Graham Barrett (born 6 October 1981) 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 forward. He began his footballing career at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, where he won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. He went on to feature for English clubs

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

and

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. He also appeared for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

and

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. Barrett as well had spells with Scottish sides Livingston,

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and St Johnstone. He then joined up with Irish outfit

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 ...

, with whom he won a League of Ireland championship medal. Barrett also played as an international for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Club career

Arsenal

Born in

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 ...

, Ireland, Barrett signed professional terms with

in October 1998. He made his debut for the Gunners as a late substitute for

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

in a 3–0 victory at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in December 1999 He also featured as a substitute in their 4–1 win over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

the following month. Having already won the 1998 UEFA Under-16 Championship with Ireland, Barrett then captained Arsenal's youth team to win the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. During one of the final's two legs he received the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

award. Following such Gunners' manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

encouraged Barrett to go out on loan to gain some experience. As so he joined up with club

in December 2000. However he played just 20 minutes under

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...

, and was diagnosed with

glandular fever A gland is a cell or an organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also function to remove unwanted substances ...

thus losing a stone in weight and spending six-months on the sidelines. During the 2001–02 season, Barrett again went out on loan, this time to

, where he made three appearances in his month-long loan stint. He then returned to Arsenal before Wenger agreed to allow him to join

on loan in December 2001. Barrett quickly became a fan favorite at the club, in scoring a brace during a 3–2 win against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on Boxing Day 2001. These were his first goals in professional football in only his third game with the U's. Barrett then netted a further two goals in 20 games for Colchester, but an injury suffered during a 0–0 draw with

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

curtailed the rest of his season. As a mark of respect, United fans dressed in green in their final home game of the season, in a nod to Barrett's Irish roots. Colchester manager

Steve Whitton Stephen Paul Whitton (born 4 December 1960) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He was born in East Ham, London. Career In a playing career spanning 20 years (1978–1998), Whitton made more than 450 league appearances. He ...

thus sought to have Barrett back at

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was the home of Colchester United Football Club from its inception in 1937, up until the club relocated to Colchester Community Stadium in 2008, resulting in its closure. The ...

for the following season. With this being said he opted to go to

on a season-long loan deal. Prior to joining Brighton he made his full international debut for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in August 2002. This came after having made 24 appearances for the under-21s and representing Ireland at every age group since turning 15. He also scored in a pre-season friendly for Arsenal against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. With Brighton, Barrett managed to attain 20 league starts, making a further ten appearances as a substitute, but again suffered a series of niggling injuries that held back his progress. At Brighton he also scored once against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

Coventry City

Barrett was released from

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

in May 2003, joining

on a three-year deal on 30 May. Barrett's injury problems continued while with the Sky Blues, where he made 32 league starts and made 23 substitute appearances in two seasons, scoring six goals. He joined

on the loan deadline day in March 2005, where he scored once against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in six appearances. Barrett was told by manager

Micky Adams Michael Richard Adams (born 8 November 1961) is an English former professional association football, footballer and football Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he was a Full-back (football), full back, and made a total of 43 ...

that he was free to leave the club despite having one year remaining on his contract. Despite this he remained at Coventry, but, out of the first-team picture, went on loan to Scotland with Livingston. He played just six games for the club before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Falkirk

Signing a two-year with Scottish side

following his release from Coventry in August 2006, with the Bairns' medical staff satisfied with his rehabilitation after his serious knee injury the previous season. Once again though, Barrett suffered further injuries, requiring an operation on his knee in October 2006. He returned to action for the 2007–08 season, going on to sign a one-year contract extension in March 2008. After three operations and later being informed that his injury had been misdiagnosed, Barrett left Falkirk after manager

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

sat him down and told him he would never be the player he was before suffering his injuries. He was released from the club in January 2009. He had scored eight goals in 48 league games at the Falkirk Stadium.

St Johnstone

After going on trial with Heart of Midlothian, St Johnstone stepped in to sign Barrett after Hearts decided against handing him a deal. He was brought in to cover a spate of injuries amongst St Johnstones' forwards in February 2009. After nine appearances and one goal against Airdrieonians, Barrett was released by the club in the summer of 2009.

Shamrock Rovers

Barrett returned to his native Ireland with

in August 2009. In his two seasons with the club, he amassed 21 appearances and scored once, but he still struggled with persistent injuries, holding him back from progressing and making a greater number of appearances. He finally had to admit defeat in the 2010 season, playing his last game in July 2010, meaning he could not play a part in the chase for 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 ...

title. His manager at Rovers, Michael O'Neill, advised Barrett to assess his options, warning that he would "''need to be careful and think about a few years' time.''" As The Hoops went on to take the League of Ireland title, Barrett was still eligible for a league winners medal.

International career

Barrett represented the Republic of Ireland since the age of 15. He was a part of the Irish side which won the

1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship The 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 16th edition of UEFA's UEFA European Under-17 Championship, European Under-16 Football Championship. Scotland hosted the championship, during 26 April – 8 May 1998. Players born on or after 1 ...

in Scotland. He went on to play eleven under-18 games for Ireland, scoring four goals. Barrett then scored on his senior debut for Ireland in a 3–0 victory over

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Personal life

Having grown up close to

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

, Barrett followed his father, Gary, in playing for Shamrock Rovers. Gary began his playing career with Shamrock Rovers in 1980 under

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as ...

, where he scored a number of goals. This factor was a draw to Graham when joining the club himself in 2009. His son, Cian Barrett, made his Shamrock Rovers first team debut in 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Barrett goal.''

Honours

Arsenal *

Shamrock 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 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Republic of Ireland *

Unity Cup The Unity Cup is an international football tournament held in London. Nigeria are the defending champions after a penalty shootout win against Jamaica. The competitors are countries with large diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is ...

runner-up:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Republic of Ireland U16 *

UEFA European Under-16 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

:''All honours referenced by:''

References

Ireland v Italy programme 12/11/2021

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Graham 1981 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Arsenal F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Livingston F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players League of Ireland players 21st-century Irish sportsmen