Niall McGinn

Dungannon Swifts

McGinn began his football career at Dungannon Swifts in his native county. In his first full season, the club finished in 10th place.

Derry City

McGinn was signed by Derry City manager Stephen Kenny in January 2008 for an undisclosed fee from Dungannon Swifts in the Carnegie Premier League, who in turn signed him from Donaghmore Celtic. His decision to sign a professional football contract meant that McGinn retired from playing Gaelic football for Donaghmore and Tyrone under-21s. McGinn mainly plays on the left or right side of midfield but he can also be employed as a secondary striker. On 14 March 2008, McGinn made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win over Finn Harps. On 25 March 2008, McGinn scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 win over University College Dublin. On 1 June 2008, McGinn scored his second goal in a 3–2 loss against Cork City. On 25 July 2008, McGinn scored his third goal in a 4–0 win over Galway United and scored again (fifth) in the second meeting on 2 November 2008 in a 2–0 win. On 9 August 2008, McGinn scored his fourth goal in a 3–0 win over Cobh Ramblers and scored again (sixth) in the second meeting on 14 November 2008 in a 4–2 win. During 2008, he attracted interest from such clubs as Celtic and Championship sides Ipswich Town and Swansea City. He also attracted interest from Birmingham City.

Celtic

McGinn signed for Celtic on 1 January 2009. On 12 September 2009, McGinn made his first team debut for…

McGinn's performances for Derry City led to him featuring in the Northern Ireland under-23 team. In November 2008, McGinn received his first call-up to the Northern Ireland senior squad by manager Nigel Worthington for the series of international friendlies and he gained his first cap coming on as a substitute against Hungary on 19 November. He was the first Derry City player to play for the senior Northern Ireland team in 19 years. Although disappointed in the result, Nigel Worthington is quoted as saying of McGinn:

He was the one bright spark in our side. He did what he is good at – he kept it simple. He ran at players when he had the opportunity and was not afraid. McGinn again impressed when called up to the senior squad for the friendly against Israel at Windsor Park on 12 August 2009. The match ended 1–1, and McGinn came on as a second-half substitute. 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. McGinn scored his first international goal in a draw against Portugal in a FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifier on 16 October 2012. His second goal was the winning goal in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier, during Northern Ireland's first competitive away victory since September 2010, beating Hungary 2–1. He scored his third goal at the 2016 Euro Championship in a 2–0 win over Ukraine. He stated later, "What a night and what an occasion. To come off the bench and to…

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."

McGinn's fine season with Derry City in 2008 was publicly recognised when he won the 2008 PFAI Young Player of the Year award. In January 2010 McGinn was awarded the George Best Breakthrough Award for 2009 in recognition of his impressive performances for club and country. On 6 November 2012, it was announced that Aberdeen had scooped a hat-trick of awards for the month of October. Manager Craig Brown took Manager of the Month, McGinn took Player of the Month and midfielder Ryan Fraser took the award for Young Player of the Month.