Dara O'Shea

Dara O'Shea

O'Shea with the Republic of Ireland in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Dara Joseph O'Shea [1]
Date of birth	(1999-03-04) 4 March 1999 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Ipswich Town
Number	26
Youth career
0000–2015	St. Kevin's Boys
2015–2017	West Bromwich Albion
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2023	West Bromwich Albion	96	(7)
2017–2018	→ Hereford (loan)
2018–2019	→ Exeter City (loan)	27	(0)
2023–2024	Burnley	35	(4)
2024–	Ipswich Town	8	(0)
International career‡
	Republic of Ireland U19
2019	Republic of Ireland U21	10	(0)
2020–	Republic of Ireland	30	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:12, 10 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:40, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Dara Joseph O'Shea (born 4 March 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Ipswich Town and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career

Born in Dublin, O'Shea began his career at St. Kevin's Boys before moving to English club West Bromwich Albion. ^[3] He spent the 2017–18 season on loan at Hereford. ^{[4] [5]} O'Shea was part of the Hereford side that won the Southern League Premier Division, winning promotion to the National League North. ^[6]

He moved on loan to Exeter City in August 2018. ^[7] In March 2019, he was praised by Exeter manager Matt Taylor. ^[8]

On 21 December 2019, O'Shea made his first team debut for West Brom in a 1–1 home draw against Brentford. ^[9] O'Shea signed a new three-year contract with West Brom on 24 January 2020. ^[10] He scored his first league goal on 9 February 2020, in Albion's 2–0 away victory over Millwall. ^[11]

On 20 August 2022, O'Shea captained the team for the first time in a 5–2 home victory over Hull City, scoring a goal in the game. ^[12] On 10 February 2023, O'Shea made his 100th appearance for the club in a 2–0 away defeat at Birmingham City. ^[13]

In June 2023 he was linked with a transfer to newly promoted Premier League club Burnley. ^[14] He completed the transfer on 23 June 2023 for a transfer fee of £7 million, signing a four-year contract with the club. ^{[15] [16]} He scored his first goal for The Clarets on 10 February 2024 in a 3–1 loss at Anfield. ^[17]

On 25 August 2024, O'Shea signed for newly promoted Premier League club Ipswich Town on a five-year contract. ^{[18] [19]} He made his debut in a League Cup loss at AFC Wimbledon on 28 August and played his first Premier League for Ipswich on 14 September in a 0–0 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion. ^{[20] [21]}

International career

O'Shea has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-19 and under-21 youth levels. ^[4] He was first called up to the under-19's in September 2016 for the friendly double-header against Austria which was Tom Mohan's first game charge, following promotion from the under-17's. ^[22] He was an unused substitute for the first game but made his debut in the second match, playing the full 90 in a 3–1 win. He then made one appearance for the side in the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round, as Ireland qualified for the Elite stage, however, he didn't make any appearances in this round. ^[4] He played in every game in the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers as Ireland just missed out on the final tournament in the Elite round, finishing second to Portugal. ^[4] He was called up to manager, Stephen Kenny's, first under-21 squad for the friendly against Luxembourg in March 2009 and made his debut in the 3–0 win. ^[23]

On 14 October 2020, he made his debut for the senior Republic of Ireland national team in a 1–0 away defeat against Finland in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B. ^[24] On 1 September 2021, he was named FAI Young Player of the Year for 2020. ^[25] On 1 September 2021, O'Shea suffered an ankle fracture in a 2–1 away defeat at Portugal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, resulting in a long-term absence until February 2022. ^[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 November 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
West Bromwich Albion U21	2016–17 [27]	—			—		—		1 [a]	0	1	0
Hereford (loan)	2017–18 [28] [29]	SL Premier Division			5	0	—		5 [b]	1	10	1
Exeter City (loan)	2018–19 [30]	League Two	27	0	1	0	1	0	4 [a]	0	33	0
West Bromwich Albion	2019–20 [31]	Championship	17	3	3	0	1	0	—		21	3
	2020–21 [32]	Premier League	28	0	1	0	2	0	—		31	0
	2021–22 [33]	Championship	14	2	0	0	0	0	—		14	2
	2022–23 [34]	Championship	37	2	2	0	2	0	—		41	2
	Total		96	7	6	0	5	0	0	0	107	7
Burnley	2023–24 [35]	Premier League	33	3	1	0	3	1	—		37	4
	2024–25 [36]	Championship	2	1	0	0	0	0	—		2	1
	Total		35	4	1	0	3	1	0	0	39	5
Ipswich Town	2024–25 [36]	Premier League	8	0	0	0	1	0	—		9	0
Career total			166	11	13	0	10	1	10	1	199	13

