Rene Patrick Gilmartin (born 31 May 1987) is an Irish professional football coach and 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 ...

who is currently the goalkeeping coach at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

. He has previously appeared in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

, Yeovil Town,

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

and

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 tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

, and has also played for

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

side

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origina ...

. Gilmartin has played international football for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

at under-19 and under-21 levels.

Career

Having previous played for Malahide United F.C. and St. Kevin's Boys, Gilmartin joined English

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

in the summer of 2005. He made his Walsall debut on 17 September 2005 in a 3–2 home defeat to Chesterfield, and played two further first-team matches that season. He also made his international debut for Republic of Ireland under-19s in February 2006. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Gilmartin's contract was extended, with Walsall taking up one-year option. After signing, Gilmartin said he expected to fight for the first choice goalkeeper ahead of a new season. Gilmartin did not feature for Walsall over the next two seasons, but played for Republic of Ireland under-21s in 2007, and completed his UEFA B coaching licence in April 2008. During 2007, he joined

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City ...

and Hednesford Town, in order to gain first team experience. In May 2008 Gilmartin signed another new 12-month contract. During the 2008–09 season, in which he made 12 appearances, Gilmartin said he would consider leaving the club if first choice goalkeeper

Clayton Ince Clayton Ince CM (born 13 July 1972) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and had lengthy spells in the English Football League at Crewe Alexandra and Walsall. He is his country's most capped goalkeeper wit ...

stayed on. Ultimately, he signed another new 12-month contract at the end of the season. In the 2009–10 season, Gilmartin replaced Ince as a first choice goalkeeper. He credited the club's goalkeeping coach, Mick Kearns, for helping him improve as a player. In October 2009, he suffered a hamstring injury that would keep him out for three to four weeks. Despite the injury, Gilmartin played 24 times in 2009–10 season. Gilmartin was offered a new contract by Walsall on 10 May 2010, but joined

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 system ...

side

on 1 July 2010. He made his debut in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

first round tie away to

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

, keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 3–0 Watford win. Gilmartin struggled to displace

Scott Loach Scott James Loach (born 27 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Derby County. Loach previously played for Ipswich Town, Watford and Hartlepool United. He has also spent loan spells with non-League Staffo ...

as Watford's goalkeeper during the 2010–11 season, but did play in all four of the club's cup games. He also won the club's community ambassador prize at the end of season awards. Gilmartin displaced Loach to make his full league debut on 27 September 2011, in a 2–1 home victory over

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

. He started the following game, a 3–0 defeat at

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

, before Loach returned to the side. On 23 November 2011, Gilmartin was sent out on loan to League One side Yeovil Town until 3 January 2012. He returned to Watford on 19 January 2012, having made eight appearances for Yeovil. In February 2012 he joined

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Le ...

side

on loan as back up to

Michael Kuipers Michel Kuipers (born 26 June 1974) is a Dutch retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Prior to football he served with the Dutch Marine Corps. He became a football agent after finishing his playing career. Life and career Born in Ams ...

, following an injury to

Scott Shearer Scott Shearer (born 15 February 1981) is a Scottish former footballer who works for Oxford United as a goalkeeping coach. Career Albion Rovers Born in Glasgow, Shearer began his career in Scotland with Albion Rovers. The staff at the club move ...

. On 3 May 2012, Gilmartin was one of four players to be released by Watford after their contracts expired.Smith, Frank (3 May 2012)
"Watford confirm release of quintet"
''Watford Observer''. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Gilmartin signed a two-year contract with League Two side

in July 2012, and made 16 appearances in all competitions. He was transfer-listed by manager John Sheridan at the end of the 2012–13 season, and left the club by mutual consent in June 2013. Gilmartin returned to Dublin in July, having signed an 18-month contract with

side

. He made his Pats' debut later that month in a Dublin derby at

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invite ...

. He made his league debut the following season, on 2 June 2014 against

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

, when he came on as a half-time substitute for the injured

Brendan Clarke Brendan Clarke (born 17 September 1985 in Dublin) is an Irish football player who plays for Galway United in the League of Ireland First Division. Club career St Patrick's Athletic Clarke is a goalkeeper and played schoolboy football for ...

. He continued Clarke's work and kept a clean sheet as Pats won 6–0. In total, he made 10 appearances for the Pats, with nine coming in cup competitions. Gilmartin returned to English football by re-signing with

on a one-year deal on 25 August 2014 as a back-up to

Heurelho Gomes Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born 15 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Watford, having previously made a name for himself at Dutch club ...

and

Jonathan Bond Jonathan Henry Bond (born 19 May 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Bond has played internationally for Wales at under-17 and under-19 levels; he has also been called up to the under-21 and senior teams and the ...

, two years after he first left the club. He signed a new two-year contract in June 2015 as the club approached their first season back in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Alongside his playing career with Watford he commentates on the club's away games for

BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Grove Park in Dunstable. According ...

, is taking further coaching qualifications and has taken training sessions for the club's academy. He left Watford at the end of the 2016–17 season. Following his release from Watford, Gilmartin signed for

club

as a player-coach. He made his debut for Colchester in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...

against Reading U23 on 29 August. Gilmartin rejected the offer of a new contract in July 2019 and signed for

club

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

as a player with some Junior Coaching responsibilities.

Coaching career

Gilmartin began his coaching career whilst still a player at Bristol City, coaching the club’s under-23 side. On 7 November 2019, it was announced that Gilmartin had taken up a role as goalkeeping coach for the Republic of Ireland under-21s under their new manager Stephen Kenny. On 1 June 2021, Gilmartin was appointed assistant manager of

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. When

John McGreal John Leslie McGreal (born 2 June 1972) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently an U21s coach at Ipswich Town. He began his career at Tranmere Rovers, making his debut in the 1991–92 season. He be ...

was named interim manager of

in December 2021, Gilmartin joined his coaching team as an interim coach, having previously been McGreal’s assistant manager at Swindon. Later that month, following the appointment of

Kieran McKenna Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of EFL League One side Ipswich Town. McKenna began his footballing career as a youth team player at Northern ...

, Gilmartin was named first-team goalkeeping coach at Ipswich.

Career statistics

Honours

(1): **

–

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

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' ...

(1): **

–

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Personal life

Gilmartin married his wife Emma Nugent in the summer of 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmartin, Rene 1987 births Living people Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Association football goalkeepers Walsall F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players Watford F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff Ipswich Town F.C. non-playing staff