Colm Foley (born 30 May 1979) is an Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was forced to retire due to injury in January 2008 while playing for

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

in the

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 ...

Career

Foley was a central defender and played schoolboy football for

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

and

Manortown United Manortown United F.C. is a football club based in Perrystown, Dublin, Ireland. The club has senior teams competing in the Leinster Senior League and Ireland's cup competitions including the FAI Cup and the FAI Junior Cup. The youth set-up ha ...

. In 1998, he signed for Martin Lawlor at

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 ...

but spent the start of the season on the bench. When

Eddie May Edwin Charles May (19 May 1943 – 14 April 2012) was an English football player and manager. May was born in Epping, and played for Dagenham, Southend United, Wrexham and Swansea City. The burly, affable May loomed large in the modern hist ...

took over Foley made his

debut at

University College Dublin A.F.C. University College Dublin Association Football Club, known commonly as UCD, is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland First Division. Founded in 1895, the club was elected to the League of Ireland in 19 ...

on 23 January 2000. In the summer of 2000

Pat Dolan Patrick Dolan (born 20 September 1967) is an Irish former football player, manager, and executive. He is also a former soccer analyst on RTÉ Sport. He is a FIFA-registered players' agent and has represented a number of players based in the En ...

signed Foley for

. He initially played as a deep holding

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 ...

but soon settled as a

centre half 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 ...

alongside fellow new signing Darragh Maguire. In 2001/2002 season Foley played a huge part in the St. Pats side that finished top of the table, only for the FAI to deduct points for player registration irregularities. When Paul Osam retired in 2004, Foley was given the honour of club captain. Early in 2005, Foley suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury for the second time and missed nearly 12 months of football. He returned to the St Pats side in July 2006 but persistent injuries led to his eventual retirement in January 2008. He is now part of the

Monday Night Soccer ''Monday Night Soccer'' is a former football television programme shown on RTÉ Two each Monday evening during the football season. Presented by Peter Collins, he was usually joined by two guests, like manager Damien Richardson and former Millw ...

programm

Honours

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

: 2 **

- 2001, 2003

Sources

* ''DUFC A Claret and Blue History'' by Brian Whelan (2010)

External links

Colm Foley @ stpatsfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Colm 1979 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football defenders Drogheda United F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players League of Ireland players Irish sports broadcasters Belvedere F.C. players Manortown United F.C. players Broadcasters from County Dublin