James O'Shea (born 10 August 1988) 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 lea ...

who plays as an

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for club Brisbane Roar. While he is primarily an

, he can also operate as a winger and striker. O'Shea began his career with St Joseph's Boys AFC before moving on to play for Home Farm of the Leinster Senior League in 2005. He signed for Bray Wanderers after just two appearances for Home Farm and spent a year and a half with Bray. In 2008, O'Shea signed for Galway United, playing 60 games for the club in all competitions, and attracted a lot of interest from

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

and

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

teams. He subsequently joined

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in August 2009 for an undisclosed fee and made his Premier League debut shortly after against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. However, he found first-team opportunities hard to come by during his first season at Birmingham and was

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

ed out to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

in March 2010. O'Shea was loaned out again in October 2010, this time to League Two side

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

where he spent two months, and then to Port Vale in January 2011. He was released when his

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

expired at the end of the 2010–11 season and joined Milton Keynes Dons. He joined Chesterfield on loan in November 2012 and joined the club permanently two months later. He played for Chesterfield in the 2014 Football League Trophy final before helping them to win the League Two title in 2013–14. He was loaned out to Sheffield United in January 2017 and helped United to win the League One title in 2016–17. He signed with Bury in July 2017 and was named on the

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

as Bury secured promotion out of League Two at the end of the 2018–19 season. He moved to Australia in June 2019 to sign with A-League club Brisbane Roar. He was named in the PFA A-League Team of the Season in 2020–21 and 2022–23, and on the A-Leagues All Star in 2022.

Club career

Bray and Galway

O'Shea began his career at St Joseph's Boys, a

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

located in south

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that caters for players from the age of six up to 18 years old. Shortly after leaving St Joseph's, he signed for Home Farm of the Leinster Senior League in 2005, before joining Bray Wanderers a year later. O'Shea made his Bray debut in the club's 2–0 home defeat to Longford Town in September 2006 at the age of 18, coming on as a substitute in the second-half, and started his first match in a 6–0 loss to

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 win over Shamrock Rovers in October 2007, before signing for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

side Galway United in December 2007. O'Shea scored his first goal for Galway in a 2–2 home draw with Finn Harps in May 2008, and finished as Galway's top scorer during the 2008 season, scoring ten goals in all competitions. In November 2008, it was rumoured that a £400,000 deal had been agreed between Galway and English

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side Derby County, with the player expected to move when the

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

reopened in January 2009. O'Shea went on trial with the club in November 2008 and scored twice in a behind closed doors friendly against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in a match which an experienced Derby side won 5–2. However, when Derby

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Paul Jewell resigned the move was put on hold and then cancelled. Carlisle United manager

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said the club also came "within minutes" of signing O'Shea ahead of the 2009–10 season, but lost out after trying to sign the player for three months. In January 2009, O'Shea spent two weeks on trial with

but returned to Galway ahead of the club's league campaign. The 2009 season witnessed O'Shea score six goals in 23 appearances for Galway, as well as captaining the team throughout the campaign. His final game for the club was a 2–1 win over his former employers, Bray Wanderers, a game in which he scored the winner in injury time. In his last two games for Galway, O'Shea was watched by scouts from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Derby County, Birmingham City,

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, and

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respectively.

Birmingham City

On 10 August 2009, O'Shea signed a two-year

, with the option of a further two years, with Birmingham City of the

. The fee was undisclosed. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in Birmingham's opening match of the season, a 1–0 defeat at

. He started his first game for Birmingham nine days later, playing 45 minutes in the club's 2–1 League Cup win over

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He also featured in the following round, this time playing 63 minutes in Birmingham's 2–0 away loss at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

before being replaced by Lee Bowyer. It was to be O'Shea's last appearance of the season for Birmingham. In March 2010, O'Shea joined

for a month. He made his debut – both for the club and in the

– as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at home to Crystal Palace on 3 April. He started the next game, away at Plymouth Argyle, but made no more first-team appearances. Early in the 2010–11 season, Birmingham manager

