McGinley was part of Tyrone's All-Ireland-winning teams of 2003, 2005 and 2008. He is known for his hard working style of play and for scoring from midfield. He announced his retirement from inter-county football in November 2011.[1]
Playing career
McGinley plays his club football for Errigal Ciarán. He was a member of the Tyrone minor team who won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship under Mickey Harte in 1998.[2] With Harte again in charge he won two All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship titles in 2000 and 2001.[2] He was there when Harte guided Tyrone to the National League title in 2003 and then their first All Ireland later that year.[2] He picked up his second All Ireland in 2005.[2]
McGinley has suffered a number of injuries during his career. In 2003 he suffered a broken neck in the twelfth minute of the All-Ireland final during a clash with Armagh player Tony McEntee, but unaware of the seriousness of his injury he played on before spending weeks afterwards in a neck brace.[3] In 2004 he fractured his skull in a training ground accident, while in 2005 he almost missed the All-Ireland final after picking up a leg injury in the semi-final against Armagh.[3] Just two months after the final, he sustained a serious knee injury in a club game and required reconstruction on his cruciate ligament.[3]
His playing came to the fore in 2008, when Tyrone unexpectedly made it to the All-Ireland final, with commentators such as Adrian Logan attributing a lot of the credit to McGinley's form.[2] He was described as being among the top three midfielders in the 2008 championship.[4] Tyrone went on to win the championship for the third time in six years. He finished his inter-county season by representing Ireland in the 2008 International Rules Series.[citation needed]
In 2020, he was appointed manager of the Antrim seniors, succeeding Lenny Harbinson.[6] McGinley and his backroom team left the Antrim senior job at the end of May 2022.[7]
Notes: J Devine was on the starting lineup but had to withdraw from the squad due to a family bereavement. Stephen O'Neill's name was not in the match program due to there only being space for thirty names. He played, and came on as a substitute with the number 31 on his back.[1] Paul Quinn's name was not in the match program due to there only being space for thirty names.