Ronan Curtis (born 29 March 1996) 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 ...

who plays as a left-winger for the Republic of Ireland national team. Curtis started his career with Derry City in 2015, spending four seasons there and amassing 100 appearances and 24 goals. He agreed a deal with Portsmouth in May 2018 and joined the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

club for a fee believed to be approximately £100,000. In March 2019, he won his first senior honour, 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 ...

. He represented Ireland at under-21 level before making his senior debut in November 2018 in a 0–0 draw against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Club career

Derry City

Curtis moved to Derry City's academy in 2014, after playing for Kildrum Tigers and Swilly Rovers. He made his senior debut for the club on 8 May 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 home loss against Galway United. Curtis scored his first goal for Derry on 30 October 2015, netting his team's first in a 4–2 away loss against

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 ...

. On 25 November, he signed a two-year contract extension, and scored a brace in a 2–2 home draw against Shamrock Rovers on 27 September of the following year. On 19 February 2017, Curtis signed a new contract extension with the ''Candystripes''. He finished the campaign with eight goals in 32 appearances, and had a move to Swedish side

Östersunds FK Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund () or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional football club located in Östersund, Sweden and since 2022 play in the Swedish second tier, Superettan. The ...

cancelled in August after failing to agree personal terms. On 7 May 2018, amid high interest from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, Curtis scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 7–3 home routing of Shelbourne, taking his side to the semi-finals of the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

Portsmouth

On 22 May 2018,

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side Portsmouth agreed a deal to sign Curtis from Derry City, for a transfer fee in the region of £100,000 on a two-year contract. Curtis made his

English 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 Engl ...

debut at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

on 4 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–0 victory over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. A week later, he scored his first two goals in a 2–1 win at

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 ...

. On 31 March 2019, he won his first piece of silverware when Portsmouth won the

2018–19 EFL Trophy The 2018–19 EFL Trophy, known as the Checkatrade Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season in the history of EFL Trophy, the competition, a knock-out tournament for Football in England, English football clubs in EFL League One, League O ...

, defeating

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

5–4 on penalties following a 2–2 draw after extra time. On 20 August 2019, Curtis scored his first goal of the new season in a 3–3 home draw against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

with a header in the tenth minute. On 12 January 2021, Portsmouth announced that Curtis had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

ahead of his club's

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

Third round proper Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

game against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. The striker later spoke of the effect the illness had on his breathing, as well as his sleep pattern and dreaming.

International career

Although born in England, Curtis grew up in

St Johnston, County Donegal St Johnston, officially Saint Johnstown ( ga, Baile Suingean), is a village, townland, and an electoral division in County Donegal, Ireland. It is in the Laggan district of East Donegal on the left bank of the River Foyle. It is in the civil p ...

and has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-21 and senior level. On 7 September 2018, Curtis scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

in the UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying stage. Received the ROI under 21's player of the year 2018
Shane Duffy and Ronan Curtis pick up FAI Player of the Year Awards
On 9 September 2018, Curtis was called up to the senior Republic of Ireland squad for the friendly match against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

two days later, in which he was an unused substitute. He was again added to the Ireland squad on 14 October for a

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

encounter against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He made his full Ireland debut on 15 November 2018, coming on as a half-time substitute for

Callum O'Dowda Callum Joshua Ryan O'Dowda (born 23 April 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger (association football), left winger for EFL Championship club Cardiff City. and the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic o ...

in a goalless friendly against

at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...

Personal life

Curtis was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

but moved to County Donegal when he was ten. He is the godson of Chris Coleman, who played for and managed

. Curtis supported

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

while growing up, but also watched

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

games. Curtis's mother is from

Derry 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 ...

and his grandfather is from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, meaning Curtis was eligible to play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

until making his competitive Ireland debut against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

in November 2018. Curtis is the youngest of 11 siblings.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Portsmouth *

: 2018–19; runner-up: 2019–20

References

External links

*
Profile
at the Portsmouth F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Ronan 1996 births Living people Footballers from Greater London Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards League of Ireland players Kildrum Tigers F.C. players Swilly Rovers F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players English Football League players People from St Johnston, County Donegal Association footballers from County Donegal