Lewis Temple (footballer)

Last updated
Lewis Temple
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-06-11) 11 June 2005 (age 20)
Place of birth Bray, Ireland
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Shelbourne
Number 24
Youth career
2020–2021 Bray Wanderers
2022–2024 Shelbourne
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022– Shelbourne 6 (0)
2023Longford Town (loan) 14 (0)
2024Wexford (loan) 14 (1)
International career
2023 Republic of Ireland U19 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:05, 2 July 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 April 2025

Lewis Temple (born 11 June 2005) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shelbourne.

Contents

Club career

Youth career

A native of Bray. County Wicklow, Temple played youth football for his local club Bray Wanderers. He played for their under-15 team in 2020 before graduating to the under-17 side in 2021 before moving to Shelbourne's academy in 2022. [1]

Shelbourne

Temple's first involvement with the Shelbourne first team came when he appeared in both the First Round of the 2022 FAI Cup on 29 July 2022, being introduced as a second-half substitute against his former club Bray Wanderers. [2]

He made three appearances in the 2022–23 Leinster Senior Cup for Shelbourne, before joining Longford Town on loan during the summer. He made 22 appearances in the First Division for Longford.

Temple signed a two-year contract with Shelbourne in February 2024. [3] He joined Wexford on loan for the second half of their First Division season. [4] He scored his first professional goal against Athlone Town in August 2024. He went on to make 20 appearances as the club reached the promotion and relegation play-off semi-final and the 2024 FAI Cup semi-final. [5]

Temple found himself given more first-team opportunities for Shelbourne in 2025 following injuries to Paddy Barrett and Sam Bone. In his third start of the season on 4th April he was awarded the player of the match award against St. Patrick's Athletic. [6] Shelbourne manager Damien Duff praised his "amazing mentality" after having "to wait for his chance" but then "going in and doing brilliantly". [7]

Personal life

Temple attended Presentation College in Bray. [8] He competed internationally in kickboxing in his youth. He began kickboxing at the age of 4 with the Eagle Martial Arts Club for Bray and Arklow. When he was nine years old he won bronze at the 2014 WKKC World Kickboxing Championships, before going on to obtain a black belt and become world champion by age 12. [9] He decided to fully focus on football when he was 15.

Career Statistics

As of match played 27 June 2025 [10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] Europe OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Shelbourne 2022 LOI Premier Division 002020
2023 003 [b] 030
2024 202 [b] 040
2025 40000 [c] 00040
Total60200030110
Longford Town (loan) 2023 LOI First Division 14010150
Wexford (loan) 2024 LOI First Division 141402 [d] 0201
Career total341700050461
  1. Includes FAI Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in the UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearances in the 2024 League of Ireland First Division Playoffs

Honours

Shelbourne

References

  1. "Lewis Temple player profile - Extratime". extratime.com. Extratime. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  2. "Lewis Temple player profile - Shelbourne". shelbournefc.ie. Shelbourne FC. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  3. Cleary, Darren. "Lewis Temple signs two-year deal". shelbournefc.ie. Shelbourne FC. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. "Wexford secure loan deal for Shelbourne defender Lewis Temple". extratime.com. Extratime. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  5. O'Connor, Seán. "Lewis Temple credits Damien Duff factor for lifting his own standards as Wexford target FAI Cup final spot". independent.ie. Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  6. Sneyd, David. "From world champion kickboxer to heart of Shels defence - Damien Duff hails 'incredible' Lewis Temple". the42.ie. The 42. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  7. Fitzmaurice, Aidan. "'To be a black belt and a world champion at 12 is an incredible mentality. I know what I was doing at 12, watching The Simpsons'". independent.ie. Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  8. "Lewis Temple (6th Yr) – Ireland U-19 Football team". presbray.ie. Presentation College Bray.
  9. McCadden, Mark. "Damien Duff details incredible kickboxing background of League of Ireland prospect". irishmirror.ie. Irish Mirror. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  10. Lewis Temple at Soccerway . Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  11. McDonnell, Daniel (1 November 2024). "Shelbourne crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions on final night of drama". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  12. Cummiskey, Gavin (7 February 2025). "Odubeko scores on debut to aid Shelbourne to President's Cup win over Drogheda". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.