Alan Kirby

Alan Kirby
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-09-08) 8 September 1977 (age 46)[1]
Place of birth Waterford, Ireland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
0000–1994 Johnville F.C.
1994–1996 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Aston Villa 0 (0)
1999–2001 Waterford United 81 (16)
2001–2006 Longford Town 183 (17)
2007–2008 St Patrick's Athletic 56 (6)
2009–2010 Sporting Fingal 60 (12)
2011 Sligo Rovers 31 (6)
2012 Longford Town 28 (5)
Total 439 (62)
International career
1998 Republic of Ireland U21 1 (0)
2010 League of Ireland XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alan Kirby (born 8 September 1977) is an Irish former footballer. He played as a midfielder, most often on the right wing.

As a 16-year-old, Kirby went to England to join Premier League club Aston Villa. He spent four years with the club without making a first-team appearance, and returned to his native Waterford. He signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Waterford United in 1999, and two-and-a-half years later moved on to Longford Town. During his six seasons with Longford, Kirby won two FAI Cups, in 2003 and 2004, and the 2004 League of Ireland Cup, and was nominated for the 2003 PFAI Players' Player of the Year award.

Two League runners-up medals in two years with St Patrick's Athletic preceded a third FAI Cup win and promotion from the First Division with Sporting Fingal. He won his fourth FAI Cup[3] and third League runners-up medal in 2011 with Sligo Rovers, and retired from playing after one last season with Longford Town in 2012. Kirby made sixteen appearances in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League, six each for Longford Town and St Patrick's Athletic, and two each for Sporting Fingal and Sligo Rovers.[4]

Kirby was capped for Ireland at levels from under-16 to under-21, and was a member of the under-20 team that won the bronze medal at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He played for the League of Ireland XI that faced Manchester United in a match to mark the opening of the Aviva Stadium in 2010.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FIFA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Alan Kirby: Facts". Stats centre. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference fourth was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Alan Kirby". UEFA. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.