Martin O’Neill Set For Civic Honour As Council Backs Recognition Motion

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has backed a motion calling for football manager Martin O’Neill to be formally recognised for his contribution to the sport and his links to his native Kilrea.

Councillors passed the notice of motion during a special council meeting this evening.

It was proposed by Councillor Sean Bateson and seconded by Councillor Leanne Peacock.

The motion recognises Mr O’Neill’s achievements during a football career spanning more than five decades and calls on council officers to explore appropriate forms of civic recognition, including a commemorative plaque in Kilrea and the Freedom of the Borough.

It also calls for engagement with local stakeholders, sporting organisations and the O’Neill family as part of the process.

Mr O’Neill, who was born in Kilrea, won two European Cups as a player with Nottingham Forest and represented Northern Ireland 64 times, including captaining the side at the 1982 World Cup.

He later moved into management, with spells at clubs including Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, as well as managing the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking during Thursday evening's meeting, Mr Bateson said he was "very proud" to bring forward the motion recognising "one of our own".

"There are very few people from anywhere who can say they have reached the very highest level of their profession, remained there for decades, and built a reputation recognised across the world," he said.

"There are fewer still who can say that more than half a century after their career began, they are still adding new chapters to that story.

"But that is Martin O'Neill."

Mr Bateson told councillors that despite Mr O'Neill's career taking him to some of football's biggest clubs and occasions, "his story began here – in Kilrea".

He said this should be a source of "enormous pride" for people in Kilrea and across the wider Causeway Coast and Glens borough.

Mr Bateson also spoke about his own memories of watching Mr O'Neill manage Celtic.

"As a proud Kilrea man myself, I grew up in the town during those years," he said.

"To see Martin O'Neill from Kilrea standing on the touchline at Celtic Park, managing Celtic and leading the club to that level of success had a real impact on me."

He added that Mr O'Neill was a "huge part" of the reason he became a Celtic supporter.

Mr Bateson said the Freedom of the Borough was the highest civic honour available to the council and should be reserved for people whose achievements were "truly exceptional".

"Martin O'Neill undoubtedly meets that standard," he told the meeting.

"But tonight is about more than medals, trophies and famous victories.

"It is about recognising what those achievements mean to the place from which he came."

Mr Bateson said young people growing up in Kilrea and elsewhere in the borough could look to Mr O'Neill's career as an example of what could be achieved regardless of where they came from.

"For those of us from Kilrea, there is something very special in being able to say: he came from here," he added.

Following the passing of the motion, council officers will now progress work around the options for formally recognising Mr O'Neill and engage with him and his family.

Mr Bateson also asked that, should the Freedom of the Borough ultimately be conferred, the ceremony take place in Kilrea.

"After a career that has taken Martin O'Neill from Kilrea to some of the greatest stages in world football, I can think of no more fitting place to honour him than back where that remarkable journey began," he said.

Further arrangements surrounding the formal conferral of the Freedom of the Borough are expected to be confirmed at a later date.