Neil Farrugia (born 19 May 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club

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 ...

. Born in France, he has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.

Club career

Youth career

Born in Paris, France to a French father and Irish mother, Farrugia moved to Dublin aged 7, where he played with St James' Athletic, St Joseph's Boys and Belvedere before moving to the youth academy of UCD in 2015. He attended secondary school in St Andrew's College in Blackrock, Dublin and was named the FAI Schools Player of the Year for 2016–17.

UCD

On 24 February 2017, Farrugia made his senior debut for UCD in the opening game of the

2017 League of Ireland First Division The 2017 League of Ireland First Division season is the 33rd season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 24 February 2017 and concludes on 7 October 2017. The 2017 season had no promotion/relegation play-off system like t ...

season, in a 1–0 win away to Cabinteely. He scored the first goal of his senior career on 13 July 2018 in a 3–0 win away to Wexford at Ferrycarrig Park. Farrugia was part of the team that won the

2018 League of Ireland First Division The 2018 League of Ireland First Division season was the 34th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began on 23 February 2018 and concluded on 22 September 2018. Contrary to the previous editions, this tournament had 10 team ...

title, gaining promotion to the

Premier Division Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

. His first ever Premier Division goal came on 25 February 2019, when he opened the scoring in an eventual 2–1 loss away to reigning champions Dundalk at Oriel Park. Farrugia went on trial with the Manchester City U23 side during the summer transfer window but opted to remain in Ireland to complete his degree in biomedical science at University College Dublin.

Shamrock Rovers

On 26 June 2019, it was announced that Farrugia had signed for

. On 3 November 2019, he came off the bench in the

2019 FAI Cup Final The 2019 FAI Cup Final, known as the 2019 Extra.ie FAI Cup Final for sponsorship reasons, was the final match of the 2019 FAI Cup, the national association football cup of the Republic of Ireland. The match took place on Sunday 3 November 2019 at ...

, as his side won the trophy after a penalty shootout win over Dundalk at the Aviva Stadium. He was part of the squad that won the

2020 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 14 February 2020 and concluded on 9 November 2020. The ...

, his first time winning the title. His first few years at the club were blighted with injuries, resulting in a large amount of fixtures being missed, with 17 appearances being the highest amount he made in a season up until 2022. After an impressive campaign in 2022 and continued good form in 2023, Farrugia's form saw him called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for a training camp in May 2023.

International career

Farrugia is eligible to play for France, Republic of Ireland, Spain and Malta, but opted for Ireland during his youth career and turned down approaches from Malta for an international callup. Farrugia represented both the Republic of Ireland U19 and Republic of Ireland U21 teams, scoring on his debut for the U21s in a 3–0 win over Luxembourg U21 at Tallaght Stadium on 24 March 2019. In May 2023, former U21 manager Stephen Kenny called him up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for the first time, for a training camp in Bristol, England, before putting him on standby for the June 2023 fixtures against Greece and

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Personal life

Farrugia completed a degree in biomedical science at University College Dublin, graduating in 2020.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;UCD * League of Ireland First Division (1):

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 ...

;Shamrock Rovers *

(4):

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

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 ...

(1):

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

President of Ireland'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 ...

(1):

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrugia, Neil 1999 births Living people Men's association football defenders University College Dublin A.F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Irish people of French descent Irish people of Spanish descent Irish people of Maltese descent People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin