Martin O’Neill nabbed two original Croker seats... for his garden

Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that two seats from the original Nally Stand in Croke Park have pride of place in his back garden.

O’Neill was just six years old when he sat on his mother Greta’s lap at GAA headquarters to watch his brother’s Derry side narrowly lose the 1958 All-Ireland final to Dublin.

Nearly a half-century later, while managing Celtic, the Foylesider used a pre-season trip to Dublin as an excuse to visit the sacred ground.

When he turned up in Drumcondra with his two daughters, not only did the childhood memories come back but he was able to procure a memento for his home in London.

“I wanted to show my daughters the ground I’d been at all those years before, so we all got up early and headed to Croke Park,” recalls the 62-year-old.

“However, the Nally Stand was being redeveloped when we arrived and I got talking to the builders at the site. I asked him would it be possible to have one of the old seats which were going to be taken out as a souvenir. He said ‘no problem’ and I forgot about it for a while.

“Then, one day while I was in my office at Celtic, there was a knock on the door with a delivery. Inside the package were two of the original seats from Croke Park. I was really chuffed about that. And, since then, they’ve been placed in my back garden and I make sure to paint them every summer.”

Meanwhile, O’Neill has admitted he “resented” average players earning lucrative salaries under his management at club level.

“And, unfortunately, I told them that at times which, possibly, didn’t help my relationship with them.”