Barry Cotter (footballer)

Barry Cotter

Cotter in action for St Patrick's Athletic in 2022.
Personal information
Full name	Barry Noel Cotter [1]
Date of birth	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 26) [2]
Place of birth	Ennis, Ireland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Right back
Team information
Current team	Barnsley
Number	2
Youth career
	Lifford
	Avenue United
–2015	Ennis Town
2015–2017	Limerick
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	Limerick	11	(0)
2018–2021	Ipswich Town	2	(0)
2019	→ Chelmsford City (loan)	2	(0)
2020–2021	→ Chelmsford City (loan)	6	(0)
2021–2023	Shamrock Rovers	24	(1)
2022	→ St Patrick's Athletic (loan)	11	(2)
2023–	Barnsley	57	(3)
International career‡
2017	Republic of Ireland U19	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:19, 19 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:07, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

Barry Noel Cotter (born 4 December 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a right back for EFL League One club Barnsley.

Club career

Limerick

Cotter signed for Limerick in August 2015, having previously played for Avenue United and Ennis Town. ^[3] He worked his way up through the youth system at Markets Field, and managed to break into the first team in 2017. He made 11 appearances during the 2017 League of Ireland season. ^[4]

Ipswich Town

On 31 January 2018, Cotter signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with English Championship club Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee. ^[5] Although a member of Ipswich's under-23 squad, Cotter made his first team debut on 10 April 2018, in a 1–0 win over Barnsley at Portman Road. ^[6] He made one further appearance during the 2017–18 season, appearing as a late substitute during a 4–0 win over Reading at the Madejski Stadium on 28 April 2018. ^[7] Cotter left Ipswich on 22 March 2021 after being told he wouldn't be offered a new contract. ^[8]

Chelmsford City (loan)

On 26 September 2019, Cotter signed for National League South club Chelmsford City on a one-month loan deal. ^[9] He made his debut for the club in a 0–4 away win over Eastbourne Borough on 28 September. ^[10] On 16 October 2020, Cotter returned to Chelmsford, on loan until 2 January 2021. ^[11]

Shamrock Rovers

Cotter signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers on 31 August 2021. ^[12] He scored his first goal for Shamrock Rovers against UCD on 19 May 2022.

St Patrick's Athletic (loan)

On 20 July 2022, Cotter signed for St Patrick's Athletic on loan until the end of the season. ^[13] He made his debut for the club a day later in a 1–1 draw with Slovenian side NŠ Mura in the UEFA Europa Conference League. ^[14] On 29 August 2022, Cotter scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win away to Bohemians at Dalymount Park, picking up the ball on the half way line before beating four players on his way to finding the net to open the scoring in the 8th minute of the match. ^[15] On 3 October 2022, he scored in a 4–4 draw away to rivals Shelbourne at Tolka Park. ^[16]

Barnsley

On 18 January 2023, it was announced that Cotter had signed for EFL League One club Barnsley on a 3+1⁄2-year deal for a fee in the region of £20,000. ^{[17] [18]} Cotter scored his first goal for the club on 15 August 2023, in a 3–1 loss against Peterborough United at Oakwell. ^[19]

International career

Cotter made his International debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team on 10 February 2017, in a 2–1 loss to Norway. He won 2 caps for Ireland's under-19's in 2017. ^[20]

He was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad in March 2019, for a 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match against Luxembourg. ^[21] He was an unused substitute in the qualifier which took place on 24 March 2019 in Dublin, with Ireland emerging as 3–0 winners. ^[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Limerick	2017 [23]	LOI Premier Division	11	0	1	0	1	0	—		13	0
Ipswich Town	2017–18 [7]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2018–19 [24]		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2019–20 [25]	League One	0	0	1	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	2	0
	2020–21 [26]		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
Chelmsford City (loan)	2019–20 [25]	National League South	2	0	0	0	—		1 [b]	0	3	0
	2020–21 [26]		6	0	0	0	—		1 [c]	0	7	0
	Total		8	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	10	0
Shamrock Rovers	2021 [23]	LOI Premier Division	9	0	—		—		—		9	0
	2022 [23]		15	1	—		—		1 [d]	0	16	1
	Total		24	1	—		—		1	0	25	1
St Patrick's Athletic (loan)	2022 [23]	LOI Premier Division	11	2	1	0	—		4 [e]	0	16	2
Barnsley	2022–23 [23]	League One	6	0	—		—		0	0	6	0
	2023–24 [23]		35	3	1	0	1	0	3 [f]	1	40	4
	2024–25 [23]		16	0	1	0	3	0	1 [a]	0	21	0
	Total		57	3	2	0	4	0	4	1	67	4
Career total			113	6	5	0	5	0	12	1	135	7

1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy
2. Appearance in the Essex Senior Cup
3. Appearance in the FA Trophy
4. Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
5. Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
6. 1 appearance in the League One Playoffs & 2 appearances, 1 goal in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Shamrock Rovers

• League of Ireland Premier Division: 2021
• President of Ireland's Cup: 2022

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Ipswich Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 19. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
2. "Barry Cotter". Ipswich Town F.C. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
3. "Neymar lookalike Barry Cotter signs for Limerick". BBC Sport. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
4. "Barry Cotter at Soccerway" . Retrieved 23 June 2019.
5. Shread, Joe (31 January 2018). "Ipswich Town sign Barry Cotter from Limerick for undisclosed fee". Sky Sports. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
6. Warren, Andy (10 April 2018). "Cotter shines on his Ipswich debut as Irish teenager offers glimpse against Barnsley". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
7. "Games played by Barry Cotter in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
8. "COTTER DEPARTS TOWN". www.itfc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
9. "City sign Cotter". Chelmsford City F.C. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
10. "Eastbourne Borough 0-4 Chelmsford City". Chelmsford City F.C. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
11. "Chelmsford City sign Barry Cotter on loan". Chelmsford City F.C. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
12. "Shamrock Rovers confirms the signing of Barry Cotter. - Shamrock Rovers - The deal is subject to international clearance". 31 August 2021.
13. O'Hehir, Paul (20 July 2022). "St Pat's complete loan signing of Shamrock Rovers defender". Irish Mirror.
14. "Chris Forrester inspires revival as St Patrick's Athletic keep the tie alive". The Irish Times.
15. "TheJournal.ie - St Pat's all but seal fourth place after dismissing Bohs in Dublin derby". www.the42.ie. 29 August 2022.
16. O'Connor, Sean (3 October 2022). "Tolka Park thriller: Eight goals, three disallowed and three penalties - Shelbourne and St Pat's play out dramatic draw". Independent.ie.
17. McDonnell, Daniel (18 January 2023). "Confirmed: League One outfit Barnsley swoop for Shamrock Rovers defender Barry Cotter". Independent.ie. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
18. "BARRY COTTER ARRIVES AT OAKWELL". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
19. "REDS HANDED FIRST DEFEAT BY POSH". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk.
20. "Cotter, Ndaba and Drinan in Irish U21s Squad". TWTD. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
21. "BARRY AN CORRIE GET IRELAND NOD". Ipswich Town Official Website. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
22. "Drinan and Crowe Win Caps". TWTD. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
23. Barry Cotter at Soccerway
24. "Games played by Barry Cotter in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
25. "Games played by Barry Cotter in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
26. "Games played by Barry Cotter in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2019.

External links

• Barry Cotter at fai.ie
• Barry Cotter at Soccerway
• Barry Cotter at Soccerbase