Brendan Clarke

For the Grand Prix motorcycle racer, see Brendan Clarke (motorcyclist).

Brendan Clarke

Personal information
Full name	Brendan Clarke
Date of birth	(1985-09-17) 17 September 1985 (age 38)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) [1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Galway United
Number	1
Youth career
	C.I.E. Ranch
	Cherry Orchard
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2009	St Patrick's Athletic	29	(0)
2008	→ Sporting Fingal (loan)	14	(0)
2010	Sporting Fingal	17	(0)
2011	Sligo Rovers	31	(0)
2012–2016	St Patrick's Athletic	128	(0)
2017–2018	Limerick	50	(0)
2018–2020	St Patrick's Athletic	64	(1)
2021–2022	Shelbourne	54	(0)
2023–	Galway United	44	(0)
International career
2008	Republic of Ireland U23
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:34, 27 October 2023 (UTC)

Brendan Clarke (born 17 September 1985 in Dublin) is an Irish football player who plays for Galway United in the League of Ireland First Division.

Club career

St Patrick's Athletic

Clarke is a goalkeeper and played schoolboy football for local side Cherry Orchard. He is one of a handful of local players to have played for St. Pats. Clarke had an extended spell in the first team at the end of the 2004 season as regular 'keeper Chris Adamson's form dropped.

In 2007, Clarke was sent on a season-long loan to Waterford United but was recalled before the season got underway. At the end of the 2007 season, Clarke played in the 4 of the last 5 league games. Keeping 3 clean sheets out of 4 ensuring the Saints secured UEFA Cup football in 2008. He only missed the last game of the season due to an injury during the warm-up.

He had a very successful loan spell at Sporting Fingal F.C. during the 2nd half of the 2008 season. He played 14 games for Fingal, keeping 7 clean sheets.

When coming back to the Saints for the 2009 season, Clarke was told by the then boss, John McDonnell, that he'd be his number 1 goalkeeper for the season. McDonnell then left the club and was replaced by Jeff Kenna as manager. Kenna let goalkeeper Barry Ryan go to Galway United and replaced him with Galway keeper Gary Rogers. Kenna favoured Rogers from day one and installed Rogers as his number 1 keeper. When Jeff Kenna resigned, new manager Pete Mahon came in and immediately put Clarke into the team. Clarke played in the final 10 games of the 2009 season and put in some fine performances. He kept 4 clean sheets in the 10 games including clean sheets against the Saints relegation rivals Bray Wanderers twice and Dundalk, and also keeping a clean sheet in the vital last game of the season against Shamrock Rovers.

Sporting Fingal

Following the 2009 season, Clarke signed a 2-year full-time contract with Sporting Fingal, where he'd had a very successful loan spell in 2008.

Sligo Rovers

After Sporting Fingal ceased trading Clarke's contract was cancelled and he signed for Sligo Rovers on a 1-year full-time contract on 15 February 2011. Clarke impressed immediately by saving a penalty on his debut in the 1–0 win over Derry City F.C. in The Brandywell. He followed this up by keeping 5 clean sheets in his first 6 games. He has gone on a great run and has currently kept 9 consecutive clean sheets, setting a new League of Ireland record for consecutive clean sheets. This has helped Rovers move to the top of the Airtricity League Premier Division. Solid performances from Clarke helped Sligo to a 2nd-place finish in the league and also a cup winners medal as Sligo lifted the FAI Cup for the second year in a row.

Return to St Patrick's Athletic

Clarke signed a contract to return to the Saints for the 2012 season on 21 December 2011. He earned his place as number one keeper ahead of Barry Murphy and kept five clean sheets in the opening eight games of the season, conceding only three goals. Clarke remained at the Saints for five seasons, in which he won the League in 2013, the 2014 President's Cup, the 2014 Leinster Senior Cup, the 2014 FAI Cup (the club's first in 53 years), as well as the League Cup in 2015 and 2016.

Limerick

On 3 December 2016, Limerick announced via their Twitter account that they had signed Clarke on a 2-year contract ahead of the 2017 season. ^[2] He made a total of 54 appearances in all competitions with the club, ^[3] winning the supporters player of the year award for 2017, before departing in the summer of 2018 due to financial difficulties at the club. ^[4]

Third Spell at St Patrick's Athletic

He returned to St Patrick's Athletic for a third spell at the club, midway through their 2018 season. ^[5] On 18 September 2018, he scored the first goal of his career, scoring the winner in a 2–1 win over Sligo Rovers from the penalty spot. ^[6] In November 2018 he signed a new 2-year contract with the club. ^[7] Despite being named the clubs Player of the Year by fans for the 2019 season, head of the 2020 season Clarke was told by manager Stephen O'Donnell that he could leave the club, ^[8] however he decided to stay and fight for the starting spot with Conor Kearns and Brian Maher. ^[9] By the end of the season Clarke had played every minute of every league game for the club ^[3] and was voted Player of the Year for the second year running. ^[10]

Shelbourne

He joined Shelbourne in November 2020 ahead of their 2021 League of Ireland First Division season. ^[11]

Galway United

On 26 November 2022, it was announced that Clarke would be joining Galway United for their 2023 campaign. ^[12] On 21 August 2023, he made his 500th career appearance in all competitions, in a 5–1 win away to UCD in the FAI Cup. ^[13] On 22 September 2023, Clarke was part of the team that beat Kerry 4–0 to win the 2023 League of Ireland First Division, gaining promotion in the process. ^[14]

International career

He has represented the Republic of Ireland at schools international level and was selected as part of the Republic of Ireland Under 23 squad to play Northern Ireland in 2008.

