Kenneth Oman (born 29 July 1982) is an Irish retired

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 defender.

Career

Oman began his league career at

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

when Pete Mahon signed him in the summer of 2001. He 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 as a substitute in a 5–1 win away to

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 ...

on 31 August 2001. The defender was released by Bohemians in the close season between the 2005 and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

seasons and was immediately signed by former mentor Stephen Kenny. Oman relocated to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in an attempt to secure regular first team football. He had an impressive competitive debut for the club against Linfield in the 2006

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 ...

and also played in Derry City's

2006–07 UEFA Cup The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club association football, football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla FC, Sevilla won their second consecu ...

games against high quality European opposition. With the appointment of

Pat Fenlon Patrick Fenlon (born 15 March 1969) is an Irish football coach and former player. Fenlon played as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Linfield, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne. As a manager he won five League of Ireland title ...

as his team's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

for the 2007 season, Oman was paired with

Darren Kelly Darren Kelly (born 30 June 1979) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association footballer, player who played as a centre-back. He is the general manager of National League (division), Na ...

as Derry City's first choice partnership in central defence. As a result of his performances in the 2007 season, Oman received an unofficial Player of the Season Award from one of Derry City's supporters clubs. On 22 November, Oman was re-signed by Bohemians after he expressed his desire to return home 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 ...

. He struggled to find form on his return to Bohemians and despite winning a

winners medal, he found it difficult to displace the central defensive pairing of Jason McGuinness and Liam Burns. He started the 2009 season on the bench but eventually found a first team place as a result of McGuinness being suspended. He scored some important goals during the season, including two against

St. Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played ...

on 11 August. He finished the season with two more winners medals as Bohemians reclaimed the league title and defeated

Waterford United Waterford Football Club formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930. Originally the ...

in the final of the

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 ...

. He was voted onto the PFAI team of the year for 2009. The following year was an unsuccessful one for Oman and Bohemians. The team lost the league title on

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

and failed to make an impact in European competition. Bohemians and Oman parted ways after the 2010 season came to an end. On 10 February 2011, Oman joined Shamrock Rovers. He made his League debut for the Hoops in the opening night win over Dundalk He went on to make 20 league appearances as Rovers claimed the 2011 League title. He also took part in the club's epic

2011–12 UEFA Europa League The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with ...

campaign, playing in 6 of the club's 12 games and scoring in the 4-1 away defeat to

FC Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded 1958 in Russia, in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003 Russia ...

. Ken re-signed for the Hoops in 2012 and played in 19 league games, scoring three times, as Shamrock Rovers finished fourth in the league. The club also reached the EA Sports Cup Final where they lost out to Drogheda United. In 2013 Ken made 18 league appearances as the Hoops finished a disappointing fifth in the league. He missed out on the club's Setanta Cup Final win in May but did play in the EA Cup Final win against Drogheda United on 21 September. Ken was released by Shamrock Rovers at the end of the 2013 season and signed for St Patrick's Athletic in November 2013. He made nine appearances for the Inchicore side, picking up two red cards in the process, as St Pats claimed third place in the 2014 league table. He was also an unused sub for the FAI Cup Final, which St Pats won after beating Derry City 2-0. In February 2015, free agent Oman joined

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

side

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

on an 18-Month contract.

Personal life

In March 2024, Oman received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. Oman was extradited to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

over the charges, however it was later reported that he voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities. Oman admitted elbowing opponent Caoimhin Bonner in the mouth while playing for Portadown against

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 2016. At the time of his conviction, Oman was working as a taxi driver in

Honours

: 3 **

–

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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 ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

: 3 ** Derry City –

–

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 ...

–

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 ...

: 3 ** Derry City –

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

–

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 ...

: 1 **

–

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 ...

: 3 **

– 2009–10 **

–

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 ...

* Leinster Senior Cup: 2 **

– 2012,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oman, Ken 1982 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from County Dublin Derry City F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Portadown F.C. players League of Ireland players NIFL Premiership players Men's association football central defenders Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers League of Ireland XI players Rivermount Boys F.C. players Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland 21st-century Irish sportsmen