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

attempted to find a Football League club for O'Shea to join on loan so that he could play regular football. In October, he had a trial with Scunthorpe United, during which he played for the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

in a game against Lincoln City reserves which ended 1–1. Scunthorpe manager Ian Baraclough said he "wanted to take a further look at O'Shea" ahead of a reserve game against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, but he did not feature in the match. Towards the end of October, McLeish expressed surprise and concern that no club had taken the player on loan: "I'm surprised nobody has come for him because I think he's a decent young player and it would be great to get him that league experience. Playing in reserve games every now and then is probably not the right thing for a young player with potential." On 26 October, O'Shea joined League Two club

on a one-month loan deal. He was assigned the number 22 shirt. Having scored in a reserve match against Ipswich Town the day after signing, O'Shea started in Stevenage's 0–0 home draw with Chesterfield on 30 October. After six appearances, four in the League and two in the FA Cup, O'Shea's loan was extended until 16 January 2011. He returned to Birmingham at the end of his loan spell, and a few days later, he went out on loan again, this time to League Two club Port Vale for one month. He scored his first goal in English football at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

, with a well taken strike against Rotherham United on 1 February. He made a total of five starts during his loan spell, before returning to Birmingham. Later in the season Vale's

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

Mark Grew attempted to re-sign O'Shea. However, the deal was reported to have fallen through because of the player's wages. After Birmingham's

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

from the Premier League, O'Shea was one of several players released when their contracts expired at the end of the season.

Milton Keynes Dons

In July 2011, O'Shea spent some weeks on trial at League One club Milton Keynes Dons, before impressing manager Karl Robinson enough to win a one-year contract with an option for a second year. He scored his first goal at Stadium mk on 20 August, converting a late penalty to make it a 6–2 victory over Chesterfield. His second goal for the club came in a 6–0 beating of non-League Nantwich Town in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He opened the scoring on 24 January 2012 for his third goal of the season, though home side Stevenage then came from behind to beat the Dons 4–2.

Chesterfield

In November 2012, O'Shea joined League Two club Chesterfield on loan until 5 January 2013. He scored on his debut, in a 2–0 win over former club Port Vale at Vale Park. After his loan spell expired, he left MK Dons by mutual consent and signed an 18-month contract with Chesterfield. He scored five goals in 19 games in the remainder of the 2012–13 season. He was named on the Football League Team of the Week after scoring two late goals to secure a 3–1 win at home to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

on 15 February 2014. The following month he played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in Chesterfield's 3–1 defeat to Peterborough United in the final of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

. He was included in the Football League Team of the Week for a second time that season after scoring a second-half brace to confirm the 2–0 win at Burton Albion that sealed an automatic promotion place. He scored a total of nine goals in 47 games as the "Spireites" won promotion as divisional champions in 2013–14 and dedicated the title success to a recently deceased friend. He scored seven goals in 41 League One games in the 2014–15 campaign to help Chesterfield to reach the

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

places, where they were beaten by Preston North End at the semi-final stage. He scored nine goals in 51 appearances in the 2015–16 season and was named on the Football League Team of the Week three times: firstly for his brace in a 2–0 win at Millwall on 29 August, secondly for his performance in a 3–2 win over

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on 9 January, and finally for scoring a goal and claiming two goals in a 3–0 win over Bury in the penultimate game of the season. He was named as EFL League One Player of the Month for November 2016 after scoring four goals and providing two assists, including a brace against Bristol Rovers that won him a place on the EFL Team of the Week. On 24 January 2017, O'Shea joined League One rivals Sheffield United on loan to the end of the 2016–17 season. He scored three goals in ten appearances to help the "Blades" win promotion as champions and was hopeful that manager Chris Wilder would sign him permanently in the summer; ironically his parent club, Chesterfield, were relegated in last place. He was released by Chesterfield upon his return to the Proact Stadium in May 2017.

