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9th November 2021
12:12pm GMT

However, when Tyrone's second All-Ireland success came in 2005, the sharp shooter was very much the main man of this squad, despite the side boasting other top quality forwards such as Owen Mulligan, Brian McGuigan, and God himself Peter Canavan.
No game better displays the true power of Stephen O'Neill than the 2005 Ulster final against Armagh, when he came up against one of the most highly respected, feared, and relentless full backs to ever play the game, Francie Bellew.
This man had made a career of turning forwards inside out, making big men look small, and stopping the seemingly unstoppable, but the Red Hand forward was at the peak of his powers that day.
After kicking an unbelievable 10 points in the match, Bellew returned to the dressing room, looked at his Armagh teammates and said "I never want to see Stephen O'Neill again in my life."
The end of that year saw O'Neill pick up the 2005 Player of the Year award, and confirmed his status as not only the best forward in the country, but the best player - full stop.
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Injuries blighted his next two seasons, and despite not even being 30, he opted to retire from the county and focus on his club.
Determined to continue his Tyrone career now, he was a stalwart in the forward line for his county right up until 2014.
Over the course of this unbelievable career, he has picked up five Ulster titles, three All-Ireland titles, three All-Stars, and the Player of the Year award.
After representing Tyrone 30 times, he has racked up an impressive tally of seven goals, and a crazy 114 points for his county.
Now with the Masters All-Ireland tucked into his back pocket as well, we might be lucky enough to see a few more flashes of the O'Neill brilliance for a few more years yet.
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