Shane O’Neill, who was born in Midleton, will be lining out for the United States against the all-conquering Spanish youth team, and he’s Maurice Fitzgerald’s nephew.
It’s not often that we give the USA under 20s team a big shout-out, but as Tab Ramos’ men prepare to face the might of Spain tonight, one name on the team sheet stood out for us: Shane O’Neill.
It turns out that Shane was born in Midleton, and was just about a year old when his parents moved to Boulder, Colorado. He has dual citizenship, and has been signed to MLS side Colorado Rapids since June of 2012.
Here he is nicking a goal against Portugal in a warm-up game for the tournament tonight, and while he didn’t manage to hold on to his Cork accent, he has a bit of a twang at times.
O’Neil has dual citizenship, and according to Radio Kerry, his mother, Christine, is Maurice Fitzgerald’s sister, and his father is former Cork All-Ireland winner Colm O’Neill, which means that Shane is steeped in GAA heritage.
With that pedigree we expect to see plenty of sideline balls from him. That could be difficult since he plays centre back though…
