Stephen O'Donnell (Irish footballer)

Stephen O'Donnell

O'Donnell in action for Dundalk in the 2015 League of Ireland
Personal information
Full name	Stephen O'Donnell
Date of birth	(1986-01-15) 15 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Galway, Ireland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bohemians (assistant manager)
Youth career
2002–2004	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2005	Arsenal	0	(0)
2005–2007	Falkirk	46	(3)
2007–2008	Bohemians	38	(4)
2009	Cork City	20	(0)
2010	Galway United	26	(8)
2011–2012	Shamrock Rovers	16	(2)
2013–2018	Dundalk	111	(10)
Total		257	(27)
International career‡
2002–2003	Republic of Ireland U17
2006	Republic of Ireland U21
2008–2010	Republic of Ireland U23	3	(0)
Managerial career
2019–2021	St Patrick's Athletic
2021–2024	Dundalk
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 May 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 May 2021

Stephen O'Donnell (born 15 January 1986) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. During his playing career the clubs he played at were Arsenal, Falkirk, Bohemians, Cork City, Galway United, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk.

Club career

Arsenal

O'Donnell played youth football for Newcastle in County Galway before joining Arsenal as a trainee in the summer of 2002 after completing his Junior Certificate exams. ^[1] He signed a professional contract at the club in January 2003 but left again in July 2005 without making an appearance for the first team. ^[2] While he credits the coaching he received during this time with giving him greater confidence on the ball, he has expressed regret at moving to Arsenal at such a young age, feeling that if given the choice again he would have stayed at home, completed his Leaving Certificate exams and joined a team in the League of Ireland. ^[3]

Falkirk

O'Donnell signed for Falkirk in August 2005 in search of more first-team opportunities ^[4] and became a regular in their team, mostly playing on the left-side of midfield. He had a greater desire to be played centrally in his natural position, and after receiving no assurances about this from manager John Hughes, O'Donnell rejected a new contract in summer 2007. ^[5]

Return to Ireland

O'Donnell was signed by Sean Connor on an 18-month deal for Bohemians in August 2007. He became a regular starter in the first team, which included scoring against Rhyl in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, ^[6] but decided to move on after one season at Dalymount Park.

Having rejected a new contract offer, ^[7] he signed a two-year deal with Cork City on 21 February 2009. ^[8]

He signed for his local club, Galway United, in the weeks leading up to the 2010 League of Ireland season. He made 28 appearances for Galway scoring eight goals.

Shamrock Rovers

In January 2011, O'Donnell signed for the League of Ireland champions, Shamrock Rovers. ^[9]

On 22 February 2011, O'Donnell scored in his first match for the Shamrock against Dundalk in the Leinster Senior Cup. ^[10]

In August 2011, he scored the winning goal from a penalty at Partizan Belgrade as Rovers became the first Irish club to reach the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. ^[11] O'Donnell missed a penalty against Rubin Kazan in the first game of the group stage. ^[12] Prior to the match, he was involved in an attempt by senior players to secure a bigger bonus from the fan-owned club by threatening not to play the game.

Dundalk

He signed for Dundalk on 21 December 2012.

O'Donnell suffered a very serious injury while playing for Dundalk against former club Shamrock Rovers on 18 April 2014. A scan revealed that he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and his posterior cruciate ligament and would be out for the remainder of the season. ^[13]

On 24 October 2014, O'Donnell scored the first goal in the 48th minute of Dundalk's 2–0 win over Cork City in the final match of the season. As a result, Dundalk were crowned premier league champions for the first time in 19 years, winning the league by two points over Cork City who led going into the match. ^[14] It was O'Donnell's first start since returning from injury and he was awarded man of the match after an impressive display. ^[15]

The club captain went on to play a prominent role in title wins in 2015 and 2016. Dundalk's three-in-a-row achievement was enhanced as they achieved it despite a bruising fixture schedule brought about by qualification for the group stages of the Europa League. O'Donnell signed a new two-year contract before the 2017 season but it ended in disappointment with rivals Cork City completing a League and Cup double. He announced his retirement from football in January 2019.

