| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liam Kearney | ||
| Date of birth | January 10, 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Conna, East Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Dandenong Thunder SC | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Valley Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| Nottingham Forest | 0 | (0) | |
| 2003-2005 | Cork City | 100+ | (9) |
| 2006 | Shelbourne | 10 | (1) |
| 2007-2008 | Cork City | 40+ | (4) |
| 2009-2010 | Derry City | 18 | (1) |
| 2010 | Waterford United | 30 | (5) |
| 2011- | Dandenong Thunder SC | 16 | (4) |
| National team | |||
| 2004-2005 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 7 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Liam Kearney (Irish: Liam Ó Cearnaigh; born January 10, 1983, Ireland), nicknamed "Conna Maradonna",[1] is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Dandenong Thunder SC.
Kearney plies his trade on the left wing and has represented the Republic of Ireland U21 team on 7 occasions, scoring once.
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Liam Kearney joined Nottingham Forest from his youth club Valley Rangers. Whilst with Forest,Kearney won the U19 FA Premier League featuring prominently. Kearney appeared many times for several of the underage Irish national teams, from U16 to U20. He played in the U16 European championships in Israel and finished 3rd in Norway in the U19 European Championships. He also attracted interest from Cheltenham manager Bobby Gould.[2]
Kearney returned to Ireland in 2003, joining Cork City. In 2004, Liam made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut against Italian opposition. Liam won 7 U21 caps whilst with Cork scoring once in a 1-0 victory over Italy. 2005 saw Cork City and Kearney embark on a campaign that would ultimately see them win the league title on the final day, beating Derry City 2-0 in which Kearney scored the second goal. The club also progressed into the First Round of the UEFA Cup, having started as an unseeded side in the first qualifying round, eliminating FK Ekranas from Lithuania and the eventual Swedish champions Djurgårdens IF, before being knocked out by Slavia Prague. Liam left Cork City for Shelbourne in 2006 following an offer from Dutch Premier Division side Heerenveen was denied to the disappointment of the player.
Kearney joined Shelbourne from the then league champions, Cork City, on a free transfer in January 2006. Liam was limited to few first team opportunities, making just 10 league appearances throughout the season, scoring once. Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon agreed to a temporary freezing of Liam's contract whilst he took a few weeks away from football during the 2006 season to regain his hunger and focus.[3][4] Kearney returned in time to take a left wing berth in a friendly against English Championship side Sunderland. Kearney failed to break into the first team upon his return, but was rewarded with his second league winners medal in two years, as Shelbourne clinched the title on the last day. He has described his time in Dublin as "disappointing."
Kearney departed Shelbourne on 22 January 2007 to rejoin Cork City, signing a 2 year contract.[5] Later that year he criticised the club for not settling players' contracts.[6] In August 2008 he said that, despite Cork City's poor financial position and difficulties in re-signing and paying its players, he would prefer to stay with the club.[7] He scored the winning goal in Cork City's Setanta Sports Cup final win over Glentoran but because of City's failure to offer him a new contract due to financial turmoil, Kearney left for Derry City after being approached by Stephen Kenny.
Derry City signed Kearney on the first day of the 2009 January transfer window.[8] He started off well to his career at the Brandywell, however he sustained a broken leg during a match in May against Galway United and was out for three months. By the end of July it was still unclear as to when he would return. He also missed Derry's UEFA Europa League adventure, which saw them knock out Skonto Riga and run CSKA Sofia close. He expressed his disappointment at not being able to participate in Europe however he said once he regained fitness he was looking forward to helping the Candystripes challenge for the League of Ireland title.
Kearney signed for Waterford United in what was a significant coup for the club. He became a fans' faourite within his first 5 games scoring the winner against his old club Derry City in his second game. Kearney was a big influence in Waterford United's push for the promotion towards the end of the season. He scored 5 league goals and played 30 league games before leaving the club.
Kearney signed for Australian Victorian Premier League side Dandenong Thunder SC in January 2011.[9]