Greg Bolger (born 9 September 1988) 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 plays as a

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 ...

for

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 ...

club

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 ...

. His previous clubs are UCD, Sporting Fingal,

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 ...

, St Patrick's Athletic,

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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Youth career

A native of

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, Bolger began playing with his local side New Ross Celtic, before moving onto the academy of his local

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 ...

club

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, then to

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 Cherry Orchard, where he earned a move to UCD in 2006.

UCD

Bolger made his senior debut for UCD in a 1–0 loss to

on 23 March 2007. His first goal at senior level came on 22 August 2008 in a 2–1 loss to Derry City at the

UCD Bowl The UCD Bowl, also known as the Belfield Bowl, is a rugby union and football stadium in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is the home ground of University College Dublin R.F.C. in the AIB All Ireland League and League of Ireland Premier ...

. Following their relegation in 2008, Bolger was part of the UCD side that won the

2009 League of Ireland First Division 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

title to regain promotion. He impressed upon the club's return to the

, scoring 7 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions. In total he made 76 appearances in his 4 seasons with the club, scoring 10 goals.

Sporting Fingal

Bolger signed for Sporting Fingal ahead of the 2011 season, but on 9 February 2011 the club went bust, cancelling all player contracts in the process, in Bolger's case before he had even made his debut.

Dundalk

On 10 February 2011, Bolger signed for

. He made his debut 4 days later in a 5–3 win away to Linfield in the

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 ...

. On 14 May 2011, he featured in the Final of the 2011 Setanta Sports Cup, as his side were defeated 2–0 by

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...

. He scored his first 2 goals for the club in a 6–1 win over Galway United on 24 June 2011. Bolger made a total of 33 appearances during the season, scoring 2 goals as the side finished in 7th place.

St Patrick's Athletic

2012 season

Bolger signed for fellow

side St Patrick's Athletic in January 2012. He made his debut for the club on 20 February 2012 in a 1–0 loss at home to

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of Margate in the Thanet District, Thanet district of Kent, England. It includes the Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay estate, built in the 1930s with wide avenues and detached and semi-detached houses with driveways, gar ...

in the

. His first goal for the club came on 20 April 2012 in a 2–0 win over one of his former clubs UCD. The Summer of 2012 saw Bolger's first taste of European football, as he featured in all 6 of his side's games in their

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

campaign as they defeated ÍBV of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Široki Brijeg Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929. Name ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

before being knocked out by

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

. In October 2012, Bolger scored in a 3–0 win over his former club

in 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 ...

Semi Final but missed out on the 2012 FAI Cup Final due to injury, as his side lost to Derry City in extra-time.

2013 season

On 13 October 2013, Bolger opened the scoring with a 25-yard strike into the top corner in a 2–0 win over

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

, a win that secured the 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division title for the club. On 20 October, 2 days after being award the league trophy, Bolger featured in a fatigued Pats side that were defeated 1–0 by

in the 2013 Leinster Senior Cup Final. He was named in the PFAI Team of the Year for 2013 by his fellow players on 17 October 2013. On 17 November 2013, Bolger was named as the club's Player of the Year by their supporters.

2014 season

On 2 March 2014, he was part of the team that won the 2014 President of Ireland's Cup with a 1–0 win over

. He made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut on 16 July 2014 in a 1–1 draw away to

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

. He was part of the side that ended the club's 53-year wait for an

win, as he received the Man of the Match award in his side's 2–0 win over Derry City in the 2014 FAI Cup Final at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

2015 season

He featured in the 2015 President of Ireland's Cup on 28 February 2015 as his side lost 2–1 to

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...

. On 24 March 2015, he scored a 45-yard lob to open the scoring in a 2–0 win over Derry City at

. In July 2015, Bolger was subject to a transfer bid from

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, which was rejected by St Patrick's Athletic. On 19 September 2015, Bolger played the full 120 minutes of the 2015 League of Ireland Cup Final, which saw his side defeat Galway United 4–3 on penalties at

Eamonn Deacy Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galwa ...

following a 0–0 draw after extra time. In total, Bolger made 145 appearances for the Saints, scoring 9 goals.

Cork City

2016 season

Ahead of the

2016 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2016 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 32nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 4 March 2016 and concluded on 28 October 2016; the relegation play-offs followed on 31 October and 4 November 2016. Th ...

