Liam Kearney

Liam Kearney
Personal information
Full nameLiam Kearney
Date of birth10 January 1983
Place of birthConna, Cork, Republic of Ireland
Height1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionWinger
Club information
Current team
Cork City
Number30
Youth career
Valley Rangers
Fermoy United
1999–2001Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2001–2003Nottingham Forest0(0)
2003–2005Cork City70(9)
2006Shelbourne10(1)
2007–2008Cork City61(4)
2009Derry City18(1)
2010Waterford United30(5)
2011–2013Dandenong Thunder42(9)
2014-Cork City30(2)
National team
1999–2000Republic of Ireland U167(0)
2004–2005Republic of Ireland U217(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Liam Kearney (Irish: Liam Ó Cearnaigh; born 10 January 1983, Republic of Ireland), nicknamed "The Conna Maradonna",[1] is an Irish professional footballer currently playing for Cork City in the League of Ireland.

Kearney plies his trade on the left wing and has represented the Republic of Ireland U21 team on seven occasions, scoring once.

Career

Nottingham Forest

Kearney joined Nottingham Forest from Fermoy United after previously playing for Valley Rangers. He was the star of the Cork Schoolboys League Kennedy Cup team in 1998 and as a result signed with Nottingham Forest in 1999. 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]

Cork City

Kearney returned to Ireland in 2003, joining Cork City. In 2004, Liam made his Republic of Ireland U21 debut against Italian opposition. Liam won seven 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.

Shelbourne

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."

Return to Cork City

Kearney departed Shelbourne on 22 January 2007 to rejoin Cork City, signing a two-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

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.

Waterford United

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.

Dandenong Thunder SC

Kearney signed for Australian Victorian Premier League side Dandenong Thunder SC in January 2011.[9]

Return to Cork City 2014

Liam returned to Cork City FC at the start of the 2014 season, having being denied in joining half-way thru the 2013 season due to amateur player regulations. Cork City's manager John Caulfield being a firm admirer of his footballing skill and attitude. [10]

International career

Kearney represented the Republic of Ireland Under-16 team at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and the Under-19 team at the 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship.

Honours

Cork City
Shelbourne

References

  1. ↑ "Kearney signs for United". www.waterford-united.ie. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Gould keen on Kearney
  3. ↑ Shelbourne v Finn Harps team news
  4. ↑ FENLON RULES OUT MOVE FOR FREE FAHEY
  5. ↑ CORK CITY FC SIGNS LIAM KEARNEY ON A FREE TRANSFER
  6. ↑ Kearney slams Cork City over contract chaos
  7. ↑ Kearney back to square one
  8. ↑ Cork winger Kearney joins Derry BBC Sport Online. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
  9. ↑ Liam Kearney pens Australia deal extratime.ie. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  10. ↑ http://www.independent.ie/regionals/corkman/sport/kearney-returns-to-cork-city-ranks-29964117.html

External links