Pierce Sweeney

Pierce Sweeney

Personal information
Full name	Pierce Liam Sweeney [1]
Date of birth	(1994-09-11) 11 September 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Exeter City
Number	26
Youth career
2006–2012	Belvedere
2012	Bray Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012	Bray Wanderers	12	(0)
2012–2016	Reading	0	(0)
2016–	Exeter City	334	(19)
International career‡
2010–2011	Republic of Ireland U17	2	(0)
2011–2013	Republic of Ireland U19	6	(0)
2013	Republic of Ireland U21	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:51, September 7, 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:00, 1 August 2016 (UTC)

Pierce Liam Sweeney (born 11 September 1994) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One side Exeter City.

Career

Schoolboy football

Sweeney began his career at Ardmore Rovers in his hometown of Bray, before moving on to the under-13 level with Belvedere. ^[3]

Bray Wanderers

In 2012, Sweeney joined League of Ireland Premier Division side Bray Wanderers. He made 12 appearances for the Seagulls during the 2012 season.

Reading

On 6 July 2012, Sweeney signed with then-Premier League side Reading. Although he was a member of Reading's Under 21 2013-14 Premier League Cup-winning side, on 9 May 2016, Sweeney was released by Reading without having made a first-team appearance for the club. ^[4]

Exeter City

On 22 July 2016, Sweeney signed with Exeter City as the 1931 Fund fan-funded player after a successful trial. ^[5] He scored two goals and an assist in Exeter's 5–1 defeat of Notts County on 8 September 2018, ^[6] and had already scored two additional goals before the end of September 2018.

Swindon Town

On 11 June 2021, Sweeney signed a two-year deal with Swindon Town to begin on 1 July 2021, ^[7] after rejecting an offer from Exeter City. ^[8] His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 2 July 2021, with Sweeney stating that 'due to family circumstances at this current moment I am unable to fulfil relocating to be part of the team'. ^[9]

Exeter City return

Following his abrupt departure from Swindon Town, Sweeney returned to Exeter City on 8 July 2021. ^{[10] [11]} He was vice-captain as Exeter City secured a return to League One for the first time since 2012. In June 2022, Sweeney signed a new two-year deal with the club. ^[12]

On 14 January 2023, in his first match as club captain following the departure of Matt Jay, Sweeney made his 300th appearance for Exeter City in all competitions. ^[13] At the end of the 2022–23 season, Sweeney was chosen as Exeter's Player of the Year. ^[14]

International career

Sweeney has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-U17, under-U19, and under-U21 levels. ^[15]

Career statistics

As of 6 September 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Division	League		National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bray Wanderers	2012 [15]	LOI Premier Division	12	0	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	13	0
Reading	2012–13 [16]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2013–14 [17]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2014–15 [18]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16 [19]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Exeter City	2016–17 [20]	League Two	29	0	1	0	2	0	5 [b]	0	37	0
	2017–18 [21]	League Two	40	8	4	1	1	0	4 [c]	0	49	9
	2018–19 [22]	League Two	43	4	1	0	1	0	1 [d]	0	46	4
	2019–20 [23]	League Two	36	2	4	0	1	1	6 [e]	0	47	3
	2020–21 [24]	League Two	38	3	2	0	0	0	2 [d]	0	42	3
	2021–22 [25]	League Two	43	0	2	0	1	0	3 [d]	0	49	0
	2022–23 [26]	League One	43	2	2	0	2	0	2 [d]	0	49	2
	2023–24 [27]	League One	42	0	1	0	3	0	2 [d]	0	48	0
	2024–25 [28]	League One	18	0	2	0	1	0	2 [d]	1	23	1
	2025–26 [29]	League One	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		334	19	19	1	13	1	27	1	393	22
Career total			346	19	19	1	13	1	28	1	406	22

1. Appearance in Setanta Sports Cup
2. Three appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
3. One appearance in EFL Trophy, three appearances in EFL League Two play-offs
4. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
5. Three appearances in EFL Trophy, three appearances in EFL League Two play-offs

Honours

Reading

• Premier League Cup: 2013–14

Exeter City

• EFL League Two runner-up: 2021–22 ^[15]

Individual

• FAI Under-19 Irish International Player of the Year: 2013
• Exeter City Player of the Year: 2022–23 ^[14]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Exeter City" (PDF). English Football League. p. 26. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
2. "Pierce Sweeney - Defender - First Team - Exeter City". Exeter City F.C. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
3. "Pierce Sweeney Interview (Ireland U19 Player Of The Year)". Belvedere Football Club. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
4. "Ex-Bray Wanderers Player Pierce Sweeney Released By Reading". League of Ireland. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
5. "Exeter City: Defender Pierce Sweeney signs permanent deal". BBC Sport. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
6. "Exeter City: Harry Kewell sent off in first league game in charge of Notts County". BBC Sport. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
7. Leighfield, Jonathan (11 June 2021). "Swindon Town sign defender Pierce Sweeney on two-year deal". Swindon Advertiser . Retrieved 2 July 2021.
8. Clark, Daniel (11 June 2021). "Pierce Sweeney signs for Swindon Town after turning down Exeter City contract extension". Devon Live. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
9. "Pierce Sweeney: Defender leaves Swindon Town less than a month after joining the club". BBC Sport . 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
10. "✍️ Welcome back, Pierce Sweeney". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 8 July 2021.
11. "Defender Sweeney rejoins Exeter City" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
12. "✍️ Pierce Sweeney pens new deal". www.exetercityfc.co.uk. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
13. "Pierce Sweeney will be Exeter City's new captain".
14. Pierce Sweeney (4 May 2023). "I'm truly honoured to have been chosen as the club's player of the season". Devon Live. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
15. "P. Sweeney Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
16. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
17. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
18. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
19. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
20. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
21. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
22. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
23. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
24. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
25. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
26. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
27. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
28. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
29. "Games played by Pierce Sweeney in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2025.

External links

• Pierce Sweeney at Soccerbase