Pierce O'Leary
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pierce O'Leary | ||
| Date of birth | 5 November 1959 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1977–1981 | Shamrock Rovers | ? | (2) |
| 1978 | → Philadelphia Fury (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 1981–1984 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 61 | (1) |
| 1984–1988 | Celtic | 39 | (1) |
| National team | |||
| 1978–1980 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | Republic of Ireland | 7 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Pierce O'Leary (born 5 November 1959 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer. Pierce is the brother of former Arsenal star and fellow Irish international David O'Leary.
Football career
O'Leary signed for Shamrock Rovers in 1977 under Johnny Giles and made his debut in October[1] and went on to win the FAI Cup in 1978. A week after the Cup Final he signed for Philadelphia Fury where he spent three months. In 1981 he signed for Vancouver Whitecaps before joining Celtic in November 1984.
O'Leary earned youth caps and 7 Republic of Ireland national football team caps while at Milltown, five Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team caps and made three appearances for Rovers in European competition.
The tall centre-half made his Celtic debut in a 2–1 Scottish Cup victory at Hamilton Accies on 30 January 1985. He came on as substitute in the 1985 Scottish Cup final as Celtic came from behind to defeat Dundee United 2–1. He then made enough appearances to claim a League Championship medal after Celtic pipped Hearts for the title on the final day of the 1985–86 season.
He was forced to retire in 1988 due to recurring pelvic trouble.
Pierce's son Ryan O'Leary is now a professional footballer with Kilmarnock.
Post Football career
Prior to retiring from football in 1988, O'Leary had set up an industrial cleaning business in Glasgow in partnership with Pat Bonner.[2][3] Bonner's involvement only lasted a few years, but under O'Leary the business secured numerous contracts with offices, shops and hospitals.[3] However, O'Leary went bankrupt in March 2013 and a new business has since been set up with his wife as director/[3]
Trivia
- Pierce is the only player to have played for and against Shamrock Rovers in European competition.
- He was part of the first team to play a European tie at Milltown.
- He partnered his brother David O'Leary three times for Ireland against Bulgaria and Northern Ireland in 1979 and Holland in 1980.
- O'Leary is the only player to be brought on as a substitute to replace his brother in an International game at Wembley.
Honours
- FAI Cup
- Shamrock Rovers – 1978
- Scottish League
- Celtic F.C. – 1985/86
- Scottish Cup
- Celtic F.C. – 1985
References
- ↑ "Unknown title". The Irish Times.(subscription required)
- ↑ Shields, Tom (14 June 1988). "Diary by Tom Shields; In safe hands". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ferry, Declan (29 March 2013). "Former Celtic star Pierce O’Leary has gone bankrupt with debts of more than €240,000 - Irish Mirror Online". Irishmirror.ie. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
- Sources
- The Hoops by Paul Doolan and Robert Goggins (ISBN 0-7171-2121-6)
External links
- "player/pierceo'leary". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- "NASL Soccer North American Soccer League Players". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.