Mary O’Neill bows in with new karate club in Letterkenny

Letterkenny karateka Mary O’Neill has bowed in with a new venture.

The Donegal School of Shotokan Karate opened its doors in August and has given a new lease of life to Letterkenny’s once-thriving martial arts scene.

Mary, who is a native of Coolboy, has been on the mat since she was eight years old. Now, Mary, a 3rd dan, is the driving force behind the first woman-run martial arts club in Donegal. The club caters for men, women and children.

“I’d been looking for a niche in terms of what people wanted,” Mary told Donegal Live. “Here, they can learn self defence along the way. Everyone was locked in the house during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mental health and well being issues rose astronomically and there was a big rise in abuse.

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"I see this as something that can help the community. No other girl was setting up a martial arts club so I took the plunge.

“I have bene doing karate since I was eight and it’s been an ambition my whole life to have my own club. When I get a notion in my head, nothing is going to stop me.”

With sensei Otto, tried the grading for the first time at the age of 12.

Mary obtained a degree in biomedical science from Ulster University, Coleraine and last year completed a masters. While attending UU, she was trained by Joe McCullagh, a 6th dan sensei, to her second black belt.

The likes of John and Anna Wilkie in Letterkenny have also played a big role and it was with John that Mary got her 3rd dan.

In her teenage years, she caught the eye at the Northern Regional Championships. In 2004, Mary - then affiliated to the Donegal Shotokan Karate Association - attended a shotokan karate seminar in Devon. Then a 1st dan, she passed her instructor’s course and featured in the Irish Fighter magazine.

“There were seven of the top karate experts from Europe at it,” Mary recalled. “It was amazing to go there for a week.”

Among the top karateka in attendance was Terry O’Neill, an actor from Liverpool who is friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and was the fight co-ordinator for the films Predator and Commando.

While at college in Coleraine, Mary’s career blossomed and was acknowledge by Ulster University for her achievements.

She said: “I had never prepared for competition kumite. I did kumite with the lads, but hadn’t prepared for the competition kumite. My sensei asked if I wanted to do it and I went and won three fights.

“I’m small-framed, but that doesn’t matter - it’s about the powers within if you can get it out. I was so small, so tiny, lads never thought to ask if I had the experience. Once I had the karate suit on, I was in a higher grade than everyone there. When they realised I was the highest grade there, it was like: ‘Oh, shit!’”

In spite of an often-absence of self-confidence, the power of her mind came to the fore - something she now wants to pass on to her students.

She said: “Karate is a sport of the mind. It leads you to a way of life. Karate won’t make you Bruce Lee, but it will make you the person who can get up and fight again.

“You don’t close the door behind you; you take it with you and you build on it. I have done karate from a young age and I didn’t know or realise the benefits I was reaping until I was at college. I found that the karate mind meant that I was able to fight back.”

Family has been at her heart all the way. Her father, Eugene, passed away suddenly at the tender age of 51: “Without the karate mindset, I couldn’t have dealt with that how I did.”

His support and that from her mother, Frances, and sisters Dolores and Antoinette, has been instrumental.

She said: “Without the support all through the years I would never of got where I am today. When our car was broke down as a child I would have my mam’s head tortured begging her to get me in the road and she had to thumb me in.”

The fighting spirit didn’t stop at martial arts. Mary - who has played Gaelic football for Letterkenny Gaels and camogie for Markievicz (winning the 2022 Donegal SCC and a runner-up in Friday’s 2023 final) - also dabbled in taekwondo and kickboxing, working with Josie Murray and Tommy McCafferty, and boxed with the St John Bosco club in Newry.

There was a real buzz around the Thorn Road on the opening registration night on August 18 - Mary’s birthday.

Mary said: “The opening night totally amazed me. “People were messaging me left, right and centre. If kids are going, why not join as well. I’ve noticed that with so many people simply wanting to put their children first, they can forget about themselves.

“With this, they can get fit at the same time as their children and it can be used as a bonding session. They’re not out the money for a baby sitter and it’s giving families and extra wee push. Karate is for all ages, sizes and abilities. You’re never too young and it’s never too late.”

The Donegal School of Shotokan Karate is located at Thorn Road, Glebe, Letterkenny with training on Tuesday and Fridays from 5.45-7pm. Mary is assisted by Brian McGlynn, a northern regional champion and a 2nd dan.