O’Neills Gaelic Football. The Choice of Champions

Gaelic football. Played worldwide. The O’Neills All Ireland Gaelic football. Kicked around the world where Gaelic is played. The two are virtually interchangeable.

For GAA clubs setting up overseas, one of the first things they send home for is an authentic O’Neills All Ireland football.  It just isn’t a Gaelic football match if you’re not using an O’Neills ball. It’s that simple.

Over time the O’Neills Gaelic football has become synonymous with our Gaelic games, the GAA, football and the Sunday Game. In the last twelve months alone hundreds of the O’Neills All Ireland balls have been shipped to teams worldwide. The O’Neills ball is kicked from San Francisco to New York, from Stockholm to Seville, from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi and from Penang to Perth.

Wherever two or three Gaels are gathered, you’ll find the distinctive All Ireland football. Whenever a club is formed anywhere in the world, there’s sure to be an O’Neills ball in the middle of it. That’s just the way it is. Check out videos of matches overseas. The Inaugural GAA World Games. The official ball was the familiar All Ireland.

All Ireland Finals

The ball has featured in every All Ireland football final, its weight, quality, feel and reliability making it the choice of All Ireland champions since time immemorial. It has been presented to popes, appeared at world cups training camps, been used by Rugby World Cup winners to improve their kicking.

A long way from humble beginnings in Capel Street in Dublin in 1918 when Charles O’Neill spotted a need for gaelic footballs and hurling balls for the Gaelic Athletic Association and began producing under the family name.

Since then the ball has gone from strength to strength, appearing in every All Ireland Final and provincial final in the modern era. The reliability of the football is guaranteed, maintaining its shape and durability over time.

The History of the Gaelic Football

O’Neills were one of the first companies to switch production to an all white ball with its distinctive 18 panels and O’Neills All Ireland branding. The white ball offered less absorption of water and that in turn meant the ball kept it shape and crucially its weight. Prior to that an older style O’Neills ball was used with traditional leather and stitching. In wet weather it grew heavy, hard to kick and more unreliable. O’Neills produce a replica of this ball which is ideal for presents and corporate giftware.

The distinctive branding has been copied by rivals but the O’Neills All Ireland is still the county and club GAA Gaelic footballers ball of choice. It comes in size 5 and size 4 for underage and ladies football. Variations also include a yellow O’Neills ball for use under floodlights when visibility may be difficult. There is also a mini version of the ball for use as a promotional item.

O’Neills also supply a range of trainer GAA balls from Go Games through to senior size five training footballs. Generally players want to train with the ball they will use in a match. The O’Neills All Ireland. The Choice of Champions.