Fiachra McArdle (born 18 August 1983 in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

) is a former professional footballer, who played most of his career 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 ...

. The midfield player joined English outfit Derby County as a 15-year-old in 1998. He progressed through the club's academy and won a reserve Premier League medal in 2001. He was promoted to Derby's first-team squad, however he failed to make an appearance, returning home in 2002. On his return to Ireland he was signed by then Shamrock Rovers manager Liam Buckley and played for Rovers in the Eircom Premier Division before suffering a bad knee injury. He made a total of nine appearances. His debut was at Bray on 10 May 2004 in a League Cup clash. His League of Ireland debut was against Drogheda United on 4 June. McArdle linked up with hometown club

and had two spells there sandwiched by a six-month spell at Athlone Town. McArdle represented Ireland at U18, U19, and U21 level, and was part of the squad which competed in the Japan Cup in 2001. In 2007 McArdle joined Kildare County but made only 17 appearances during that season, due to a broken collarbone which he sustained in his first match for the club against his former club Athlone Town. McArdle signed a new contract with Kildare County during the 2007 close season keeping him at the club for the 2008 season. However, he still departed the club for Sporting Fingal just before the 2008 season. In 2009 McArdle helped Sporting Fingal to win the

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 ...

and promotion to the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. McArdle joined his sixth League of Ireland club, Longford Town, in January 2010. McArdle then moved to Australia with Perth-based club Western Knights. There McArdle won the NPL Western Australia in 2010. He then moved to Melbourne side Sunshine George Cross in 2011 before returning to the UK to complete his studies. After completing his studies, McArdle became a teacher in

east London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Whilst living in the UK, McArdle played for teams including

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

side Redhill, and

Kent County League The Kent County Football League (known as the Kent County League) is a football competition based in Kent, England and adjacent area. The league was founded in 1922 as the Kent Amateur Football League and comprised Eastern and Western sections w ...

club South East Athletic. After living in London, McArdle moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, where he still plays amateur football.

Honours

: ** Sporting Fingal -

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McArdle, Fiachra 1983 births Living people Derby County F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players Kildare County F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Longford Town F.C. players League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Association footballers from County Louth Men's association football midfielders 21st-century Irish sportsmen