Karl Sheppard (born 14 February 1991), 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 le ...

who played for

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 ...

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

(over two spells),

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, Accrington Stanley, Cork City and Shelbourne.

Club career

Academy

Sheppard initially played for Portmarnock AFC and Shelbourne before moving to the Everton Academy.

Galway United

In February 2010 Sheppard signed for

, and he made his League of Ireland debut at Richmond Park on the opening day of the

2010 League of Ireland The 2010 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 26th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions while Bohemians finished as runners-up. Teams Overview Airtricit ...

season. His goal scoring in April earned him the Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award. In his last game for the club he scored the winner in the Premier Division promotion/relegation play-off.

Shamrock Rovers

In January 2011, Sheppard signed for the League of Ireland Champions. He picked up his first senior trophy, playing all five games and scoring three goals en route to winning the

2011 Setanta Sports Cup The 2011 Setanta Sports Cup was the sixth staging of the all Ireland association football competition. It commenced on 14 February 2011 with the final played on 14 May 2011. The draw for the 2011 competition was made at Belfast City Hall on 13 ...

. In August 2011, Sheppard helped Shamrock Rovers make history in becoming the first ever League of Ireland team to reach the group stages of a major European club competition when they qualified for the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League group stage. Sheppard earned the penalty late in extra time that saw Rovers win through 3–2 on aggregate away to

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

in the 2011 Europa League Playoff Round. In October he scored at PAOK in the Europa League group stage. He scored a total of 15 goals in 35 appearances in the 2011 Shamrock Rovers F.C. season.

Reading

On 12 January 2012, Sheppard announced via Twitter that he had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at

, leaving Shamrock Rovers on a free transfer. Reading reportedly beat off interest from other Championship clubs including

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and Peterborough United.

Accrington Stanley Loan

On 4 August 2012, Reading announced that Sheppard was joining Accrington Stanley on a six-month loan deal. He made his debut in their 1–0 League Cup defeat against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on 11 August and then scored the winner against Southend United a week later, his first goal in English football. He returned to Reading on 3 January 2013 having not featured for Accrington since mid October.

Return to Shamrock Rovers

On 31 January 2013, he re-joined Shamrock Rovers on a six-month loan deal. He made his return to the team in a 1–0 defeat to

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

on 11 February in the

Setanta Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ir ...

, but had to wait nearly three months for his first goal, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

on 3 May. Days before his original spell was due to expire, Sheppard's loan was extended until the end of the

2013 League of Ireland The 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 29th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. St. Patrick's Athletic were champions, winning their eighth top level League of Ireland title. Dundalk f ...

season. In December 2013 Sheppard signed a one-year contract with Shamrock Rovers for the 2014 season after leaving Reading without making an appearance.

Cork City

On 1 November 2014, Cork City announced the signing of Karl Sheppard from

. Sheppard scored 2 goals in his first 2 games for the Leesiders. In August 2015, it was announced that Sheppard had signed a 2-year contract to keep him at City, and he went on to score 13 goals in the 2015 season. A member of the FAI Cup and Premier Division double winning squad in 2017, by the start of the 2018 season Sheppard had scored 30 goals from 92 league appearances across 3 seasons (2015/2016/2017) with Cork City.

Shelbourne

On 6 November 2019 Shelbourne announced the signing of Sheppard following his departure from Cork City. The season ended in disappointment for Sheppard and Shelbourne, as the club were relegated back to the

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 ...

while Sheppard failed to score in his 13 appearances in all competitions over the season. On the 17th January 2021, Sheppard announced his retirement from the game aged just 29, with

Arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

struggles cited as his reason for the decision.

International career

While a Shelbourne player Sheppard scored the fifth goal in Republic of Ireland U16's 5–2 win over Japan at the Montaigu Tournament in 2007. Sheppard also represented his country at U17 level where he scored after coming on as a substitute at

Terryland Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galway ...

in a 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round. In the elite phase of the

2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (Elite Round) was the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The 28 teams that advanced from the qualifying round were distributed into seven gr ...

Sheppard played in all three games in the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

as Ireland narrowly missed out on qualification. Sheppard made a substitute appearance for the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

in a 7–1 defeat to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the first game to be played at the Aviva Stadium in August 2010. In September 2010 he was called up to the

Republic of Ireland under-21 national football team The Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of the Republic of Ireland and is controlled by the Football Association of Ireland. The team played its first match in 1978 and has competed in the U ...

for the final

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

qualifier in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

but did not make an appearance. Sheppard made his U21 debut in November 2011 in a

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

win over Liechtenstein.

Career statistics

''Professional appearances updated 17 January 2021.''

Honours

;Shamrock Rovers * LOI Premier Division:

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 ...

Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of I ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

;Cork City * LOI Premier Division:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

FAI President's Cup The President of Ireland's Cup, also known simply as the President's Cup, is an association football super cup featuring clubs from the Republic of Ireland football league system. It is a one-off match between the winners of the previous season' ...

(3):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

(2): 2016, 2017 *Fingal Sportsman of the year: 2017

References

External links

Karl Sheppard profile
at Reading F.C. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Karl 1991 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers League of Ireland XI players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in England Men's association football forwards Galway United F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Reading F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players A Championship players