1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
2. Appearance in the FA Trophy

International

As of match played 13 October 2024 ^[37]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Republic of Ireland	2020	4	0
	2021	6	0
	2022	6	0
	2023	6	0
	2024	8	0
Total		30	0

Honours

Individual

• FAI Young Player of the Year: 2020 ^[25]

References

1. "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
2. "Dara O'Shea". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
3. "West Brom defender Dara O'Shea: St Kevin's gave me my break - Tribal Football". www.tribalfootball.com.
4. Dara O'Shea at Soccerway. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
5. Rogers, Paul (1 January 2018). "FOOTBALL: Hereford looking to extend Dara O'Shea's loan spell". Hereford Times.
6. "Hereford FC – Southern League Premier Champions 2017/18". www.herefordfc.co.uk. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
7. "Dara O'Shea: Exeter sign West Brom defender on loan". BBC Sport. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
8. "Dara O'Shea: West Brom's Exeter loanee 'could go all the way' after Republic U21 call". BBC Sport. 14 March 2019.
9. "Dara's Debut 'the best Christmas present'". West Bromwich Albion. 21 December 2019.
10. "O'Shea agrees new long-term Albion deal". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
11. Masi, Joseph (10 February 2020). "Dara O'Shea: Bad West Brom run is behind us". Express & Star. Wolverhampton: MNA Media.
12. "Dara O'shea on 'immense pride' of wearing armband". West Bromwich Albion. 20 August 2022.
13. "Dara O'Shea confident West Brom can respond from setback". Express & Star. 13 February 2023.
14. "Burnley set to sign defender O'Shea from West Brom" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
15. "Burnley sign defender O'Shea from West Brom" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
16. "O'Shea eyes new heights after completing Burnley move". 23 June 2023 – via www.rte.ie.
17. Johnston, Neil (10 February 2024). "Liverpool 3–1 Burnley: Darwin Núñez scores in front of new club record attendance". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
18. "Town sign defender O'Shea". Ipswich Town. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
19. "Dara O'Shea: Ipswich Town sign Burnley defender in £15m deal". BBC Sport. 25 August 2024.
20. "Wimbledon 2–2 Ipswich: AFC Wimbledon win 4–2 on pens". BBC Sport. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
21. Drury, Sam (14 September 2024). "Brighton 0–0 Ipswich: Joao Pedro reputation grows in his absence". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
22. "IRELAND U19S SET FOR AUSTRIAN TEST IN TALLAGHT". FAI. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
23. "Dara O'Shea". FAI. 25 June 2023.
24. "Dara O'Shea handed debut in Ireland's defence for Finland clash". The Irish Times. 14 October 2020.
25. "Giles and Gorham recognised in FAI Awards | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
26. "World Cup qualifying: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 1 September 2021.
27. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
28. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
29. For FA Cup second qualifying round: "SEVEN LOANEES IN ACTION AS LEKO SHINES". West Bromwich Albion FC. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2023. For FA Cup third qualifying round: "Hereford FC beat AFC Hornchurch 2-0 in third qualifying round of the FA Cup". Hereford Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023. For FA Trophy first qualifying round: "John Mills nets hat-trick as Hereford beat Weymouth 4-1 in FA Trophy". Hereford Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023. For FA Trophy second qualifying round: Rogers, Paul (13 November 2017). "FOOTBALL: Away tie up next for Hereford if they beat Potters Bar in FA Trophy". Hereford Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023. For FA Trophy second qualifying round replay: Barnes, Jeff. "FA TROPHY EXIT FOR BRAVE 'SCHOLARS'". Potters Bar Town FC. Retrieved 26 June 2023. For FA Trophy third qualifying round: Bratley, Ryan. "REPORT: OXFORD CITY 1-2 HEREFORD". Oxford City FC. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
30. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
31. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
32. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
33. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
34. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
35. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
36. "Games played by Dara O'Shea in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
37. "Dara Joseph O'Shea". EU-Football. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

External links

• Dara O'Shea – UEFA competition record ( archive )