Richard Joseph Kennedy (born 28 August 1978) is an Irish retired semi-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 played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He began his career in the youth system at Crystal Palace and made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut in 1999 while at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. Kennedy won three

League of Wales The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...

and

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

doubles with

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

between 2001 and 2003 and played in the Champions League with the club. He retired in 2006 and is now a personal trainer and a fitness coach at Clonmel Town.

Club career

Crystal Palace

Kennedy began his career in the youth system at Crystal Palace. He suffered from homesickness during the 1995–96 season, but slowly earned a regular place in the youth team. Kennedy reached the final of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

and won the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup with the youth team during the 1996–97 season. He signed his first professional contract in March 1997 and was released at the end of the 1997–98 season, having failed to make a first team appearance. A double

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...

operation kept Kennedy out for three months during the 1998 off-season and hindered his chances of finding a new club for the 1998–99 season.

Wycombe Wanderers

Kennedy signed for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

in October 1998. He failed to make a first team appearance for the club and instead played for the reserves. He departed

Adams Park Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London Was ...

in July 1999.

Brentford

Kennedy signed for Second Division club

on a two-year contract on a free transfer in July 1999. He received his first call into the first team squad for a league match versus

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

on 28 September 1999 and made his professional debut when he replaced Andy Scott after 85 minutes of the 2–1 victory. He made regular appearances during January 2000, but his season ended after he suffered a torn cartilage during a 2–0 home defeat by

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

on 1 April. He made 10 appearances during the 1999–00 season. Kennedy was injured and out of favour under new manager Ray Lewington during the 2000–01 season and made just two appearances before being released on 20 March 2001. He made just 12 appearances during 18 months at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

Crawley Town

Kennedy joined Southern League Premier Division club Crawley Town on a permanent contract in March 2001. He had previously had a spell on loan at the club during the 1999–00 season. He made his only appearance for the club in a 3–0 Southern League Cup win over St Leonards on 27 March and departed two days later. Kennedy subsequently went on trial at several league clubs, but failed to earn a contract.

Barry Town

Kennedy signed for

high fliers

on 29 March 2001 and scored on his debut in a 7–1 win over

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. He made seven appearances and scored one goal in what remained of the 2000–01 season as Barry achieved the League of Wales and

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

. The title win saw Barry qualify for the Champions League for the 2001–02 season and Kennedy made his

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

debut when he replaced Kenny Brown after 76 minutes of a 2–0 first qualifying round win over Shamkir, which saw Barry progress to the second qualifying round 3–0 on

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

. He made 28 league appearances during the 2001–02 season and won his second double in succession. Kennedy made 29 league appearances and scored one goal on the way to his and Barry's third consecutive double in 2002–03. Financial problems forced the owners of the club to file for

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

early in the 2003–04 season and Kennedy departed in September 2003.

Forest Green Rovers

Kennedy joined

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

club Forest Green Rovers on 5 September 2003. He made 15 appearances for Forest Green and scored one goal before departing the club on 1 February 2004. Looking back on his time with Rovers, Kennedy said that "it was a long commute and with a close family bereavement, my heart really wasn't in it".

Return to Barry Town

Kennedy returned to ailing Barry Town in 2004 and made 73 league appearances and scored six league goals across his two spells with the Dragons.

Waterford United

Kennedy returned to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2004 to sign for hometown club Waterford United (then of the

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 ...

) for the 2004 season. His made five appearances before his departure in August 2004. Reflecting on his time with the club, he said "my form was mixed and I didn't really settle back home".

Carmarthen Town

Kennedy returned to the Welsh Premier League to sign for

Carmarthen Town Carmarthen Town Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Caerfyrddin) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen. The team play their home games at Richmond Park. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit ...

in August 2004. He had a successful 2004–05 season with the club, making 30 appearances, scoring one goal and winning the

Welsh League Cup The Cymru Premier League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh football organised by the Cymru Premier. The competition was established in 1992 and is considered to be the second-mos ...

. Kennedy made 17 appearances during the 2005–06 season, with the club finishing fourth in the league and as runners-up to

Haverfordwest County Haverfordwest County Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Sir Hwlffordd) is a Welsh semi-professional football team based in Haverfordwest, Wales. They currently play in the Cymru Premier, the top flight of Welsh football. The club w ...

in the West Wales Senior Cup. He retired from football after the season.

Personal trainer

Kennedy is a qualified personal trainer and is the owner of Fitness Freak Gym in Rathgormack, Ireland. During the 2013 off-season, Kennedy helped former Crystal Palace teammate and Republic of Ireland international

Stephen Hunt Stephen Hunt or Steven Hunt may refer to: Football *Stephen Hunt (footballer, born 1981), Republic of Ireland footballer *Stephen Hunt (footballer, born 1984), English footballer *Steve Hunt (footballer, born 1956), England, Coventry, Aston Villa ...

back to fitness after his release from

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

Fitness coach

During the 2013 off-season, Kennedy was named fitness coach at Tipperary Southern & District League Premier Division club Clonmel Town.

Honours

Crystal Palace * Southern Junior Floodlit Cup (1): 1996–97 Barry Town *

(2): 2000–01, 2001–02 * Welsh Premier League (1): 2002–03 *

(3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 Carmarthen Town *

(1): 2004–05

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Richard 1978 births Living people Association footballers from Waterford (city) Brentford F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players English Football League players Waterford F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Carmarthen Town A.F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players National League (English football) players League of Ireland players Southern Football League players Cymru Premier players Association footballers from County Waterford Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's association footballers