Perhaps it is the pressure of Euro 2016 but whatever it is, O'Neill has made a number of controversial comments that have caused quite a stir.
In March he was asked in a press conference if he would follow Wales’ manager Chris Coleman in banning wives and girlfriends from joining their partners in the team hotel during the Euro finals. He replied: "Well, it depends on how good looking the girls are.
"If they are really attractive, they’re very, very welcome. The uglier ones, I’m afraid not."
Not exactly a role model for feminism or a modern day approach to banning sexism in sport as Orla O’Connor from the National Women’s Council of Ireland said: "There is no place for sexist comments of this nature in Irish football, particularly at this level.
"Interest and participation in soccer among girls and young women is growing in Ireland, and the Euros should be used as an opportunity to increase these participation levels, not for comments such as these."
Less than three months later, his recent gaff, made during last week’s Bon Voyage to the Boys in Green event at the Cork Opera House, is also disappointing. He joked that he and Roy Keane were not alone in their trip to the Superbowl, clarifying that Steve Guppy and Steve Walford were also there in case people thought that he and Keane were "queers".
We all make mistakes, however at least this time he apologised, quickly, for his unPC comment, which he described as "crass". In a world gone PC mad, some may think that chiding him for such a comment is unnecessary. However a little over a year after we passed the right for same sex couples to marry – it is not acceptable for a role model, a sporting leader of our country to use a derogatory comment about LGBTI’s*.
The former Leicester and Aston Villa manager clearly knows this, prompting his apology yesterday at a press conference at the FAI HQ.
When asked about the comment, he said: "Yes, I was going to address this.
"If I have made inappropriate comments in the Opera House in Cork on Wednesday evening, I obviously apologise for it.
"And I will attempt for the rest of my time here not to make such inappropriate comments.
"Almost the minute I had said it, I realised that I should not have said that, absolutely. I should not have said it.
"But it is a genuine apology."
I always wonder about an apology that begins with "If I..." but as he concluded, it is a genuine apology.
A spokesperson by Club chairman John McAree of the Dublin Devils, an Irish gay football team, said the comment was "hurtful, unhelpful and disappointing".
"The club was disappointed to hear O'Neill's comments as they do nothing to help with the ongoing issue of homophobia in the world of football - in fact, his comments are part of the problem,” he said.
"This is the wrong message to send to the LGBTI* community a week before the Euro 2016 championships.
"O'Neill is an idol to many young gay teens all over Ireland. His comments will make them feel isolated, confused and different.
"Many young LGBTI men and women play football at local level and support Ireland at International level.
"Many club members from the Dublin Devils will be in France next week wearing the Green Jersey supporting and shouting for Ireland.
"Our sexuality does not define us in the club. We see ourselves as a group of gay men who love to watch, support and play football."
In addition Francis Fitzgibbon from Dublin Devils FC spoke to Ray D'Arcy on RTÉ Radio 1 this afternoon (Tuesday June 7, 2016) about O'Neill's comment.
However he did welcome the apology. Here’s hoping that we all learn from it and can continue moving forward in a world where we are opening our arms to accepting each other as we are, avoiding closing recently opened doors with cruel, out dated comments. Here’s to more wins on the pitch at the Euros than losses at press conferences.
*Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and/or Intersex (hermaphrodite).
