Aaron Callaghan (footballer, born 1966)

Last updated

Aaron Callaghan
Personal information
Full name Aaron Joseph Callaghan [1]
Date of birth (1966-10-08) 8 October 1966 (age 56) [1]
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland [1]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1984–1987 Stoke City 15 (0)
1985–1986 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) 8 (0)
1987–1988 Oldham Athletic 16 (2)
1988–1992 Crewe Alexandra 158 (6)
1992–1994 Preston North End 36 (2)
1994–1995 Shelbourne 14 (1)
1995–1999 Crusaders 105 (9)
1999–2000 St Patrick's Athletic 4 (0)
2000 → Glenavon (loan) 17 (2)
2000–2002 Dundalk 37 (1)
2002–2004 Longford Town 0 (0)
Total288(12)
International career
1986–1987 Republic of Ireland U21 2 (0)
Managerial career
1998–1999 Crusaders (player-manager)
2004 Athlone Town
2007–2008 Longford Town
2012–2013 Bohemians
2014 UCD
2016–2017 Carrick Rangers
2017–2018 Athlone Town
2019- Cherry Orchard (Youth Academy)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aaron Joseph Callaghan (born 8 October 1966) is a football manager and retired player. He played in the Football League for Stoke City, Crewe Alexandra, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Callaghan was born in Dublin and began his career with English club Stoke City progressing through the youth ranks at the Victoria Ground and signed a professional contract in 1984. [1] Stoke were having a woeful 1984–85 season and with the team already relegated Callaghan was given the chance to play First Division football playing in five matches towards the end of the season. [1] He began the 1985–86 season on loan at Crewe Alexandra where he made 10 appearances. [1] On his return to Stoke he played in eight matches under the management of Mick Mills. He made just three appearances for Stoke in 1986–87 and was sold to Oldham Athletic in October 1986. [1]

Callaghan remained at Boundary Park for two seasons making 21 appearances before joining Crewe Alexandra in May 1988. [1] He spent four seasons at Crewe helping the side gain promotion in 1988–89 which was followed by relegation in 1990–91. [1] In total he played in 197 games for Crewe scoring ten goals before leaving for Preston North End. He spent two seasons at Deepdale making 44 appearances scoring three goals before returning to Ireland to play for Shelbourne. He then went on to play for Crusaders, St Patrick's Athletic, Dundalk and ended his playing career with Longford Town.

International career

Callaghan scored in Ireland's U-17 win over Northern Ireland in November 1983. He was in the panel for the 1984 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship as Liam Tuohy's side made it to the semi-finals in the USSR. On 26 February 1985, he produced a great performance as Ireland beat England 1–0 in the opening qualifying match of the 1986 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship.

He was selected for the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship finals in the Soviet Union but on 19 August, five days before it was scheduled to start, he was recalled by Stoke City as he was needed for first team duty by manager Mick Mills the following Saturday. However, Callaghan did not play and would not make a senior appearance for the club until six months later. The defender made two Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team appearances, playing alongside Denis Irwin and Pat Dolan in a 0–0 draw in Belgium in September 1986 and in the 2–1 defeat to Scotland at Oriel Park in October 1987.

Managerial career

He was also player-manager of Crusaders for one year and in 2000 the club qualified for Europe after he had made three European appearances as a player. Apart from a brief spell as Athlone Town manager in 2004, Aaron had been a coach at Longford Town from July 2002 until the end of the 2006 season. Following a year out from the game, Aaron was appointed Longford Town FC manager in December 2007. [2] Due to financial constraints at the club Aaron resigned as manager on 30 August 2008. Aaron was one of the first coaches in Ireland to obtain the UEFA Pro Licence in 2007. He is currently a coach education tutor for the Football Association of Ireland and sports development officer for Dublin City Council. Aaron has played for the Republic of Ireland U21s and was appointed Rep of Ireland U.14 International Coach for 2 years in 1997.

He was the 1st team coach at UCD and St.Patrick's Athletic before taking over as manager of Bohemians in time for the 2012 season.

Callaghan was appointed as Bohemians manager on 31 December 2011. [3] Despite financial constraints at the club, he led his team to a comfortable midtable finish in a season that included a 4–0 victory over Shamrock Rovers and Bohs' first league win in Tallaght Stadium. He was rewarded for this good season by being offered a two-year contract extension by the Bohs board of directors, which he signed in November 2012. [4] On 15 July 2013 Callaghan was relieved of his duties by the club's board of directors. [5]

On 13 October 2016, Callaghan returned to management in Northern Ireland, taking over at Carrick Rangers. Within a few months at the club, Callaghan saw his side through to their first ever League Cup Final.

Media work

In 2015 Aaron Callaghan joined the LeagueofIreland.ie team as a journalist giving the views on a number of topics in the League of Ireland from a manager points of view. Currently still involved in the site.

