Stephen Edward O'Halloran (born 29 November 1987) is an Irish former

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 retired from football in May 2022. He finished his playing career as a defender for

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

in the NLS. He began his professional career in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and has earned two full international caps for 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 ...

. Following two serious

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

injuries during his time at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

he left the club without making a first team appearance. O'Halloran went on to play professional football with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

in 2010–11 and

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

in 2011–12 before moving into semi-professional football in 2012. O'Halloran has gone on to play for

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

, Salford City and

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Founded ...

during his NLS career. He is also a qualified physiotherapist having graduated from the

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

in 2016.

Club career

Aston Villa

O'Halloran was born in

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

and played for local side Springfield A.F.C., before joining

. He broke into the Villa squad for their 2006–07 pre-season friendlies but did not make any first team appearances. In late 2007, O'Halloran began talks over a new long-term contract; it was later confirmed on 31 January 2008, when he signed a new contract with Aston Villa, keeping him at the club until 2009. However, at the beginning of the 2009–10 season O'Halloran was omitted from the press release announcing Villa's

squad number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

s. O'Halloran's number 29 shirt was given to Welsh international defender James Collins upon his signing for the club. O'Halloran returned for the reserves, in the national play-off final against Manchester United. Despite never making an appearance, O'Halloran credited O'Neill for standing by him when he was suffering from injury.

Loans

O'Halloran was loaned out to

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

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 2006. After appearing as an un-used substitute for four matches, O'Halloran made his Wycombe Wanderers debut, making his first start, in a 2–0 loss against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

on 25 November 2006. After making ten appearances for the club, O'Halloran's loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers was extended until 20 January 2007. A week after extending his loan, O'Halloran then played a pivotal role in guiding them to the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

s of the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. However, his loan spell ran out before the second-leg, and Wycombe eventually lost 5–1 to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. After failing to make a first team appearance under

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playi ...

in the 2007–08 season, he was loaned out to

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on 19 January 2008 until February 2008. He made his Southampton debut on 29 January 2008, coming on as a substitute for

Grégory Vignal Grégory Vignal (born 19 July 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. A left back, Vignal played in the top division in five countries – England, France, Spain, Scotland and Greece – and in the second tier in a six ...

in the 65th minute, in a 1–0 loss against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

. However, after being on the substitute bench for six matches, O'Halloran returned to his parent club. On 28 February 2008, he signed for

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

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

on an initial one-month loan deal. In the

warm up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

for what would have been his debut for Leeds against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

at the County Ground, he suffered a serious

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

injury which kept him out for up to a year. He was replaced in the starting line-up by

Frazer Richardson Frazer Richardson (born 29 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer. Richardson began his career with Leeds United where he spent nine years making 186 appearances only interrupted by two loan spells at Stoke City in 2003. He ...

. After suffering the injury he returned to Aston Villa for treatment. After returning from the loan spell at Leeds United, O'Halloran revealed he had a conversation his then teammate

Patrik Berger Patrik Berger (; born 10 November 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career in his own country with Slavia Prague and spent a season in Germany playing for Borussia Dortmund. He moved to ...

over injury. On 5 November 2008, O'Halloran signed for newly promoted

side

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

on an initial three-month loan deal as competition to

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

-born left back

Federico Bessone Federico Bessone Luna (born 23 January 1984), also known as Fede Bessone, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for IC d'Escaldes as a left back. Career Early career Born in Córdoba, Bessone spent four years as a youth player ...

. The 21-year-old was signed to fill the gap left by fellow Irish defender Marcos Painter, who was out for the majority of the season through injury. O'Halloran made his Swansea City debut, where he made his first start, in a 2–2 draw against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

on 9 December 2008. However, O'Halloran was the victim of yet another

injury in his spell at Swansea, which caused him to terminate his loan on 25 December 2008. O'Halloran did not rule out a future spell at Swansea, claiming that he "may return one day to have another crack".

Coventry City

O'Halloran signed a one-year deal with

on 23 June 2010 and was new manager

Aidy Boothroyd Adrian Neil Boothroyd (born 8 February 1971) is an English former footballer who is currently the manager of Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. At club level, he was manager of Watford from 2005 to 2008. During his time with Watford, he was r ...

