Alan O'Brien (born 20 February 1985) is an Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played for

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

. O'Brien, who played as a winger, represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at full international level five times, all while he was on the books of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Club career

Newcastle United

O'Brien played for

Cabinteely Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Cabinteely was 15,864 as of the 2022 census. Geography Cabinteely lies around t ...

and St Josephs at youth level in Ireland before signing for

.Injury blow for O'Brien

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, 23 July 2004. He played in the under–17 national championship winning team who beat

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

5–2 in a final played over two legs at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

and

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

. He then featured regularly for the Newcastle

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

during the 2003/04 season, but he suffered a broken leg in a

training ground A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important ...

accident in July 2004. O'Brien progressed in the next year to the extent that he was in the first team squad, but he was sent on loan to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

during October 2005. He scored within 10 minutes of his debut for Carlisle, but the loan spell was cut short due to injury. O'Brien made his Newcastle first team debut on 7 January 2006 in a

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

and

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

were interested in signing O'Brien, but

Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Watf ...

kept O'Brien due to the demands on a small Newcastle squad. O'Brien eventually made his first full

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

appearance on 20 January 2007 against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He played the full 90 minutes against West Ham, but never made another first team start.Buckingham, Mark
Magpies winger to join Hibs

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, 25 June 2007.

Hibernian

On 25 June 2007, O'Brien agreed to sign a three-year contract with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side Hibernian after the expiry of his contract with Newcastle United, who were entitled to compensation. O'Brien initially struggled to win a place in the Hibernian team, and he turned down a loan move to

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

side

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

in January 2008. He played more regularly for Hibs during the 2008–09 season, although he missed two months due to a knee injury. He was released by the club on 1 July 2009 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

Swindon Town

Soon after his release by Hibernian, O'Brien signed for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. He made his debut for Swindon on the opening day of the 2009–10 season in a 5–0 defeat away at Gillingham. O'Brien managed four appearances for Swindon before suffering a hamstring injury in August. O'Brien made just one substitute appearance under the management of

Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender. Hart was most recently assistant manager to Nathan Jones at Charlton ...

, who decided to release O'Brien from his contract in April 2011. O'Brien made a total of 40 appearances, the majority as a substitute, in two seasons for Swindon.

Yeovil Town

O'Brien signed for Yeovil Town on 12 August 2011. He was released from his contract by Yeovil on 4 January 2012, along with Kerrea Gilbert,

Flavien Belson Flavien Belson Bengaber (born 22 February 1987) is a French former professional international footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. At international level, he represented Guadeloupe. Career Belson was born in Sainte-Adresse. He prev ...

and Abdulai Bell-Baggie.

Gateshead

O'Brien signed for

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

on 9 February 2012. He made his debut on 18 February 2012 in a 2–1 defeat against

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

. O'Brien was released by Gateshead at the end of the season.

Hungerford Town

In the summer of 2012, O'Brien joined Hungerford Town; he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 away win at Bridgwater Town on 18 August 2012.

Wealdstone

O'Brien signed for

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

Wealdstone FC Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth level ...

in September 2017. His season was affected by a succession of injuries and, by July 2018, decided to retire from football.

International career

O'Brien was capped by Ireland at several youth levels. After impressing during the pre-season of 2006 he received a call up to the senior squad for the first time, where he joined up with then Newcastle teammates

Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player. He is the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C., Shelbourne. He began his pro ...

Stephen Carr Stephen Carr (born 29 August 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right-back, sometimes deputising at left-back or centre back. He started his career with Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur in 1993 and remained wi ...

, and

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish goalkeepers of all time ...

. He came on as a second-half substitute for the friendly match against

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to gain his first full international cap.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Alan 1985 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Newcastle United F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Hungerford Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Premier League players 21st-century Irish sportsmen