Brian Patrick Lenihan (born 8 June 1994) is an Irish former 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 played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Lenihan began his career with

College Corinthians College Corinthians A.F.C. is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Douglas, Cork. Their senior men's team play in the Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division. They also ...

. He moved 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 ...

in July 2012, making a total of 27

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 ...

appearances for them. After receiving interest from a number of English clubs, he signed for

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on 31 August 2014. The transfer fee was believed to be £200,000. He signed a one-month loan deal with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in November 2014. He made his debut on 8 November 2014 in a 3–1 away defeat to

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 ...

. He returned to Hull on 25 November after sustaining a knee injury. He made his debut for Hull on 30 April 2016 in a 1–0 away defeat to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. On 18 April 2018, Lenihan announced his retirement from football at the age of 23, citing repeated injury problems as the main reason for his decision. He had been battling a recurring knee injury in the three years prior to his retirement, which saw him feature just twice for Hull City in the four years he was at the club. The last of those appearances came in a 2–0

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

loss to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

where he was captain. Lenihan later revealed that he retired due to mental health issues which forced him to retire from the game after undergoing treatment in Manchester.

International career

Lenihan represented the Republic of Ireland under-19s. Lenihan made his debut for the Republic of Ireland under-21s in May 2014. He was called up to the senior squad in November 2014. However, later that month he was sent back to the under-21s.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenihan, Brian 1994 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers College Corinthians A.F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Association footballers from Cork (city) 21st-century Irish sportsmen