Cornelis Joseph Connor Dennis "Neil" O'Donoghue (born June 18, 1953) is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 placekicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (from 1977

1977 NFL season

The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....

-1985

1985 NFL season

The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...

).

Growing up in Clondalkin

Clondalkin

-Today:Modern Clondalkin is a busy satellite town of Dublin, with a population of 43,929 in 2006. Retail facilities include Tesco Ireland- and Dunnes Stores-led shopping centres, and Aldi and Lidl stores on the Fonthill Road and New Nangor Road respectively, and the village centre is a base for...

 sporting achievement was in his genes as his father Michael played for the Ireland national field hockey team

Ireland national field hockey team

Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland at men's international field hockey. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag. The exception is Olympic hockey, where the team represents only the...

. Con had short spells with Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...

 and Drumcondra F.C..

Shamrock Rovers

Con made his League of Ireland

League of Ireland

The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...

 debut as a replacement for Damien Richardson

Damien Richardson

Damien John Richardson is an Irish football manager and former player. He currently has no club attachments, having left Cork City at the end of the 2007 season. Richardson formerly managed Gillingham in England and Cobh Ramblers, Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland.Richardson's father...

 at Sligo Rovers on the 17 October 1971. In his second League game he scored his first goal at Glenmalure Park

Glenmalure Park

Glenmalure Park, often simply known as "Milltown", was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers by the club's directors...

 against Limerick on the 31st October.
He made a total of 16 appearances including 2 each in the Texaco Cup

Texaco Cup

The Texaco Cup was an association football competition involving clubs from England, Ireland and Scotland that had not qualified for European competitions. Irish clubs withdrew from the competition after 1971-72 due to political pressure, and in 1973-74 and 1974-75 competed in a separate Texaco Cup...

 and the FAI Cup

FAI Cup

The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...

 scoring 3 goals.

United States

Neil first came to the United States to play soccer for Saint Bernard College. When the school closed its soccer program he went on to play football for Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

.

He played for the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 at the same time as OJ Simpson. In February 1978 he returned home at the end of the American Football season to play for Shelbourne F.C.

Shelbourne F.C.

Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....

.

In 1980 he replaced former University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...

 All American kicker Steve Little

Steve Little (American football)

Steven Richard Little was an American football kicker and punter in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the third-highest drafted kicker in NFL history, with first highest pick being Charlie Gogolak of Princeton University and second being Russell Erxleben...

 for the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/therundown/2009/01/the_ghosts_of_st_louis_footbal.php He is most famous for having missed a game winning kick against the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 in the last game of the 1984 season that would have sent his St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs, and also for missing three field goal attempts in overtime of a Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

 game against the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

during the 1983 season, resulting in a 20-20 tie.

In his entire NFL career, O'Donoghue had a kicking success rate of 59%.