Karl Sheppard (born on 14 February 1991) is an Irish former

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

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 ...

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 ...

(over two spells),

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

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 ...

and Shelbourne.

Club career

Academy

Sheppard initially played for Portmarnock AFC and Shelbourne before moving to the Everton Academy.

Galway United

In February 2010 Sheppard signed for

, and made his

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 ...

debut at

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 ...

on the opening day of the

2010 League of Ireland The 2010 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 26th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions while Bohemians finished as runners-up. Teams Overview Airtrici ...

season. His goal scoring in April earned him the Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award. In his last game for the club, he scored the winner in the Premier Division promotion/relegation play-off.

Shamrock Rovers

In January 2011, Sheppard signed for the League of Ireland Champions. He picked up his first senior trophy, playing all five games and scoring three goals en route to winning the

2011 Setanta Sports Cup The 2011 Setanta Sports Cup was the sixth staging of the Setanta Sports Cup, an association football competition featuring clubs from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It commenced on 14 February 2011 with the final played on 14 May ...

. In August 2011, Sheppard helped Shamrock Rovers make history in becoming the first ever League of Ireland team to reach the group stages of a major European club competition when they qualified for the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League group stage. Sheppard earned the penalty late in extra time that saw Rovers win through 3–2 on aggregate away to

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

in the 2011 Europa League Playoff Round. In October he scored at

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

in the Europa League group stage. He scored a total of 15 goals in 35 appearances in the 2011 Shamrock Rovers F.C. season.

Reading

On 12 January 2012, Sheppard announced via Twitter that he had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at

, leaving Shamrock Rovers on a free transfer. Reading reportedly beat off interest from other

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

clubs including

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

Accrington Stanley Loan

On 4 August 2012, Reading announced that Sheppard was joining

on a six-month loan deal. He made his debut in their 1–0 League Cup defeat against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on 11 August and then scored the winner against

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

a week later, his first goal in English football. He returned to Reading on 3 January 2013 having not featured for Accrington since mid October.

Return to Shamrock Rovers

On 31 January 2013, he re-joined Shamrock Rovers on a six-month loan deal. He made his return to the team in a 1–0 defeat to

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

on 11 February in the

Setanta Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club 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 the Republic of Ir ...

, but had to wait nearly three months for his first goal, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

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 ...

on 3 May. Days before his original spell was due to expire, Sheppard's loan was extended until the end of the

2013 League of Ireland The 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 29th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. St. Patrick's Athletic were champions, winning their eighth top level League of Ireland title. Dundalk fin ...

season. In December 2013 Sheppard signed a one-year contract with Shamrock Rovers for the 2014 season after leaving Reading without making an appearance.

Cork City

On 1 November 2014,

announced the signing of Karl Sheppard from

. Sheppard scored 2 goals in his first 2 games for the Leesiders. In August 2015, it was announced that Sheppard had signed a 2-year contract to keep him at City, and he went on to score 13 goals in the 2015 season. He scored his second European goal against

FCI Levadia Tallinn Football Club Infonet Levadia Tallinn, commonly known as FCI Levadia, or simply as Levadia, is a professional Association football , football club based in Tallinn that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football league sy ...

in the

2017–18 UEFA Europa League The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League was the 47th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 9th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played at the Parc Olymp ...

A member of the FAI Cup and Premier Division double winning squad in 2017, by the start of the 2018 season Sheppard had scored 30 goals from 92 league appearances across 3 seasons (2015/2016/2017) with Cork City.

Shelbourne

On 6 November 2019 Shelbourne announced the signing of Sheppard following his departure from

. The season ended in disappointment for Sheppard and Shelbourne, as the club were relegated back to the

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 ...

while Sheppard failed to score in his 13 appearances in all competitions over the season. On the 17th January 2021, Sheppard announced his retirement from the game aged just 29, with

Arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

struggles cited as his reason for the decision.

International career

While a Shelbourne player, Sheppard scored the fifth goal in Republic of Ireland U16's 5–2 win over Japan at the

Montaigu Tournament The Montaigu Tournament () is an international association football competition that is contested by under-16 national teams and clubs. The tournament is also known as Mondial Minimes. The games are held in stadiums located in the Vendée depart ...

in 2007. Sheppard also represented his country at U17 level where he scored after coming on as a substitute at

Terryland Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an List of association football venues in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Gal ...

in a

2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round The 2008 UEFA U-17 Championship qualifying round was the first round of qualification for the main tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. The top two teams from each group and the best two third-placed teams entered the 2008 UE ...

. In the elite phase of the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship elite qualification Sheppard played in all three games in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

as Ireland narrowly missed out on qualification. Sheppard made a substitute appearance for the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the Airtricity League XI for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of Ireland. For much of its history, the League ...

in a 7–1 defeat to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the first game to be played 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 ...

in August 2010. In September 2010 he was called up to the

Republic of Ireland under-21 national football team The Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team is a representative team of Irish football players. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland and represents them at Under-21 level against the national teams of other national ...

for the final

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 18th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011. The Danish bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee on 10 De ...

qualifier in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

but did not make an appearance. Sheppard made his U21 debut in November 2011 in a

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, or simply the 2013 Euro Under-21, was the 19th staging of UEFA's UEFA European Under-21 Championship, European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Israel from 5–18 June 2013. The Is ...

win over Liechtenstein.

Career statistics

''Professional appearances updated 17 January 2021.''

Honours

;Shamrock Rovers * LOI Premier Division:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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 ...

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 ...

;Cork City * LOI Premier Division:

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 ...

FAI President'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 ...

(3):

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 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 ...

(2): 2016, 2017 *Fingal Sportsman of the year: 2017

References

External links

Karl Sheppard profile
at Reading F.C. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Karl 1991 births Living people Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers League of Ireland XI players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Men's association football forwards Galway United F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Reading F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players A Championship players 21st-century Irish sportsmen