| Ciaran Gilligan in 2024. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ciaran Patrick Gilligan [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Derby, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aldershot Town (on loan from Burton Albion) | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2020 | Burton Albion | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020– | Burton Albion | 60 | (1) |
| 2025– | → Aldershot Town (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:51, 18 October 2025 (UTC) | |||
Ciaran Patrick Gilligan (born 5 February 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Aldershot Town on loan from EFL League One club Burton Albion. Born in England, he has represented the Republic of Ireland as a youth international.
Born in Derby, [2] Gilligan signed his first professional contract with Burton in June 2020. [3] Gilligan joined Burton Albion's academy at under-8 level. [4] He broke into the club's first team in the 2020–21 season, and made his full debut for the club in a 3–3 EFL Trophy draw against Peterborough United on 8 September 2020. [5] [6] He made his first League One start on 17 October 2020 against Bristol Rovers. [5] [4] In doing so, he became the first Burton player to progress through every age group of Burton's youth system before appearing in the first team. [7] In November 2020, Gilligan signed a new contract with the club, valid until summer 2022, with the option for a further year. [4] Over the course of the season, he made 22 appearances, 18 of which were in the league. [5] He missed a number of games during the second half of the 2021–22 season through a hamstring injury. [8] In April 2022, he signed a new contract until summer 2024. [9] He made 10 appearances over the 2021–22 season in total. [10] Gilligan picked up a further hamstring injury in September 2022. [11]
On 10 February 2024, he scored his first senior goal with a "looping shot" in a 2–1 win away at Bristol Rovers. [12]
On 17 October 2025, Gilligan joined National League club Aldershot Town on loan for the remainder of the season. [13]
Gilligan was called up to a training camp for the Republic of Ireland under-19 team in May 2021. [14] In March 2022, he was called up to the under-20 team for a fixture against an Ireland Amateurs team. [15] [16]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burton Albion | 2020–21 [5] | League One | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2021–22 [10] | League One | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 [17] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 [18] | League One | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 19 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 [19] | League One | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 [20] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 [a] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 78 | 1 | ||
| Aldershot Town (loan) | 2025–26 [20] | National League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 61 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 79 | 1 | ||