, Bolger signed for the previous season's runners-up

. On 28 February he played in the 2016 President of Ireland's Cup as Cork defeated league champions

2–0 to claim the trophy. Bolger was named League of Ireland Player of the Month for June 2016. His first and only goal for the club came on 16 September 2016, when he scored an 89th-minute penalty in a 3–0 win over

at Turners Cross. Bolger was named on the PFAI Team of the Year for 2016 by his fellow players. On 6 November 2016, Bolger featured in the 2016 FAI Cup Final, which his side won 1–0 thanks to a 120th-minute winner from

Sean Maguire Sean Maguire (born 18 April 1976) is an English-American actor and singer who has been professionally making films, television shows and performing on stage for over 40 years. Originally from London, Maguire started his career at age five starr ...

2017 season

On 18 February 2017, he was part of the team that defeated

3–0 in the 2017 President of Ireland's Cup to retain the trophy. On 12 June 2017, he was part of the side that won the 2017 Munster Senior Cup with a 4–2 win over Wilton in the final. Bolger claimed the second Premier Division medal of his career on 17 October 2017, when Cork clinched the

2017 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 33rd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on Friday 24 February 2017 and concluded on 27 October 2017. Fixtures were announced on 9 December 2016. On 17 October, ...

title following a 0–0 draw with Derry City. On 5 November 2017, he helped his side complete the double by defeating

5–3 on penalties in the 2017 FAI Cup Final following a 1–1 draw after extra time, with Bolger scoring his penalty in the shootout.

Shamrock Rovers

On 7 November 2017, Bolger agreed to join

for their 2018 season. He made his debut for the club on 16 February 2018 in a 3–1 defeat to Bohemians at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. On 14 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 win over

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. On 3 November 2019, Bolger scored his penalty in the shootout as his side defeated

4–2 on penalties in the 2019 FAI Cup Final following a 1–1 draw after extra time, ending a 32-year wait for an

win for his club. Bolger picked up an injury in a friendly with

in July 2020 that would rule him out until late in the season. He recovered from injury in time to play a part in the 2020 FAI Cup Final, replacing Dylan Watts in the 83rd minute as his side were defeated 4–2 by

after extra time in a behind-closed-doors

Sligo Rovers

On 11 December 2020, it was announced that Bolger would be signing for

ahead of the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, reuniting with Liam Buckley, his former manager at St Patrick's Athletic. He was named League of Ireland Player of the Month for the second time in his career for the month of May 2021, after leading his side to the top of the table. Bolger signed a new contract with the club on 17 November 2022 that would see him act as a player-coach under manager John Russell, who was a former teammate of Bolger's at St Patrick's Athletic. On 29 April 2023, Bolger scored his first and only goal for the club in a 2–1 defeated to his former club

. He made a total of 88 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 1 goal.

Return to Cork City

On 23 December 2023, newly relegated

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

side

announced that Bolger would be returning to the club for their 2024 season in a player-coach capacity, working under new manager

Tim Clancy Tim Clancy (born 8 June 1984) is an Irish former footballer and manager. During his playing career, Clancy played for Millwall, Weymouth, AFC Hornchurch, Fisher Athletic, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Hibernian, St Johnstone F.C., St Johnstone, Sh ...

. On 3 June 2024, he made his 400th

appearance, in a 0–0 draw with UCD at Turners Cross. On 6 September 2024, he was part of the side that defeated UCD 1–0 at the

to win promotion by winning the

2024 League of Ireland First Division The 2024 League of Ireland First Division, known as the SSE Airtricity Men's First Division for sponsorship reasons, was the 40th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The competition began on 16 February 2024, and concluded in Octobe ...

. At the end of the season he was named in the PFAI First Division Team of the Year. Amidst consideration of retirement from football, Bolger signed a new one year contract with the club on 24 October 2024. He scored his first goal since returning to the club on 14 February 2025, in a 2–2 draw at home to Galway United in the opening game of the season.

International career

Bolger was called up to the Republic of Ireland U23 side for their game against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in May 2010, making his debut in a 2–1 loss. He also featured in the side's 1–0 win away to

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

in September 2010.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;UCD *

(1):

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 ...

;St Patrick's Athletic *

(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 ...

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):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

President of Ireland's Cup The President of Ireland's Cup, also known simply as the President's Cup, is an association football super cup featuring clubs from the Republic of Ireland football league system. It is a one-off match between the winners of the previous season's ...

(1):

* Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2013–14 ;Cork City *

(1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

(1):

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

(2):

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 ...

(2):

* Munster Senior Cup (1):

;Shamrock Rovers *

(1):

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

(1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual

* St Patrick's Athletic Player of the Year (1):

* PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year (2):

* PFAI First Division Team of the Year (1):

* League of Ireland Player of the Month (2): June 2016, May 2021

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolger, Greg 1988 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Wexford F.C. players Cherry Orchard F.C. players University College Dublin A.F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Men's association football midfielders Association footballers from County Wexford Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen