McGinn has also played for Dungannon Swifts, Derry City, Celtic, Brentford, Aberdeen (two spells), Gwangju and Dundee.

McGinn started the match and provided an assist for Marc-Antoine Fortuné to score the second goal before being substituted for Graham Carey.

[9] After being on the substitute's bench without coming on, McGinn scored in twice his first game of the 2010–11 season, a 3–2 win over St Johnstone in the Scottish League Cup on 27 October 2010.

On 16 August 2011, McGinn provided an assist for Clayton Donaldson to make it 2–0 against Exeter City, only for the game to end in a 2–1 win.

On 4 July 2012, McGinn signed for Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen on a two-year contract after his deal with Celtic expired.

[15] McGinn joined up with his teammates as they headed out to Germany for a pre-season tour which included games against Werder Bremen and FC St. Pauli.

He scored his first goal for the Dons in the friendly against St. Pauli, rounding the goalkeeper after picking up the ball from a poor back pass.

[19] Manager Craig Brown spoke after the game, ruling McGinn out of the Northern Ireland squad that was due to face Finland on 14 August.

The next week he came on as a substitute against Motherwell and scored his first competitive goal for the club, helping Aberdeen come back from 1–3 down to draw 3–3.

On 27 October 2012, McGinn became the first Aberdeen player in twenty years to score in five successive league matches, netting the opening goal in a 2–0 win over Dundee.

[22] The following week, in a 2–1 loss to Ross County in Dingwall, McGinn scored in his sixth straight league match, breaking Duncan Shearer's record.

McGinn headed a late equaliser in a Scottish Cup tie with Motherwell to level the match and set up a replay at Fir Park.

McGinn then bagged the first hat-trick in his professional career in a convincing 3–1 victory over Dundee at Dens Park, on 29 December 2012;[23] this brought his goal tally to 14 before the turn of the year.

On the last day of the transfer window, McGinn revealed he offers from three clubs in England's Championship which he rebuffed, to return the faith shown in him by Craig Brown.

[36] I the second part of 2013–14, McGinn would play a vital role when he provided a double assist in a 2–1 win over Celtic, giving the Glasgow club their first defeat of the season.

[37] A few weeks later, McGinn played the full 120 minutes of normal plus extra time in the Scottish League Cup final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle which Aberdeen won 4–2 on penalty kicks.

[49] Despite receiving offers from Hearts and Hibernian, on 28 December 2017, McGinn resigned for Aberdeen on a three-and-a-half-year contract, officially rejoining the club on 1 January 2018.

[56] McGinn would score Dundee's opening competitive goal for the 2022–23 season in a win over Hamilton Academical in the Scottish League Cup.

[58] On the same day as his departure from Dundee, McGinn would return to his native Northern Ireland and sign with NIFL Premiership club Glentoran.

[60] On 31 August 2024, McGinn returned to Scotland with Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton on loan until the end of the season.

Again, his individual performance was praised by manager Nigel Worthington: Niall McGinn did terrifically well – he got us up the pitch and used his pace and ability.

[73] On 15 November 2016, McGinn won his 50th cap for Northern Ireland, as they played Croatia in a friendly, being named as captain for the match.

[74][75] Upon his signing for Brentford, McGinn's new manager Uwe Rösler said that, "Niall is a quick, very direct player and has a very good work ethic.

"[12] McGinn's fine season with Derry City in 2008 was publicly recognised when he won the 2008 PFAI Young Player of the Year award.

[78] In January 2011, it was reported that the Royal Mail had intercepted packages sent by loyalists containing bullets addressed to McGinn, Paddy McCourt and Celtic manager Neil Lennon.