Personal life

In April 2020, Clarke opened up about having previously used the mental health services made available to players via the PFAI and urged other players to avail of the services also should they need them. ^[15] Clarke was named as Chairperson of the PFAI in September 2020, taking over from outgoing Chairperson & former teammate Gary Rogers, with Roberto Lopes as his vice-chairperson. ^{[16] [17]}

Career statistics

As of match played 20 October 2023 ^[18]

Club	Season	League			FAI Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Patrick's Athletic	2003	LOI Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2004		6	0	0	0	2	0	—		—		8	0
	2005		4	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
	2006		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2007		4	0	0	0	1	0	0 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	6	0
	2008		5	0	—		0	0	0 [lower-alpha 1]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	6	0
Sporting Fingal (loan)	2008	LOI First Division	14	0	1	0	—		—		—		15	0
St Patrick's Athletic	2009	LOI Premier Division	9	0	0	0	1	0	0 [lower-alpha 3]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	11	0
Sporting Fingal	2010	LOI Premier Division	17	0	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0 [lower-alpha 4]	0	21	0
	Sporting Fingal total		31	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	36	0
Sligo Rovers	2011	LOI Premier Division	31	0	5	0	3	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	43	0
St Patrick's Athletic	2012	LOI Premier Division	20	0	2	0	0	0	6 [lower-alpha 3]	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	29	0
	2013		30	0	3	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	37	0
	2014		33	0	5	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 6]	0	4 [lower-alpha 7]	0	44	0
	2015		16	0	2	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	2 [lower-alpha 8]	0	23	0
	2016		29	0	4	0	2	0	4 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0 [lower-alpha 4]	0	39	0
Limerick	2017	LOI Premier Division	26	0	3	0	1	0	—		0 [lower-alpha 9]	0	30	0
	2018		24	0	—		0	0	—		0 [lower-alpha 9]	0	24	0
	Limerick total		50	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	54	0
St Patrick's Athletic	2018	LOI Premier Division	12	1	2	0	—		—		1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	15	1
	2019		34	0	2	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	0 [lower-alpha 4]	0	38	0
	2020		18	0	0	0	—		—		—		18	0
	St Patrck's Athletic total		221	1	20	0	7	0	18	0	13	0	279	1
Shelbourne	2021	LOI First Division	25	0	1	0	—		—		—		26	0
	2022	LOI Premier Division	29	0	4	0	—		—		—		33	0
	Shelbourne total		54	0	5	0	—		—		—		59	0
Galway United	2023	LOI First Division	36	0	4	0	—		—		—		40	0
Career total			423	1	39	0	12	0	22	0	15	0	511	1

1. Appearances in UEFA Cup
2. Appearances in Setanta Sports Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
5. 2 appearances in Setanta Sports Cup & 1 appearance in Leinster Senior Cup
6. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
7. 2 appearances in Setanta Sports Cup, 1 appearance in President's Cup & 1 appearance in Leinster Senior Cup
8. 1 appearance in President's Cup & 1 appearance in Leinster Senior Cup
9. Appearances in Munster Senior Cup

Honours

Club

St Patrick's Athletic

• League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 2013
• FAI Cup (1): 2014
• League of Ireland Cup (3): 2003, 2015, 2016
• President's Cup (1): 2014
• Leinster Senior Cup (2): 2014, 2019

Sligo Rovers

• FAI Cup (1): 2011

Shelbourne

• League of Ireland First Division (1): 2021

Galway United

• League of Ireland First Division (1): 2023

Maynooth University (As assistant manager)

• Collingwood Cup (1): 2014 ^[19]

Individual

• League of Ireland consecutive clean sheet record: 9 in 2011 with Sligo Rovers
• PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year (1): 2013
• PFAI Premier First Team of the Year (2): 2021, 2023
• SWAI Goalkeeper of the Year (1): 2013
• Limerick Supporters Club Player of the Year: 2017
• St Patrick's Athletic Player of the Year (2): 2019, 2020

References

1. "Player profiles". Stpatsfc.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
2. "OFFICIAL: Limerick land Turner, O'Connor & Clarke | Goal.com". goal.com.
3. "Republic of Ireland – B. Clarke – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
4. "Brendan Clarke bids emotional farewell to Limerick FC". limerickleader.ie.
5. "WATCH – St Pat's confirm signing of Brendan Clarke". 2 July 2018.
6. Goulden, David (15 September 2018). "Keeper Clarke slots winner as Pat's triumph in Sligo" – via rte.ie.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. "Brendan Clarke signs on with the Saints for two more seasons". ExtraTime.com.
8. O'Hehir, Paul (26 November 2019). "Clarke in demand as Cork want St Pat's keeper on loan next season". DublinLive.
9. O'Hehir, Paul (24 July 2020). "Clarke opens up on his battle to stay first-choice goalkeeper at St. Pat's". Irish Mirror.
10. @stpatsfc (25 November 2020). "AWARDS" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. Blake, Ben. "Experienced goalkeeper Clarke ends third spell with St Patrick's Athletic to join Shelbourne". The42.
12. Murray, Joseph (26 November 2022). "Brendan Clarke Signs for 2023". Galway United.
13. Buttner, Paull (21 August 2023). "Five-star Galway United cruise past UCD in the FAI Cup". Irish Examiner.
14. Murphy, Murt (22 September 2023). "Galway United gain promotion to the top flight in style". Irish Examiner.
15. "'They won't regret it' – Brendan Clarke urges League of Ireland players to use mental health services". The independent.
16. "Login • Instagram". instagram.com.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
17. @stpatsfc (2 September 2020). "Congratulations to @BrenClarke1 on being named as the new Chairperson of the @PFAIOfficial He replaces former Sa…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. "Republic of Ireland – B.Clarke". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
19. "NUI Maynooth claims Collingwood Cup | Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.