Ronan Finn (born 21 December 1987) 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

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 ...

for

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 ...

in the League of Ireland. He has also played for UCD,

Sporting Fingal Sporting Fingal Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fine Gall Spórtúil) was an Irish association football club based in Fingal. Between 2008 and 2010, the club played three seasons in the League of Ireland. During their first two seasons they pl ...

and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. Having made over 50 appearances in European competition, Finn competed in the group stages of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

with both Shamrock Rovers (2011) and Dundalk (2016).

Club career

Finn began his youth career at Cambridge United, spending eight months with their youth team in 2004–05. Due to a requirement that he had to finish school in Ireland, he would fly from Dublin to Cambridge after school on Fridays, play a game on Saturday and fly straight back home. Finn scored on his

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 ...

debut in a 3–1 victory over

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. As the demands to fly over became more frequent from Cambridge United youth manager Ricky Duncan, Finn decided to end his time with the club to instead focus on his education.

UCD

Finn was signed by UCD in 2005 and went straight into the under-21 team. He was a member of the side that won a second straight Dr. Tony O'Neill Under-21 League Championship, scoring the winning goal in the final against Shelbourne. His impressive displays earned him a call-up to the first-team squad towards the end of the season. He made his League of Ireland debut for UCD in a 1–0 defeat against Longford Town in November 2005. He made his home debut the following week on 18 November against

, again as a substitute, and also scored his first senior goal in this fixture. Finn started the 2006 season back in the under-21s. He regularly began to make the match day squad from the beginning of June, making a couple of brief substitute appearances. However he got his chance to impress as he was handed his first senior start away to

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 ...

in August and was named the man-of-the-match in this game. He became a regular name on U.C.D. manager Pete Mahon's teamsheet for the remainder of the season. Finn made his

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 ...

debut in the third round against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and scored his first goals of the season in this game, scoring twice in a 3–1 win. His displays did not go unnoticed and he was nominated for the PFAI Young Player of the Year award and also won the UCD Supporters' New Player of the Year. Finn secured his place as a regular in centre midfield in 2007. He forged a partnership with fellow Irish under-21 international

Shane McFaul Shane Charles Alan McFaul (born 23 May 1986 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer. McFaul has played for over 11 clubs in 5 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North America, including UCD (over two spells), Sporting Fingal & ...

, helping UCD reach the semi-finals of both the League and FAI Cups. With the retirement of Tony McDonnell and the departure of Shane McFaul in 2008, Finn became one of the most experienced central midfielders at the club and formed a new partnership with Alan McNally in the centre. He began the 2008 season with good form in the opening games against

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 ...

and

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

. UCD struggled, however, as the season went on and were eventually relegated after finishing bottom of the Premier Division. Following relegation, UCD lost almost all of its first-team squad but Finn decided to remain to complete his degree in Sports Management at the university. Finn was handed the captaincy of this squad by

Martin Russell Martin Russell is an English recording engineer, record producer, composer, and musician. He has been a core member of the music group Afro Celt Sound System since the recording of the first album '' Volume 1: Sound Magic'' in mid-1995, and has ...

and led them to promotion and the 2009 First Division title. He was subsequently named the PFAI First Division Player of the Year for 2009.

Sporting Fingal

Finn departed UCD after five seasons to join

on 8 December 2009. He represented the club in the

2010–11 UEFA Europa League The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...

qualifying second round against Maritimo. On 10 February 2011 the directors of Sporting Fingal confirmed that the club withdrew its application for a licence from the FAI to participate in the 2011 Airtricity League season. This decision was taken after funding targets integral to the club's continued existence were not reached during the off-season. After their demise, Finn became a free agent.

Shamrock Rovers

Following the demise of

, Finn signed for

on a two-year deal in February 2011 He made his League debut for the club in the opening night win over Dundalk and helped them win the

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 ...

by beating Dundalk 2–0 in the final. In his first season at the club, Finn won 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 ...

and was also a member of the first Irish team to reach the group stage of European competition, as they went on to reach the

2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...

group stages.

Dundalk

In December 2014, Finn signed a two-year deal with Dundalk, linking up with his former boss at Shamrock Rovers, Stephen Kenny. He won the league and cup double at the club in 2015. Following the departure of

Richie Towell Richard Patrick Towell (born 17 July 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers. Towell started his career with Scottish club Celtic and made his debut in the ...

in December 2015, Finn was played in a more advanced position. His form in this role and 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 ...

against Longford Town on 9 April led to him being named the SWAI League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month for the first time in his career in April 2016. Finn played in all 6 of Dundalk's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

qualifying matches as they reached the play-off stage.

Shamrock Rovers return

In December 2016, Finn returned to

. On 31 March 2017, he scored his first league goal since his return to the club, in a 3–2 win against

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

at Tallaght Stadium.

International career

Finn was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the first time in early 2007, for the annual Madeira Cup tournament. He won his first cap when he came on as a half-time substitute against Madeira. In May 2010, Finn made his Republic of Ireland U23 debut against England C in the 2009–11 International Challenge Trophy game at the Waterford Regional Sports Centre.

Personal life

Finn has a degree in Sports Management from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

Honours

Club

UCD *

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 ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Shamrock Rovers *

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 ...

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 ...

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' ...

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 ...

Dundalk * League of Ireland Premier Division:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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 ...

* FAI Cup:

Individual

* Shamrock Rovers Player of the Year: 2012 * League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month: April 2016

References

External links

FAI Stats Portal ProfileProfile Page
at Shamrock Rovers {{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Ronan 1987 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Association footballers from Dublin (city) University College Dublin A.F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland men's under-23 international footballers