Career statistics

Source: [6]

ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOther [A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City 1984–85 First Division 5000000050
1985–86 Second Division 8000000080
1986–87 Second Division2000001030
Total150000010160
Crewe Alexandra (loan) 1985–86 Fourth Division 80000020100
Oldham Athletic 1986–87 Second Division5000000050
1987–88 Second Division112004010162
Total162004010212
Crewe Alexandra 1988–89 Fourth Division404402140505
1989–90 Third Division 412503020512
1990–91 Third Division390213021462
1991–92 Fourth Division380304250502
Total158614112213119710
Preston North End 1992–93 Second Division352212020413
1993–94 Third Division1000101030
Total362213030443
Career Total2331016319220128816
A.  ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Full Members Cup, Football League Trophy and Football League play-offs.

Honours

Crewe Alexandra
Crusaders
Shelbourne
Dundalk

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Delany</span> Irish footballer

Dean Delany is an Irish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Fenlon</span> Irish football player and coach

Patrick Fenlon is an Irish football coach and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph N'Do</span> Cameroonian footballer (born 1976)

Joseph Cyrille N'Do is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He made 21 appearances for the Cameroon national team scoring twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Heary</span> Irish footballer and manager

Owen Heary is an Irish professional football defender and manager. He is formerly the manager of Shelbourne in the League of Ireland First Division, the club with which he spent most of his playing career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Paisley</span> Irish footballer

Stephen Paisley is a former Irish professional football player. Paisley was a central defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conor Powell</span> Irish footballer

Conor Powell is an Irish former footballer who played as a left back.

Eamonn Gregg was an Irish football player during the 1970s and 1980s.

Padraig Dully is an Irish retired footballer who played during the 1980s and 1990s.

Gary Richard Deegan is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Drogheda United. Beginning his career in his native Ireland, he played in the Scottish Premiership for Hibernian and various clubs in all three divisions of the English Football League.

Dean Kelly, is an Irish footballer, currently playing for Leinster Senior League club St. Mochta’s F.C. He has previously played for Oldham Athletic, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic, Shelbourne, Bohemians, Longford Town and Bray Wanderers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Forrester</span> Irish professional footballer

Christopher Stephen Forrester is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He has also previously played for Bohemians, Peterborough United, Aberdeen and the Republic of Ireland under-21's. In March 2016 he was called up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad but has yet to be capped.

Georgie Poynton is an Irish professional footballer who last played for League of Ireland Premier Division club Drogheda United. He has previously played for Shelbourne for 2 years, Waterford for a season, St Patrick's Athletic for 2 months as well as his first senior club Dundalk for 5 years including a season on loan at Bohemians.

The 2019 League of Ireland season was Bohemian Football Club's 129th year in their history and their 35th consecutive season in the League of Ireland Premier Division since it became the top tier of Irish football. Bohemians participated in various domestic cups this season, including the FAI Cup, EA Sports Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup. Bohemians also competed in the Scottish Challenge Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Lennon</span> Irish association footballer

Jamie Lennon is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic, the club where he started his professional career.

Ciarán Kelly is an Irish professional footballer who plays for EFL League Two club Bradford City. He previously played for St Patrick's Athletic, the club where he started his professional career. He has also spent one season at Drogheda United as well as 3 seasons with Bohemians, where he was loaned out to NIFL Premiership side Ballymena United for 6 months.

Derek Pender is an Irish football manager and former footballer who played as a full-back for the League of Ireland clubs Shelbourne, Dublin City, Shamrock Rovers, Bray Wanderers, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians.

The 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division.

Rory Feely is an Irish professional footballer who plays for EFL League Two club Barrow. He previously played for Bohemians after two spells at St Patrick's Athletic where he started his professional career, having also previously spent 2 seasons at Waterford.

The 2020 League of Ireland season was Bohemian Football Club's 130th year in their history and their 36th consecutive season in the League of Ireland Premier Division since it became the top tier of Irish football. Bohemians were due to participate in both national domestic cup competitions this season, namely the FAI Cup and the EA Sports Cup. The latter was deferred indefinitely due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Bohemians competed in the UEFA Europa League for the first time in seven years as they qualified with a third-place finish the previous season.

Dundalk entered the 2022 season having finished in sixth place in the league the previous season and having failed to qualify for European football for the first time since the 2012 season. They were still the League of Ireland Cup holders because, after they had won it in 2019, the competition was not held in 2020 or 2021. 2022 was Dundalk's 14th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 87th in all, and their 96th in the League of Ireland. The 100th anniversary of the club's entry to the Leinster Senior League and therefore its first match as a senior club passed on 7th October 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN   0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ↑ Aaron Callaghan appointed Town Manager Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine www.ltfc.ie 18 December 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008
  3. ↑ Callaghan takes over Bohs Archived 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ "Callaghan signs new Bohs deal". Herald.ie. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Callaghan and Bohemians part ways". Rte.ie. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Aaron Callaghan at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.