Ireland winners. Barry McCambridge, Conor O’Neill, Jason Duffy, Ross McQuillan, Conor Turbitt and Rian O’Neill were all members of that team.

Those players broke into the county setup before O’Neill, who also captained Queen’s University Belfast in the Sigerson Cup and received the Cormac McAnallen Medal in 2020, a prestigious honour presented for outstanding commitment and performance at Queen’s.

“Callum’s attitude is first class and has been his last couple of years,” said Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney after his side’s recent victory over Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final. “He’s been unlucky, he’s done both shoulders.

“He spent most of his first two years with us doing rehab. He has a first-class attitude, and he’s a great team player.

“He’s taken his chance and he’s pushing hard, we can’t ask for more than that. It was an excellent display again by Callum, chipping in with a couple of points.”

Practise makes perfect and Thornton has witnessed the hours upon hours that O’Neill has put into his game, honing his craft. Whether it be a goalscoring full forward or a ball-winning midfielder, O’Neill has been a massive player for Belleek in recent years.

“He’s a great lad and when I was in Belleek for those couple of years, if we were training at 7:15, Callum was on the field at 6:30 doing a bit of speed work or working on his frees. There were a couple of real clutch moments that he was involved in.

“In the Junior final which Forkhill won (2020), he won a free and he nailed it himself from just outside the 45, the last kick of the game to take it to extra time. You knew it was going over because he had done the reps, he’d kicked that ball thousands of times.

“He’s a really good role model for the rest of the lads in Belleek and it’s shows now, the way Belleek are going – the rest of the boys are trying to catch Callum but he’s a real standard-setter inside the changing room.”

Current Orchard defender Paddy Burns added, “He went to Abbey CBS, same as me, and we went back with Sam Maguire a few months ago and somebody in the school asked me was Callum close to getting minutes.

“I said he’s doing everything right in training and he just needs his chance and to take it. Sure enough, he’s played two fantastic championship games. You’re only as good as your last game, but so far he’s stepped up to the mark and he’s done a great job. I knew he could, there was no doubt that he could do it with the way he trains.”

Now O’Neill, seven years on from that u-20 Ulster final, will get to experience the real thing.

Lining out against a Jim McGuinness inspired Donegal as Armagh chase a first Ulster title in 17 years won’t phase him in the slightest.

“He’s very determined and he’s a genuine good lad all round,” Thorton continued.

“He’s quiet but he’s self-confident because he has the work done and anything that Kieran McGeeney and the management team ask him to do, he’ll have all the boxes ticked.”