John O'Riley-O'Sullivan (born 29 January 2006) 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 a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 ...

club

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

, on loan from

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

Career

Youth career

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

man O'Sullivan began playing schoolboy football with local club Cambridge Boys, before moving to Cherry Orchard and then in 2019 he joined the academy of

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

club

, playing for their under-13 side in his first year, then moving up to their under-15s in 2021 and training with the first team during pre-season of 2022, before playing for the club's under-17 and under-20 teams.

Shamrock Rovers

On 13 March 2023, O'Sullivan made his senior debut for

in a 2–1 loss away to

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club 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 ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

in a Leinster Senior Cup tie at the

Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided ...

. He made his league debut for the club on 29 April 2024, replacing

Daniel Cleary Daniel Michael Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. He currently ...

from the bench in a 4–0 win over

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...

Bray Wanderers loan

On 28 July 2024, he was loaned out to

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

club

until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club 2 August 2024, opening the scoring in a 2–1 win away to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is 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. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

. On 2 November 2024, O'Sullivan scored the winning penalty in a shootout win over

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...

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., ...

to earn his side a place in the 2024 League of Ireland Promotion/Relegation Final against

Return from loan

O'Sullivan returned to Rovers after his loan spell and on 20 February 2025, O'Sullivan made his European debut, coming off the bench in extra time against

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

of Norway and scoring his penalty in the shootout as his side were defeated and knocked out of the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

at the Knockout Phase Playoff stage.

Drogheda United loan

On 14 July 2025, O'Sullivan signed for fellow

side

on loan until the end of the season. On 18 July 2025, he scored on hide debut for the club, in a 5–0 win at home to Crumlin United in the first game of his side's

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

defence.

International career

O'Sullivan has represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

at various underage levels. On 5 September 2024, he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team in a 2–1 loss to France U19 in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Career statistics

References

External links

John O'Sullivan Extratime.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, John 2006 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Cherry Orchard F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Bray Wanderers F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players League of Ireland players Men's association football midfielders Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen