Stephen Paisley (born 28 July 1983) is a former Irish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. Paisley was a central defender.

Career

Early career

Paisley played schoolboy football for Dublin sides St. Mochta's and Cherry Orchard before joining English

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 ...

side

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in 1999.

Manchester City

Paisley joined Manchester City in 1999 and spent three and a half years with the club playing at both youth and reserve team level.

Longford Town

Stephen joined

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 ...

in 2003 after being released by Manchester City in the summer. In his first season at Longford Town he won an FAI Cup medal and in 2004 he won a cup double as Longford retained the FAI Cup and won the League of Ireland Cup.

St. Patrick's Athletic

In March 2007 Paisley abruptly departed Longford Town on the eve of the new season after he was declared a free agent and he subsequently signed for St. Patrick's Athletic. In his two seasons with the

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchicore railway works (b ...

club he finished a Premier Division runner-up and in all competitions made 56 appearances scoring 4 goals. On 22 November 2008 Paisley and seven other St Patrick's Athletic players were released by the club as the club's financial state deteriorated.

Sporting Fingal

Despite offers from Shamrock Rovers, Paisley signed for First Division club Sporting Fingal in January 2009. He was appointed club captain and in conjunction with the club and

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

he began a MSc in Finance and Capital Markets alongside his full-time football schedule. He achieved promotion and won the

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 ...

for a third time in his first season with the new League of Ireland entity. Paisley's spell at the club was hampered by injuries and he parted ways with Sporting Fingal in July 2010 as he accepted full-time employment in the financial services sector.

Shelbourne

Paisley made a swift return to League of Ireland football by signing for Shelbourne on 17 August 2010, reuniting with his former Longford Town manager

Alan Mathews Alan Mathews (born 27 June 1965) is a former Irish football player and manager. He is currently technical director at St Patrick's Athletic. Coaching career Following a stint as assistant at Shelbourne, Alan Mathews became Longford manage ...

at the

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

club. In 2011 Paisley was instrumental in the Shelbourne gaining promotion back to the Premier Division and their Cup progress. He was awarded man of the match in the

2011 FAI Cup Final The 2011 Ford FAI Cup Final was the 88th final of the FAI Cup, the oldest domestic football competition in Ireland. The match took place on 6 November 2011 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the second consecutive year. The two clubs contesting the 20 ...

and later won the League of Ireland 'Player of the Month' award for November.

Bohemians

On 16 January 2013 Paisley signed for

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 ...

for the upcoming

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

campaign. He made his league debut for the club against Sligo Rovers at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

on 29 March.Bohs-Sligo
/ref> In May of that year, Stephen left the club after only 4 league appearances due to work commitments.

International

Paisley has represented Ireland at U16, U18, U19, U20 and U21 level and has competed at an U19 FIFA European Championship and U20 FIFA World cup.

Honours

Longford Town *

(2): 2003,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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 ...

(1):

Sporting Fingal *

(1):

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 ...

Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award November 2011.

References

External links

Stephen Paisley's profile at www.shelbournefc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, Stephen 1983 births Living people Association football defenders Leinster Senior League (association football) players Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers League of Ireland players Longford Town F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Cherry Orchard F.C. players