Derek O'Brien (born 14 November 1979) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 le ...

Playing career

O'Brien is a left winger with plenty of speed and trickery. He was an integral part of

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

's first season back in the Premier Division in 2007. So much so that he was elected to the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year and he was subsequently voted

player of the year for 2007. He also won the Galway United Supporter's Trust (GUST) 2007 player of the year award. O'Brien was subject to interest from

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

who are believed to have offered him an excellent deal, however he opted to commit himself to the Tribesmen for another season at least. In July 2008 he signed for

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

from

. He stayed at Pats for the remainder of the season before returning to

in January 2009. He signed for

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

in February 2011. Following his release from Cork at the end of their 2011

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

winning season, O'Brien joined

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. He was a member of the

squad which won the 2012 First Division title. After leaving the Blues, he joined

Salthill Devon Salthill Devon Football Club is an Irish association football club originally based in Salthill, Galway. Their senior team currently plays in the Galway & District League. They have previously played in the Connacht Senior League, the A Champi ...

before the 2013 season. O'Brien spent the first half of the 2013 season at

before joining

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

in July 2013 for the remainder of the year.

Honours

Club

;Cork City *

(1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;Limerick *

(1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Munster Senior Cup (1): 2011-12

Individual

* PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year - 2007 * PFAI First Division Team of the Year - 2006

References

External links

Galway United official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Derek 1979 births Living people Association footballers from County Kerry Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Cork City F.C. players Galway United F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Longford Town F.C. players League of Ireland players Salthill Devon F.C. players Tralee Dynamos A.F.C. players Men's association football midfielders