David Cawley (born 17 September 1991) 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 played for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

(over 2 spells),

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 ...

Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...

and

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 ...

Career

David began his career with Ballina Town in his hometown before making the move to

in September 2007. He spent four seasons an

player before being released in June 2011. Cawley signed for

on 22 February 2012. He was given the number 22 shirt upon his arrival at the Showgrounds. He made his debut as a half-time substitute against

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

in a 2-0

Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football (soccer), football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from ...

victory on 5 March. David scored his first goal for the club with a fine 20 yard strike in a 3-0 home win against reigning champions

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 ...

. As the season went on, Cawley proved to be one of

' most influential players as they claimed the league title. He was nominated for

PFAI Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Players' Young Player of the Year (often called the PFAI Players' Young Player of the Year, the PFAI Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) award is given to the footb ...

at the end of the season but was pipped by Christopher Forrester. He continued to be a key player in 2013 starting the first 21 league games and only missing two all season. He also finished as second highest scorer behind Anthony Elding. 2014 he scored his first goal in the Europa League, a second leg 4-0 home win against Banga of Lithuania. Sligo was knocked out in the next round against Rosenborg of Norway, having put in a man of the match performance in a 2-1 away win to the Norwegian Giants, they lost at home 3-1. In 2015, he went on to captain Sligo in a poor season, that kept them safe from relegation. Scored his first of the season against

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...

, a long range volley into the top corner. Cawley signed for

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

side

on 1 December 2015. Despite winning the 2016 League of Ireland Cup, it was a poor season for Cawley and Pats and he signed for

after just one season at the club. On 20 December 2023, Cawley was unveiled as the third new signing of the off-season for

under new manager Darren Murphy. Following a 6th place finish for Harps in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, Cawley was given a one year contract extension to stay with the Donegal side. He departed the club in May 2025 due to family commitments.https://www.donegallive.ie/news/soccer/1805716/finn-harps-confirm-departure-of-midfielder-david-cawley.html

Honours

;Sligo Rovers *

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 ...

(1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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 ...

(1):

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

(1):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

;St Patrick's Athletic *

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 ...

(1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawley, David Living people 1991 births Association footballers from County Mayo Republic of Ireland men's association footballers League of Ireland players Ipswich Town F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Galway United F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Sportspeople from Castlebar 21st-century Irish sportsmen