[citation needed] With Stella Maris under-15s when he won the Conway Cup for 1984/85, Fintan O'Neill scoring in the last minute to beat Lourdes Celtic (whose captain was Pat Scully) 2–1.
And it was after that match – played on a pitch that's now a housing estate, in Palmerstown – that he was approached by Billy Young to sign for Bohemians, which he did as an amateur.
He was on the scoresheet in both legs of the 1996 Cup Final loss [1], and Shelbourne duly took note of an experienced and versatile player, signing him for the following year.
Dave had a string of them in the early nineties: with Bohs in 1990, he saw St Francis deprive them of a crack at the FAI Cup, beating them at the Semi-final stage.
After a protracted transfer saga for a then domestic record fee of £20,000 he joined Shels[1] and made his debut for the "Reds" against Bohs in September 1996.