Ethan Cairns

Ethan Cairns

Personal information
Full name	Ethan John Cairns
Date of birth	(2004-12-17) 17 December 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth	Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2014–2021	Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2021–2025	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	20	(1)
2021	→ Strathspey Thistle (loan)	8	(0)
2022	→ Fort William (loan)	6	(1)
2022–2023	→ Forres Mechanics (loan)	23	(4)
2023–2024	→ Forres Mechanics (loan)	1	(0)
2024	→ Banks o' Dee (loan)	2	(1)
2025–	Inverurie Loco Works	0	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:24, 12 June 2025 (UTC)

Ethan Cairns (born 17 December 2004) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a striker for Highland League side, Inverurie Loco Works. ^[1]

Cairns is the younger brother of Owen Cairns, who plays as a defender for Elgin City.

Career

Cairns came through the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Academy, before being sent out on loan to his hometown side, Strathspey Thistle, ^[2] as well as Fort William, ^[3] and finally, Forres Mechanics ^[4] before being recalled from his Forres loan due to an injury crisis going on at Inverness. ^[5]

On 2 January 2023, Cairns made his debut for Inverness, coming on in a 6–1 win over Cove Rangers in the Scottish Championship. ^[6] On 4 February, Cairns scored his first goal for Inverness in a 2–2 league draw with Greenock Morton immediately after being subbed on for fellow academy graduate, Daniel MacKay. ^{[7] [8]} In July 2023, Cairns returned to Forres on a short term loan, before joining Aberdeen side, Banks o' Dee in January 2024. ^[9]

Following the end of the 2024–25 season, Cairns left Inverness. ^[10]

In June 2025, Cairns signed for Inverurie Loco Works in the Highland League. ^[11]

References

1. "Ethan Cairns | Football Stats | Fort William | Age 18 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
2. "Caley Thistle send teenage striker on loan to Highland League club". Inverness Courier. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
3. Law, Callum. "Caley Thistle's Ethan Cairns and Aly Riddle join Fort William on loan". Press and Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
4. Law, Callum. "Forres boss pleased to land Caley Thistle starlet Ethan Cairns". Press and Journal. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
5. "Caley Thistle bring back all players on loan due to emergency injury crisis". Inverness Courier. 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
6. "Inverness hit six in thrashing of Cove". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
7. "Inverness CT come back twice to draw with Morton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
8. "Caley Thistle teenage goal hero living the first team dream". Inverness Courier. 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
9. "ICT teenager joins Highland League title contenders on loan". Inverness Courier. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
10. "Caley Thistle confirm 11 players sign new contracts to stay at club". Inverness Courier. 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
11. "ETHAN CAIRNS - Inverurie Loco Works F.C." inverurielocos.com. Retrieved 2025-06-12.