's second signing of the close season. Upon joining the club, O'Halloran stated he could one day play in the

. O'Halloran made his Coventry City debut, coming on as a substitute, in the pre-season friendly against VF Gaflenz on 10 July 2010, which saw Coventry City won 2–0. However, a week later, O'Halloran suffered a stiff back during a pre-season friendly match against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

and missed at the start of the season. After recovering to full fitness, O'Halloran remained on the sidelines until on 29 December 2010, where he made his Coventry City debut, coming on as a substitute for Richard Woods in the 76th minute, in a 1–0 win over Queen Park Rangers. After the match, O'Halloran said he was glad to make his return to the pitch. O'Halloran was given a first team run in, where he played through January and February. However, O'Halloran later came under criticism when the team conceded two late goals in two matches against Swansea City and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. O'Halloran's form began to falter in the next game on 5 March 2011 when Coventry City lose 4–1 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 ...

. As a result, O'Halloran lost his first team place in the left-back by

Chris Hussey Christopher Ian Hussey (born 2 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Stockport County. Hussey spent his youth with Brentford and Woking, before earning a professional contract with AFC Wimbl ...

and was on the substitute bench for remaining games towards the end of the season. After making eleven appearances in his first season at Coventry City, O'Halloran was released after the club decided against offering him a new contract.

Carlisle United

On 24 June 2011, following a trial at the club, O'Halloran signed a one-year deal with

, the contract being officially signed on 1 August 2011. O'Halloran said he joined the club to get regular first team football and was given number 29 jersey. After appearing in the first four matches as an unused substitute, O'Halloran made his Carlisle United debut, in a 2–1 loss against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

. After being sidelined for two matches, O'Halloran remained on the substitute bench until he sustained a cartilage injury in his knee, requiring surgery. After two months on the sidelines, O'Halloran made his return to training in January. O'Halloran struggled to regain his first team place and made only three appearances before being released at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Nuneaton Town

After a brief trial, O'Halloran signed a one-year deal with

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

team

. O'Halloran made his Nuneaton Town debut in the opening game of the season, where he played at left back for 90 minutes in a 5–4 loss against

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

. O'Halloran then played in his first match in midfield on 10 November 2012, in a 1–0 win over

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. O'Halloran went on to make thirty-seven appearances, where he played in defence and midfield. At the end of the 2012–13 season, O'Halloran was released by the club.

Stockport County

After leaving Nuneaton Town, O'Halloran joined Stockport Country on 13 June 2013. O'Halloran finished his first season at Stockport County on a high note, resulting him signing a new contract. After the end of the 2014–15 season, O'Halloran left Stockport County, ending his two years at the club.

Salford City

In May 2015, O'Halloran signed for Salford City. O'Halloran made his Salford City debut in the opening game of the season, in a 0–0 draw against

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

. Having become a regular in the first team, O'Halloran scored his first Salford City goal in the second round of FA Cup, in a 1–1 draw against

on 3 December 2015. O'Halloran later scored the equaliser in a 3–2 win over

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

, to help the club reach promotion to National League North.

Stockport County

In June 2017, O'Halloran rejoined Stockport Country, signing a one-year contract ahead of the start of the National League North season. O'Halloran played 39 league and cup matches on his return to County and helped the team to the playoffs. Stockport Country lost in the playoffs 1–0 to

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

F.C. United of Manchester

On 3 June 2018, O'Halloran joined

. O'Halloran made 45 appearances for the club in a season in which the club suffered its first relegation.

Stalybridge Celtic

On 6 June 2019, O'Halloran signed a one-year contract with

in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. He was named club captain by manager

Simon Haworth Simon Owen Haworth (born 30 March 1977) is a Welsh former footballer who played as a striker. He won five caps for the Wales national football team during his career. He was since moved into football club management. Club career Born in Cardif ...

at the start of the season. O’Halloran signed a new deal to stay with

ahead of the 2020–21 season as a player/coach. On 5 May 2021, O’Halloran renewed his contract with

as player/coach for the 2021–22 season. O’Halloran was appointed to a new role as player/assistant manager for Stalybridge Celtic on 14 September 2021, beginning his new role as assistant to Simon Haworth in Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Scarborough.

International career

On 16 May 2007, O'Halloran was named in

Steve Staunton Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer. He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...

squad and played in the friendlies against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, despite not having played a single first team game for Aston Villa. O'Halloran also represented his country at U15, U16, U17 and U21 level. He won the FAI Under 21 player of the year in 2008.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Republic of Ireland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalloran, Stephen 1987 births Living people Association footballers from County Cork Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Aston Villa F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in England Southampton F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Stockport County F.C. players Salford City F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Association football physiotherapists Alumni of the University of Salford F.C. United of Manchester players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers