Patrick McEleney

Patrick McEleney

McEleney playing against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2016–17 Europa League
Personal information
Full name	Patrick McEleney
Date of birth	(1992-09-26) 26 September 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Derry, Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Derry City
Number	10
Youth career
–2008	Foyle Harps
2008–2009	Sunderland
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2015	Derry City	175	(26)
2016–2017	Dundalk	49	(13)
2018	Oldham Athletic	9	(1)
2018–2021	Dundalk	64	(5)
2022–	Derry City	60	(2)
International career‡
2008	Northern Ireland U16
2008–2009	Republic of Ireland U17	7 [1]	(1)
2009–2010	Republic of Ireland U19	4 [2]	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:27, 12 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2012

Patrick McEleney (born 26 September 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Derry City in the League of Ireland Premier Division. ^[3] He has previously played for Sunderland, Oldham Athletic and Dundalk. McEleney has represented Dundalk and Derry City in European competition.

Club career

Sunderland

McEleney joined Sunderland from Foyle Harps on a scholarship in the summer of 2008. ^[4] He signed a 2+1⁄2-year professional contract with the club in September 2008 and formed part of the under-18 and reserves teams which won their respective leagues that season under Kevin Ball. Both he and Everton youth team prospect, Shane Duffy, were granted a Civic Reception by the Mayor of Derry, Colr. Gerard Diver in the Guildhall in April 2009 to acknowledge their swift rise to prominence at their clubs. ^[5] However, his time at the Stadium of Light was cut short as the player struggled with homesickness and the club agreed to release him from his contract. ^[6]

Derry City

McEleney was one of the first four players signed by Stephen Kenny for Derry City following their relegation to the League of Ireland First Division, penning a two-year deal in December 2009. ^[7] He was a key member of the Derry side that won the 2010 First Division title, scoring 12 league goals in 31 appearances, and he attracted interest from some English Premier League clubs and Celtic due to his performances. ^[8] McEleney was nominated for the 2010 PFAI First Division Player of the Year award, ultimately losing out to Graham Cummins. ^[9] McEleney was involved in a controversial incident in October 2010 when, 3 days after pulling out of the Republic of Ireland's Under 19 squad due to an ankle injury, he played and scored twice in a First Division fixture against Shelbourne. The League of Ireland Participation Agreement stated that if a player was not released for international duty, he could not play for his club during the five days after that duty. The FAI cleared Derry of any breach, however, declaring that "by the time [McEleney] had recovered from the injury, he was no longer required to fulfil his international duties and so he was eligible to play for Derry City." ^{[10] [11]}

In 2011, McEleney made a further 34 league appearances as Derry finished third on their return to the Premier Division. He also won the League Cup as Derry beat Cork 1–0 in the final at Turner's Cross. In May 2012, McEleney scored a penalty in the final of the Setanta Sports Cup against Crusaders, ^[12] however Derry ultimately lost in the shootout. ^[13] Later in the year he was a member of the team who won the FAI Cup on 4 November 2012, playing 59 minutes in their 3–2 defeat of St. Patrick's Athletic in the final. ^[14]

McEleney featured in the UEFA Europa League with Derry City on a number of occasions. He played against Trabzonspor in the second qualifying round in 2013, and the following year he scored in Derry's 4–0 win over Aberystwyth Town in the first qualifying round. He also subsequently played against Shakhtyor Soligorsk in the second qualifying round. ^{[15] [16]} McEleney shone as Derry City reached the 2014 FAI Cup Final, ^[17] however on this occasion they lost to St. Patrick's Athletic. He made his 200th appearance in all competitions for Derry in a 4–2 loss against Bohemians on 24 July 2015. At the end of 2015, McEleney was unable to agree a new deal with Derry and his contract expired. ^[18]

Dundalk

McEleney in action against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2016–17 Europa League.

Despite interest from Peterborough United, Brentford ^[19] and St. Patrick's Athletic, ^[20] McEleney signed a two-year deal with Dundalk in December 2015, linking up again with his former boss Stephen Kenny. ^[21] He was primarily signed as a replacement for the departed Richie Towell who moved to Brighton and Hove Albion. ^[22] Due to the fact that McEleney was under the age of 24 at the time, Dundalk had to pay a fee of €28,000 to Derry in compensation, a fee equal to one year of the player's gross salary. ^[23] McEleney marked his home debut with a goal during a 3–0 defeat of Finn Harps. ^[24] He picked up a groin injury after just his fourth game for the club and a hamstring injury sustained during his comeback put him out for longer, with McEleney noting that it took him until the mid-season break to gain full fitness. ^[25] Following this, McEleney appeared in all six of Dundalk's UEFA Champions League qualifying ties, playing a particularly crucial role in the 3–0 defeat of BATE Borisov in the third qualifying round second leg after coming off the bench for the injured Ronan Finn and helping Dundalk qualify for the Europa League group stage. ^{[26] [27]} In the 2020 Europa League third qualifying round, he scored in the penalty shoot-out against Sheriff Tiraspol helping Dundalk qualify for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage. ^[28] In the 2021-22 Europa Conference League 3rd round Qualifiers, He scored 2 goals to draw the game against Vitesse Arnhem. ^[29]