International

O'Donnell has been capped by the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team and the under-23s. ^[16]

Managerial career

After retiring in January 2019, O'Donnell was immediately hired as a Senior Opposition Analyst & Scout at Dundalk. ^[17] O'Donnell was announced as the head coach of St Patrick's Athletic on a two-year contract on 31 August 2019, his first job in senior management, following the resignation of Harry Kenny. ^[18] He brought in his former Arsenal and Falkirk teammate Pat Cregg as his assistant. ^[19] His first game in management came on 6 September 2019 as his Pat's side came from behind to win 2−1 away to Finn Harps thanks to goals from Darragh Markey and substitute Rhys McCabe. ^[20] On 28 November 2021, O'Donnell led his side to victory in the 2021 FAI Cup Final, defeating rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record FAI Cup Final crowd of 37,126 at the Aviva Stadium. ^[21] O'Donnell left the club in controversial circumstances in December 2021, returning to his former club Dundalk as head coach on a 2-year contract. ^[22] A High Court action was filed against him by the holding company behind Pat's. ^[23] On 8 April 2024, O'Donnell was sacked by Dundalk, with his side bottom of the table and without a win from their first 8 games of the season, having scored just 3 goals and conceding 15 in the process. ^{[24] [25]} On 8 May 2024, O'Donnell was announced as assistant manager of Bohemians, under recently appointed manager Alan Reynolds. ^[26]

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Professional appearances in playing career. ^[27]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	2002–03	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 [a]	0	—		0	0
	2003–04		0	0	0	0	0	0	0 [a]	0	—		0	0
	2004–05		0	0	0	0	0	0	0 [a]	0	—		0	0
	Arsenal Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Falkirk	2005–06	Scottish Premier League	24	1	0	0	1	0	—		—		25	1
	2006–07		22	2	1	0	3	0	—		—		26	2
	Falkirk Total		46	3	1	0	4	0	—		—		51	3
Bohemians	2007	LOI Premier Division	12	4	1	0	1	0	—		—		14	4
	2008		26	0	4	0	1	0	4 [b]	1	—		35	1
	Bohemians Total		38	4	5	0	2	0	4	1	—		49	5
Cork City	2009	LOI Premier Division	20	0	1	0	0	0	—		1 [c]	0	22	0
Galway United	2010	LOI Premier Division	26	8	4	0	0	0	—		1 [d]	0	31	8
Shamrock Rovers	2011	LOI Premier Division	12	2	3	0	0	0	9 [e]	1	4 [f]	1	28	4
	2012		4	0	1	1	1	0	1 [a]	0	4 [g]	0	11	1
	Shamrock Rovers Total		16	2	4	1	1	0	10	1	8	1	39	5
Dundalk	2013	LOI Premier Division	22	3	3	1	0	0	—		2 [h]	0	28	4
	2014		12	2	0	0	0	0	0 [i]	0	5 [j]	1	17	3
	2015		24	2	2	0	1	0	2 [a]	0	2 [h]	1	31	3
	2016		23	1	2	0	0	0	9 [k]	0	1 [l]	0	35	1
	2017		20	1	5	1	3	0	1 [a]	0	2 [m]	0	31	2
	2018		10	1	0	0	1	0	0 [i]	0	0	0	11	1
	Dundalk Total		111	10	12	2	5	0	12	0	12	2	152	14
Career Total			257	27	27	3	12	0	26	2	22	3	344	35

1. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
2. Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
3. Appearances in Setanta Sports Cup
4. Appearances in League of Ireland promotion/relegation playoff
5. 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, 7 appearances & 1 goal in the UEFA Europa League
6. 2 appearances & 1 goal in the Leinster Senior Cup, 2 appearances in the Setanta Sports Cup
7. 3 appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup, 1 appearance in the Setanta Sports Cup
8. Appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup
9. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
10. 1 appearance in the Leinster Senior Cup, 4 appearances & 1 goal in the Setanta Sports Cup
11. 5 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa League
12. Appearances in the President of Ireland's Cup
13. 1 appearances in the President of Ireland's Cup, 1 appearance in the Leinster Senior Cup

Managerial statistics

Competitive games only – correct as of 5 April 2024.

