Paul Laurence Michael Rooney (born 22 March 1997) is an Irish professional

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 plays as a defender. He is currently a free agent. He spent his early senior career in his native Ireland at

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 ...

and

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

before signing for the English club Millwall. He had a loan spell at

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

during the 2016–17 season and made a permanent switch to Colchester United in January 2018. He joined Bromley on a short-term loan deal in September 2018 and then

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

on another loan in November 2018. He was released by Colchester at the end of his contract in the summer of 2019.

Career

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Rooney came through the youth setup at

. He was a part of the team that won the national under-19 league in 2015 by beating

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 ...

3–2 in the final in Buncrana. His debut in senior football was on 22 September 2015, a 1–0 loss against Dundalk in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup at Richmond Park. Rooney went on to be an unused substitute in another nine games for Pats in the 2015 season. He signed for Dublin rivals

ahead of the

2016 League of Ireland The 2016 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 32nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 4 March 2016 and concluded on 28 October 2016; the relegation play-offs followed on 31 October and 4 November 2016. Th ...

season. He made two appearances for the club, a 4–3 win over Dundalk, and a 1–0 win over UCD, both in the Leinster Senior Cup. Rooney signed for English club Millwall in July 2016. He made his Millwall debut on 8 November 2016 in a 3–1 win away to Luton Town in the Football League Trophy. On 8 December 2016, Rooney signed a 28-day loan deal with National League club

. His loan was extended by a further 28 days on 6 January 2017. On 24 January 2018, Rooney signed for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Colchester United on a one-and-a-half-year deal. He was called up to the first-team squad for the first time ahead of Colchester's League Two game against Yeovil Town on 17 March. He was given squad number 46. On 4 September 2018, Rooney made his Colchester United debut starting in their 2–0 defeat by Southampton Under-21s in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. On 28 September 2018, Rooney joined National League side Bromley on loan in an initial month-long deal. He made his debut on 29 September in Bromley's 2–2 draw with FC Halifax Town. After his Bromley loan ended in November, Rooney joined

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

on loan on 30 November. He made his debut on 1 December in a 3–2 defeat to Oxford City. His loan was extended until the end of the season on 4 January 2019. On 14 May 2019, it was announced Rooney was to leave Colchester United at the end of his contract. In June 2019, he signed for

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

. Following's Dover's decision to not play any more matches in the 2020–21 season, made in late January, and subsequent null and voiding of all results, on 5 May 2021 it was announced that Rooney was out of contract and had left the club. On 22 May 2021, Rooney joined National League South side Havant & Waterlooville. On 25 May 2023, Rooney joined

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Paul 1997 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Dartford F.C. players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players Men's association football defenders Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Association footballers from Dublin (city)