Return to Derry City

It was announced on 8 July 2021 that McEleney had signed a pre-contract to re-join his hometown club Derry City on a two-year contract, commencing at the end of the season. ^{[30] [31]}

On 13 November 2022 McEleney helped Derry to win the 2022 FAI Cup Final.

International career

McEleney played for the Northern Ireland Under-16 team ^[32] before later representing the Republic of Ireland at youth level. He represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-17 level seven times and scored on his debut against Bulgaria in a 2–0 win at the Ovcha Kupel Stadium in August 2008. ^[33] McEleney progressed to the Republic of Ireland Under-19 team in September 2009, making his debut against the Netherlands at the Carlisle Grounds in the Clarion Hotel Four-nation Tour. ^[34] He went on to make a further 3 appearances for the Under-19s. ^{[35] [36]} Despite being contacted by Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill with a view to being called up to their senior squad, McEleney has indicated that his international future lies with the Republic of Ireland. ^[37]

Personal life

McEleney is from the Shantallow area of Derry city. ^[38] His father, Henry, was also a footballer, playing for Coleraine in the Irish League. ^[39] Furthermore, McEleney's older brother, Shane, is a centre back and teammate of Patrick's at Derry City, having previously played for Finn Harps, Larne, Ottawa Fury & St Patrick's Athletic. Like Patrick, Shane has featured at youth level for the Republic of Ireland and recently switched allegiance to Northern Ireland, playing and scoring for the under-21 team in August 2012 against Hungary. ^{[40] [41]}

McEleney was a ballboy at Derry City in his youth. ^[42] In 2015, an Italian football fan travelled 5,000 km to watch Derry City play and obtain McEleney's autograph after managing the club in PC videogame Football Manager. ^[43]

Career statistics

As of match played 10 November 2024 ^[44]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Derry City	2010	LOI First Division	31	11	2	1	3	1	–		–		36	13
	2011	LOI Premier Division	34	5	1	0	3	0	–		–		38	5
	2012		27	3	6	1	2	1	–		7 [a]	2	42	7
	2013		28	3	2	0	3	0	2 [b]	0	2 [a]	0	37	3
	2014		27	5	7	2	1	1	4 [b]	1	–		39	9
	2015		28	1	4	1	1	0	–		–		33	2
	Total		175	28	22	5	13	3	6	1	9	2	225	39
Dundalk	2016	LOI Premier Division	23	3	3	0	0	0	12 [c]	0	2 [d]	1	40	4
	2017		26	10	3	0	2	1	2 [e]	0	2 [f]	1	35	12
	Total		49	13	6	0	2	1	14	0	4	2	75	16
Oldham Athletic	2017–18	EFL League One	9	1	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	9	1
Dundalk	2018	LOI Premier Division	11	1	4	2	0	0	2 [b]	0	1 [g]	0	18	3
	2019		24	2	4	0	2	1	6 [h]	0	1 [i]	0	37	3
	2020		9	0	4	1	–		8 [j]	0	–		20	1
	2021		20	2	1	1	–		6 [k]	2	1 [i]	0	28	5
	Total		64	5	13	4	2	1	22	2	3	0	103	12
Derry City	2022	LOI Premier Division	27	1	5	0	–		2 [k]	0	–		34	1
	2023		20	1	2	0	–		6 [k]	0	0 [i]	0	28	1
	2024		13	0	3	0	–		0 [l]	0	–		16	0
	Total		60	2	10	0	–		8	0	0	0	78	2
Derry City total			235	30	32	5	13	3	14	1	9	2	303	41
Career total			358	47	45	6	14	4	50	3	16	4	488	68

1. Appearances in Setanta Sports Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. 6 appearances in UEFA Champions League, 6 appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. 1 appearance & 1 goal in Leinster Senior Cup, 1 appearance in President of Ireland's Cup
5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
6. 1 appearance & 1 goal in Leinster Senior Cup, 1 appearance in President of Ireland's Cup
7. Appearance in Leinster Senior Cup
8. 4 appearances in UEFA Champions League, 2 appearances in UEFA Europa League
9. Appearance in President of Ireland's Cup
10. 1 appearance in UEFA Champions League, 7 appearances in UEFA Europa League
11. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
12. Appearances in UEFA Conference League

