Niall McGinn, born in Dungannon on 20 July 1987 (age 39), came to Celtic from Derry City in January 2009 for around £200,000. A right winger with pace and directness, he arrived with enough about him to interest Celtic, and an early hat-trick pointed to the promise before he was properly established in the senior side.
His Celtic years were part of the making rather than the main body of the career. A loan spell helped his development, but the decisive move came in July 2012, when he left Celtic for Aberdeen. That transfer gave him the platform he needed.
Aberdeen is where McGinn’s career took its clearest shape. Across 10 seasons he made 279 league appearances and scored 71 league goals, with 2012-13 his sharpest campaign: 20 goals in 35 league matches. That was not a brief burst dressed up as a legacy; it was the start of a long, productive spell in which he became a regular source of goals and width at Pittodrie.
The years after Celtic also took him through Gwangju FC, Dundee, Glentoran and Peterhead, though none of those spells carry the same weight as Aberdeen. In 2025-26 he has remained a regular first-team presence for Peterhead, making 36 appearances and scoring four goals in all competitions, including 32 League One appearances with two league goals.
McGinn’s career began with promise at Celtic, settled properly at Aberdeen, and has continued deep into his thirties at a more modest level. It is a durable, practical career, with Aberdeen doing most of the defining.
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