Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Joseph Burns [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 7 October 1999||
Place of birth | Antrim, Northern Ireland | ||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Left back, Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Galway United | ||
Number | 18 | ||
Youth career | |||
Lisburn Distillery | |||
Cliftonville | |||
2015–2016 | Glenavon | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2018 | Glenavon | 39 | (5) |
2017 | → Knockbreda (loan) | 8 | (8) |
2018–2020 | Heart of Midlothian | 5 | (1) |
2018–2019 | → Livingston (loan) | 8 | (0) |
2019–2020 | → Newcastle Jets (loan) | 16 | (0) |
2020–2021 | Barrow | 0 | (0) |
2020 | → Glentoran (loan) | 3 | (0) |
2021–2024 | Glentoran | 106 | (15) |
2024– | Galway United | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2015 | Northern Ireland U17 | 2 | (0) |
2018 | Northern Ireland U19 | 3 | (0) |
2018–2020 | Northern Ireland U21 | 9 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:48, 7 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:07, 12 November 2020 (UTC) |
Robert Joseph Burns (born 7 October 1999) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a left back or midfielder for League of Ireland team Galway United.
Burns was born in Antrim. [3] He was the Head Boy at St. Malachy's College, and had intended to study mathematics at University College Dublin or Queen's University Belfast before becoming a professional footballer. [4]
Burns played youth football for Lisburn Distillery and Cliftonville before joining Glenavon in June 2015. [4]
Burns made his senior debut for Glenavon in the 2015–16 season final game against Linfield at 16 years old. [5] The following season he went on loan with Knockbreda in January 2016. The club were battling relegation but Burns played attacking midfield and scored 8 goals in the final 8 league games to steer the club away from relegation on the final day of the season. [6]
Burns then returned to Glenavon for the 2017–18 season. At Glenavon he scored 8 goals in 41 appearances, was nominated for the NI Football Writers' Association Young Player of the Year Award, and won Glenavon's Young Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year awards. [3] Whilst at Glenavon he received offers from English clubs Rochdale and Bristol City but decided to stay at home and complete his A Level qualifications in school first. [4]
Burns signed a three-year contract with Scottish club Heart of Midlothian in May 2018, for an undisclosed fee, with effect from June 2018. [3] [7] He described his professional football career as a 'dream come true', and stated he wanted to break into the Northern Ireland senior squad. [8]
After being involved in pre-season fixtures, [9] he made his competitive debut for the club on 18 July 2018, in a Scottish League Cup game against Cove Rangers, where he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 victory. [10] [11] In August 2018, Hearts loaned Burns to Livingston. [12] His loan ended in January 2019. [13]
Burns then returned to Hearts in January 2019. He played a number of games before the end of the season, including an Edinburgh derby and a Scottish Cup semi-final. [14] Burns scored his first goal for Hearts in a 2–1 defeat against Aberdeen. He was then listed as an unused substitute for the 2019 Scottish Cup Final, which Hearts lost 2–1 to Celtic. [15]
In September 2019 he moved on loan to Australian side Newcastle Jets. [16] [17] He said he hoped the move would earn him his first senior international cap. [18] Due to the shutdown of the league due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Burns left Australia in April 2020. [19] [20]
On 4 August 2020, Burns joined League Two side Barrow. [21] [22] [23] [24]
On 3 October 2020 he moved on loan to Glentoran. [25] On 2 November he suffered a double leg break during a match. [26] [27] [28]
On 28 July 2021, Burns had his contract terminated by mutual consent. [29]
On 31 July 2021, three days after his departure from Barrow, Burns returned to Glentoran on a permanent contract. [30]
Burns was seriously injured during a match on 28 October 2023 after colliding with pitch side advertising hoardings, eventually being stretchered off. [31] [32]
On 7 May 2024, it was announced that Burns would be one of ten players departing Glentoran upon the expiry of their contracts. [33]
On 26 June 2024, Burns joined League of Ireland team Galway United. [34] [35]
He has been capped by Northern Ireland at under-19 and under-21 levels, [5] and trained with the senior team. [3] [4]
Burns was primarily a central midfielder, but also played as a left defender and as an attacker. [4]
Portadown Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club who are due to compete in the NIFL Premiership in the 2024–25 season following promotion from the NIFL Championship.
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours, making them one of the most successful teams in the world.
Paul William Millar is a Northern Irish former football player and coach.
Gary Hamilton is a Northern Irish footballer and former manager who currently plays for Mid-Ulster Football League side Hill Street FC. Hamilton was player-manager of NIFL Premiership side Glenavon from 2011 to 2023.
Gary Smyth, nicknamed Smickers is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a centre back for Glentoran, Glenavon, Ballymena and Crusaders. He previously managed Glentoran in 2019 and had two spells managing H&W Welders, first from 2013–2018 and the second spell from 2019–2022.
Daniel Anthony Kearns is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Kearns joined Peterborough United from Dundalk in 2011 and had three separate loan spells with clubs across Northern England. He permanently joined Carlisle United after leaving Peterborough, and spent a year there before returning to Ireland, spending his later career at various clubs in the Irish Premiership and League of Ireland.
Ruaridhri James Patrick Donnelly is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Cliftonville in the NIFL Premiership.
Luke McCullough is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Carrick Rangers in the NIFL Premiership.
Ryan McLaughlin is a Northern Irish footballer who last played as a right-back for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic. He has been capped five times by the Northern Ireland national team during his career.
Jordan Stewart is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays for Crusaders. He has also been called up for the Northern Ireland U21s. Stewart can play as both a midfielder and as a centre forward.
Mark Sykes is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Bristol City. Born in Northern Ireland, he plays for the Republic of Ireland national team, having previously represented Northern Ireland at underage level.
James Gerard Dunne is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers.
Navid Nasseri is an Iranian-English professional footballer who plays for Macclesfield.
Ronan Hale is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Scottish Premiership club Ross County, having previously played for Cliftonville, Larne, St Patrick's Athletic, Crusaders, Derry City and Birmingham City. His brother Rory Hale is also a professional footballer, currently with Cliftonville and the pair's grandfather is Derry City and Crusaders legend Danny Hale.
The 2020–21 season is Barrow's 119th year in existence and their first season in League Two having gained promotion from the National League in 2020 ending a 48 year exile from the Football League. Along with League Two, the club will also participate in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
Joel Stephen Dixon is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League side Hartlepool United.
Michael O'Connor is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Glenavon. He previously played for Scottish Premiership club Ross County, League of Ireland clubs Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Finn Harps, Waterford and Shelbourne, NIFL Premiership sides Linfield, Glentoran and Dungannon Swifts, and in Sweden for Ytterhogdals IK and Gottne IF.
Daire O'Connor is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for NIFL Premiership club Glentoran.
Jonny Addis is a footballer from Northern Ireland who plays for Cliftonville in the NIFL Premiership.