Honours

Club

Derry City

• League of Ireland First Division (1): 2010
• League of Ireland Cup (1): 2011
• FAI Cup (2): 2012, 2022
• President of Ireland's Cup (1): 2023

Dundalk

• League of Ireland Premier Division (3): 2016, 2018, 2019
• FAI Cup (2): 2018, 2020
• League of Ireland Cup (2): 2017, 2019
• President of Ireland's Cup (2): 2019, 2021
• Champions Cup (1): 2019

Individual

• PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year: 2016 ^[45]

References

1. "Players profile on SoccerScene.ie". SoccerScene.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
2. "Players profile on SoccerScene.ie". SoccerScene.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
3. "UEFA.com - Under-19 - McEleney". UEFA . Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
4. "Sunderland sign star young stopper". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
5. "Duffy, McEleney hope to emulate Gibson". Derry Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
6. "McEleney happy to 'stay at home'". Derry Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
7. "Derry sign up first four players". BBC. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
8. "Premier League clubs and Celtic interested in McEleney". BBC. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
9. "Hoops and Sligo dominate PFAI nominations". RTÉ Sport. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
10. "BBC Sport - Football - Derry City cleared over Patrick McEleney eligibility". BBC Online . 15 October 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
11. "Derry City cleared over Patrick McEleney eligibility". Bristol News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
12. "Crusaders lift Setanta Sports Cup trophy". goal.com. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
13. "Gareth McKeown was the hero as Crusaders won the Setanta Sports Cup, after a penalty shoot-out". RTÉ Sport. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
14. "As it happened: Derry City v St Patrick's Athletic, Ford FAI Cup final". 4 November 2012.
15. "Derry 4-0 Aberystwyth". Uefa.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
16. "Uefa Europa League - Patrick McEleney". Uefa.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
17. "'We know what it takes' - Derry City's Patrick McEleney confident ahead of FAI Cup final". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
18. "Patrick McEleney: Derry City midfielder moves to Dundalk". BBC Sport. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
19. "Dundalk's bonus territory brings welcome boost". Irish Independent. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
20. "Dundalk make two big signings as they bid to replace Richie Towell". the42.ie. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
21. "Dundalk land McEleney and Benson". Irish Independent. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
22. "Dundalk's Patrick McEleney insists Finn Harps must not be underestimated ahead of Oriel Park clash". Irishmirror.ie. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
23. "Dundalk Big On Ben". Archived from the original on 14 December 2019.
24. "Patrick McEleney on target as Dundalk show class". RTÉ Sport. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
25. "Dundalk's bonus territory brings welcome boost". Irish Independent. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
26. "Dundalk will go for it against Legia Warsaw, insists McEleney". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
27. "Dundalk's bonus territory brings welcome boost". Irish Independent. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
28. "Bittersweet night for Dundalk star as he equals Glen Crowes European". the42. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
29. "Patrick McEleney steals the show as Dundalk grab a draw at Vitesse". 5 August 2021.
30. "Derry City announce Patrick McEleney is to rejoin from Dundalk". 8 July 2021.
31. "City Confirm McEleney Pre-Contract Deal". 8 July 2021.
32. "Finland v Northern Ireland". Irish FA. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
33. "Match report from SoccerScene.ie". SoccerScene.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
34. "Match report from SoccerScene.ie". SoccerScene.ie. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
35. "Poland beat Ireland Under-17s in friendly at United Park" . Retrieved 25 January 2015.
36. "Ryan Connolly wins it for U19s". FAI.ie. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
37. "'Trapattoni will never look towards our league' says Derry City midfielder Patrick McEleney". Goal.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
38. "DERRY CITY: Patrick McEleney explains reasons behind Dundalk move". Derry Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
39. "Patrick McEleney - from humble Beginnings to League of Ireland Stardom". 9 November 2018.
40. "Derry City's Shane McEleney handed NI U21 call-up". BBC. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
41. "Friendly international: Hungary U21 3-2 N Ireland U21". BBC. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
42. Rowan, Paul. "Dundalk's McEleney eyes shot at big time".
43. "Football Manager fan makes 5000km round Derry City FC trip after three years managing the Candystripes online". Derry Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
44. "Republic of Ireland - P. McEleney - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
45. "Dundalk and Cork dominate PFAI team of the year". RTÉ Sport. rte.ie. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

External links

• FAI Stats Portal Profile