The new Northern Ireland call-up that started his senior career at Armagh City

The 24-year-old plies his trade with Sky Bet League One high-flyers Bolton Wanderers these days following a successful period with Derry City after leaving Holm Park in 2017 as a teenager in pursuit of full-time football.

Not only is it an immensely proud moment for the centre-back on a personal level, but also for those that watched him progress through the ranks at Armagh from a kid that grew up across the road to making over 50 first-team appearances for the Eagles and now potentially stamping his authority on the biggest stage.

He made his senior debut against Larne aged 16 and secretary Aidan Murphy says everyone associated with the club is delighted to see Toal’s continued success – who has etched his name in the Armagh history books.

"We're absolutely delighted,” he said. “He's the first player ever that's come through the youth set-up of the club to be called into a senior squad so it's a great day for the club and Eoin.

"He lived just over from the club so he was about the club from mini-soccer right the way through.

"When he got into his teens it became apparent he was a decent player and he always looked as if he would be someone that went onto do something in the game. He always had a good attitude and worked hard at it."

Toal was one of hundreds that got their first taste of football at the mini-soccer school ran every Saturday morning by Sean ‘Dingle’ Daly – an absolute titan of Armagh sport.

Daly sadly passed away in January following a lengthy battle with illness, but his legacy lives on and he would have undoubtedly been beaming with pride at Toal’s inclusion.

"That's where it all started,” added Murphy. “Unfortunately we lost him a short time ago and absolutely (he would have been proud).

"There are too many people to mention who would have had an input over the years but that's where it started."

Toal’s evolution into a senior international has been a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ for some time having captained Northern Ireland at both under-19 and under-21 levels while his potential was obvious from a young age.

It’s also a significant moment for football in this country with Toal the only player included in O’Neill’s 26-man party that started their senior career outside of Belfast, England or Scotland.

"We had a very good team around the time Eoin was coming through in his teens and in 2014/15 they won the NIBFA under-16's National League so they had a very good side at that time,” recalled Murphy. “Joe Kerr, who played at Cliftonville, managed them alongside Alex Clifford and John Graham.

"They got a very good squad together and Eoin formed an important part in the back of that team. Around that time he was also called into the County Armagh Milk Cup team.

"Kenny Shiels was the manager of Derry City at the time and he came to watch him on a number of occasions. In the summer of 2017 he brought him up to Derry.

"He was ambitious. He had a taste of under-17 international football and he liked the idea of going to full-time football and Derry were offering him that.

"Whilst he was away from home, he was only a couple of hours up the road so that worked well for him. He moved from us in May time and started to play for Derry in July and from there on he played every week during his Derry career.”

It’s turning into a dream season for Toal, who signed a three-year contract at Bolton last summer, with the two Euro 2024 qualifiers this month followed by an EFL Trophy final against Plymouth Argyle at Wembley a matter of days later.

They are right in the mix for promotion to the Championship too, sitting fourth in the table and Murphy is excited to see what else their former star can achieve.

"There were various rumours of going across the water and finally Bolton decided to go for him,” he said.

“It was tough for him at the start because he had picked up a bit of an injury playing for Derry and as you do, you want to play every game regardless so he probably put himself back a bit at the start but once he got into the Bolton team in November he has never looked back.

"It's going to be an exciting time for him and we will be tracking his progress over the next number of weeks and years hopefully."