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
St Patrick's Athletic	31 August 2019	11 December 2021	70	33	17	20	97	72	+25	047.14
Dundalk	11 December 2021	8 April 2024	111	54	29	28	169	122	+47	048.65
Total			181	87	46	48	266	194	+72	048.07

Honours

Playing career

Club

Bohemians

• League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 2008
• FAI Cup (1): 2008

Shamrock Rovers

• League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 2011
• Setanta Sports Cup (1): 2011

Dundalk

• League of Ireland Premier Division (4): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
• FAI Cup (2): 2015, 2018
• EA Sports Cup (2): 2014, 2017
• Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2014–15

Individual

• PFAI Team of the Year (2): 2015, ^[28] 2016 ^[29]

Managerial career

St Patrick's Athletic

• FAI Cup (1): 2021
• Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2019

References

1. Callan, Ciaran. "DFCTV The Big Interview Stephen O'Donnell Big". Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2016– via YouTube.
2. "Arsenal reserve team squad 2004/2005". Arseweb. arseweb.com. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
3. Murphy, Dylan. "The Weekly Read: 'Irish clubs should be beyond just getting a glamour tie' – Dundalk FC captain O'Donnell". Irish Independent. independent.ie. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
4. "Falkirk swoop for Arsenal youth". BBC Sport. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
5. "O'Donnell and Lambers heading out". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
6. "Rhyl 2–4 Bohemians (agg 3–9)". RTÉ Sport. 29 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
7. McQueen, Graeme (19 January 2009). "O'Donnell & Burns reject new Bohs deals". Extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
8. ^[ dead link ]
9. "Hoops scoop top young talent". Shamrockrovers.ie. 9 January 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
10. Farrelly, Aidan (23 February 2011). "Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers". Extratime.ie. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
11. "Partizan Belgrade 1:2 Rovers". Shamrockrovers.ie. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
12. "Shamrock Rovers 0-3 Rubin Kazan". RTÉ Sport. 15 September 2011.
13. "O'Donnell is ruled out for season". RTÉ.ie. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
14. "Dundalk are Champions". Football Association of Ireland. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
15. "Comeback king Stephen O'Donnell fires Dundalk to its first title in 19 years". independent.ie. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
16. "Under-23s off to great start". Football Association of Ireland. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
    "Heartache as stoppage time winner defeats U23s". Football Association of Ireland. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
    "Late comeback by U23s not enough against England". Football Association of Ireland. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
17. O'DONNELL ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT, dundalkfc.com, 10 January 2019
18. "Club Announcement: O'Donnell Joins Saints". stpatsfc.com.
19. @stpatsfc (1 September 2019). "We're delighted to confirm to appointment of former Saints player Patrick Cregg as Stephen O'Donnell's Assistant He…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
20. "Result: Harps 1 – Saints 2". stpatsfc.com.
21. Leahy, Ed (28 November 2021). "Benson spot on as Saints beat Bohs to lift the FAI Cup". RTÉ Sport.
22. "'I can sleep easy at night' – Stephen O'Donnell defends Dundalk switch". Irish Independent.
23. "St Pat's accuse ex-boss of foul play in fight for legal damages". The Sunday Times. 26 December 2021.
24. "Dundalk part company with head coach Stephen O'Donnell after poor run of results". Irish Independent. 8 April 2024.
25. "Gartland: O'Donnell's Pat's exit gamble hasn't paid off". 8 April 2024 – via www.rte.ie.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
26. Horgan, Andrew (8 May 2024). "Stephen O'Donnell appointed Bohemians assistant manager". Irish Examiner.
27. "Republic of Ireland – S.O'Donnell". Ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
28. "Seven Dundalk stars in PFAI Team of the Year". RTÉ Sport. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
29. "Dundalk and Cork dominate PFAI team of the year". RTÉ Sport. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.

External links

• FAI Stats Portal Profile