Pierce Michael Bird (born 16 April 1999) is a Northern 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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

Career

Dunkirk

Bird played for

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

of the

East Midlands Counties League The East Midlands Counties Football League was an English football league that operated from 2008 to 2021, covering the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands. The league had one division, which stood at t ...

and also their reserve side, AFC Dunkirk of the

Nottinghamshire Senior League The Nottinghamshire Senior League is an English football league. The competition is a feeder to the Northern Counties East League and the United Counties League. The league has five divisions – the Premier Division (which stands at level 11 o ...

. He made his senior debut for

on 9 August 2016 in the 3–2 home win against Holbrook Sports. On 17 August 2016 in the away win at Cotgrave he made his debut for AFC Dunkirk.

Notts County

Bird sealed a trial at League Two side

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, and scored the winning goal in the pre-season win at York City, On 31 July it was announced that Bird had secured a one-year contract at

after impressing during his trial period. On 7 November 2017, Bird made his

debut in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

match at Lincoln City, scoring an own goal. On 26 December 2017, Bird made his Football League debut as an 87th-minute substitute in the 4–1 win at

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

. On 29 May 2018, Bird signed a two-year contract with Notts County. On 3 June 2020, out of contract Bird was informed he will not be offered a new contract when his current contract ends on 30 June.

Loan to Leek Town

On 9 September 2017, Bird joined

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

side Leek Town on a one-month loan, making his debut the same day in a 3–1 away win at Gresley.

Loan to Alfreton Town

On 5 January 2018, Bird joined

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

side

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

on a month youth loan. He made his debut the next day in the 3–0 win away at

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

, and also scored the third Alfreton goal.

Loan to Grantham Town

On 1 November 2018, Bird joined

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

side Grantham Town on a one-month loan. He made his debut on 3 November in the 0–2 defeat to Warrington Town.

Loan to Boston United

On 22 November 2019, Bird joined

side

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

until the end of the year. He made his debut the next day in the F.A. Trophy 0–1 defeat at Atherton Collieries, and was substituted after 32 minutes, due to a head injury. On 19 December 2019, Bird was recalled from his loan spell.

Eastleigh

On 11 August 2020, Bird joined

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

. Bird made his debut as a 105th-minute substitute in the

F.A. Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition i ...

1st Round defeat to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

on 8 November 2020. Bird scored in the penalty shoot-out where Eastleigh lost 4–3. On 28 June 2021, Eastleigh confirmed that Bird will leave the club following the expiry of his contract, after turning down a new deal.

Loan to Boston United

On 18 December 2020, Bird joined

side

, until 16 January 2021. He made his debut the next day in the F.A. Trophy win against

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

King's Lynn Town

On 29 June 2021, Bird joined

side King's Lynn Town. He made his debut on 21 August 2021 in the

home defeat 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 ...

Loan to FC Halifax Town

On 25 March 2022, Bird joined fellow

side

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. He made his debut on 9 April 2022 as an 87th-minute substitute in the

home win against

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

AFC Fylde

On 24 June 2022, Bird joined

side

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 6 August 2022 in the

home victory against

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

. Bird was released by AFC Fylde at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Loan to Buxton

On 21 November 2023, Bird joined National League North club

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut the same day in the home victory against

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

Loan to Eastbourne Borough

On 26 January 2024, Bird joined National League South club Eastbourne Borough on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut the next day in the home victory over Farnborough. On 23 February 2024, Eastbourne announced Bird had extended his loan spell until the end of the season.

Eastbourne Borough

On 15 May 2024, it was announced that Bird would join Eastbourne Borough on a permanent transfer ahead of the 2024–2025 season.

Kidderminster Harriers

On 29 May 2025, Bird joined National League North side

, reuniting with new manager Adam Murray whom Bird had played under at both AFC Fylde and Eastbourne Borough.

International career

On 30 August 2018, Bird received a call-up for the Northern Ireland under-21 squad for upcoming games against Luxembourg and Spain. Bird is eligible to represent Northern Ireland at international level through his grandparents. On 6 September 2018, in the friendly against Luxembourg under-21 he made his debut in a 1–0 win. Bird was substituted in the 70th minute. He made his competitive debut on 11 September 2018 as a 78th-minute substitute in Northern Ireland under-21s 2–1 victory away to Spain under-21 in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition.

Career statistics

Honours

AFC Dunkirk *2016–17 Nottinghamshire F.A. Intermediate Cup Winners AFC Fylde * 2022–23 National League North Champions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Pierce 1999 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham English men's footballers English people of Northern Ireland descent Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football defenders Dunkirk F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Leek Town F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players King's Lynn Town F.C. players FC Halifax Town players AFC Fylde players Buxton F.C. players Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players East Midlands Counties Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen