Alan O'Brien (born 20 February 1985) is a former

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 last played for

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates mos ...

. O'Brien, who played as a winger, represented 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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

at full international level five times, all while he was on the books of

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

Club career

Newcastle United

O'Brien played for

Cabinteely Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. Geography Cabinteely lies around the crossroads of Johnstown Road / Brennanstown Road and the Old Bray Road, and on either side of th ...

and St Josephs at youth level in Ireland before signing for

.Injury blow for O'Brien

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, 23 July 2004. He played in the under–17 national championship winning team who beat

Manchester United 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 City of Salford, Salford to ...

5–2 in a final played over two legs at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...

and

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

. He then featured regularly for the Newcastle

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

during the 2003/04 season, but he suffered a broken leg in a

training ground A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important t ...

accident in July 2004. O'Brien progressed in the next year to the extent that he was in the first team squad, but he was sent on loan to

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 Park ...

during October 2005. He scored within 10 minutes of his debut for Carlisle, but the loan spell was cut short due to injury. O'Brien made his Newcastle first team debut on 7 January 2006 in a

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 competit ...

tie against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional 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 play in a blue and y ...

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and

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 2 ...

were interested in signing O'Brien, but

Glenn Roeder Glenn Victor Roeder (13 December 1955 – 28 February 2021) was an English professional football player and manager. As a player, Roeder played as a defender for Arsenal, Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Notts County, Newcastle United, Wat ...

kept O'Brien due to the demands on a small Newcastle squad. O'Brien eventually made his first full

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 ...

appearance on 20 January 2007 against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

. He played the full 90 minutes against West Ham, but never made another first team start.Buckingham, Mark
Magpies winger to join Hibs

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, 25 June 2007.

Hibernian

On 25 June 2007, O'Brien agreed to sign a three-year contract with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

side Hibernian after the expiry of his contract with Newcastle United, who were entitled to compensation. O'Brien initially struggled to win a place in the Hibernian team, and he turned down a loan move to

Football 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 Lea ...

side

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

in January 2008. He played more regularly for Hibs during the 2008–09 season, although he missed two months due to a knee injury. He was released by the club on 1 July 2009 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

Swindon Town

Soon after his release by Hibernian, O'Brien signed for

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional 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 the County Ground sin ...

. He made his debut for Swindon on the opening day of the 2009–10 season in a 5–0 defeat away at Gillingham. O'Brien managed four appearances for Swindon before suffering a hamstring injury in August. O'Brien made just one substitute appearance under the management of

Paul Hart Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender. The son of Johnny Hart, who played for and managed Manchester City, an ...

, who decided to release O'Brien from his contract in April 2011. O'Brien made a total of 40 appearances, the majority as a substitute, in two seasons for Swindon.

Yeovil Town

O'Brien signed for Yeovil Town on 12 August 2011. He was released from his contract by Yeovil on 4 January 2012, along with

Kerrea Gilbert Kerrea Kuche Gilbert (; born 28 February 1987) is an English footballer. Career Arsenal Gilbert was born in Willesden, London, and until the 2005–06 season he usually played in Arsenal's youth and reserve teams. However, after injuries to ...

, Flavien Belson and Abdulai Bell-Baggie.

Gateshead

O'Brien signed for Gateshead on 9 February 2012. He made his debut on 18 February 2012 in a 2–1 defeat against

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

. O'Brien was released by Gateshead at the end of the season.

Hungerford Town

In the summer of 2012, O'Brien joined Hungerford Town; he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 away win at

Bridgwater Town Bridgwater United Football Club is a football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the and play at Fairfax Park. History Bridgwater Association Football Club were es ...

on 18 August 2012.

Wealdstone

O'Brien signed for

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side Wealdstone FC in September 2017. His season was affected by a succession of injuries and, by July 2018, decided to retire from football.

International career

O'Brien was capped by Ireland at several youth levels. After impressing during the pre-season of 2006 he received a call up to the senior squad for the first time, where he joined up with then Newcastle teammates

Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his pro ...

Stephen Carr Stephen Carr (born 29 August 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played for and captained Birmingham City from 2009 to 2013. He previously played for Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle Un ...

, and

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he nev ...

. He came on as a second-half substitute for the friendly match against

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to gain his first full international cap.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Alan 1985 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland men's B international footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Men's association football wingers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Newcastle United F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Hungerford Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players National League (English football) players Scottish Premier League players