Bury

O'Shea turned down a contract offer from Sheffield United and instead joined League One club Bury on a two-year contract in July 2017. He went straight into the starting eleven for the opening fixture, at home to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, but lasted only 54 minutes before sustaining a medial ligament injury that was expected to keep him out for six weeks. He marked his return to fitness with a goal in a 3–1 victory over Bradford City at Gigg Lane on 14 October. He ended the 2017–18 campaign with four goals in 30 appearances as the "Shakers" were relegated with a last-place finish. On 17 November, he scored a brace in a 4–0 home win over Stevenage, including a "perfectly executed freekick", to win himself a place on the EFL Team of the Week. He was named as EFL League Two Player of the Month for November 2018 and January 2019, and said that "I've only ever won one of these before this season, so to win two in three months is excellent." On 19 January, he scored a "superb solo goal" in a 2–1 win at Forest Green Rovers that saw him again named on the EFL Team of the Week. On 9 February, he scored a brace in a 3–2 win at

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

to earn himself a place on the EFL Team of the Week for the third time that season. After scoring 15 goals in 44 league games he was named on the League Two

and the EFL Team of the Season for the 2018–19 campaign, alongside midfield teammate Danny Mayor. Bury went on to secure promotion as runners-up of League Two. In the summer he was strongly linked with a move to Plymouth Argyle, who were managed by former Bury boss Ryan Lowe.

Brisbane Roar

On 28 June 2019, O'Shea left England for Australia and signed with

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club Brisbane Roar, who were managed by former

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striker Robbie Fowler. He settled in quickly and was named as the club's Player of the Month for October. He made 24 appearances before the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

. He won the club's Players' Player of the Year award and signed a new contract in February 2021. Brisbane reached the elimination semi-finals of the finals series in the 2020–21 season, where they were beaten 2–1 by Adelaide United. O'Shea was named as a substitute on the A-League Team of the Season. He started all 26 A-League games of the 2021–22 season and was named as an A-Leagues All Star for the game against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 25 May. He was named in the PFA A-League Team of the Season for the 2022–23 campaign, having scored nine goals in 24 league games. He signed a two-year contract extension in December 2023. He was selected to play in the 2024 A-Leagues All Stars Men game against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, which the All Stars ran out as 8–0 winners. He scored eight goals in 31 games during the 2023–24 campaign. He featured 27 times in the 2024–25 season, scoring three goals.

International career

O'Shea is eligible to represent

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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when he obtains citizenship in 2024 after living in the country for 5 years. He has represented Ireland at under-19, under-21, and under-23 levels. He scored on his U21 debut on 28 March 2009, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 win over Spain U21. He made his only appearance for the under-23s on 21 October 2008, in a 2–1 loss to Belgium under-23s at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

Career statistics

Honours

Chesterfield *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

: 2013–14 *

runner-up: 2013–14 Sheffield United *

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 2016–17 Bury *

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

second-place promotion: 2018–19
Individual * EFL League One Player of the Month: November 2016 * EFL League Two Player of the Month: November 2018, January 2019 * EFL Team of the Season: 2018–19 *

: 2018–19 League Two * PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2020–21, 2022–23 * A-Leagues All Star:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Brisbane Roar Gary Wilkins Medal: 2020–21, 2021-22 * Brisbane Roar Player's Player of the Year: 2019-20, 2020–21, 2021-22, 2022–23

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, Jay 1988 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football wingers Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-23 international footballers Home Farm F.C. players Bray Wanderers F.C. players Galway United F.C. (1937–2011) players Birmingham City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Bury F.C. players Brisbane Roar FC players League of Ireland players Premier League players English Football League players Leinster Senior League (association football) players A-League Men players A-League Men All-Stars Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Republic of Ireland men's futsal players 21st-century Irish sportsmen