Ronan Liam Coughlan (born 2 October 1996) 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 striker for club

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

. He previously played for

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

Club career

Youth career

A native of

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 ...

, Coughlan played his schoolboy football with local side Mungret Regional. During his schoolboy career he was also a member of the Limerick Regional Emerging Talent Centre and won local league cups from under-11s to under-16s level and holds local league medals at both under 11s and under 12s. Coughlan represented

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in the FAI U-17 Interprovincial Tournament in

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 ...

in 2012–13 season. He signed for

's academy aged 16 and featured for their Under-17 & Under-19 sides. Coughlan moved to England in January 2014 aged 17, to train with

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

while awaiting

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

international clearance for a move to the club. On 10 July 2014, it was announced by the club that he had officially signed, initially joining their under 18 side. He quickly progressed into the under 21 side and signed his first professional contract in October 2014, a deal running to the summer of 2017. He was released by the club in the summer of 2017 at the end of his contract, following their promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

Bray Wanderers

In February 2018, it was announced that Coughlan had signed 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

. He made his debut in senior football on 9 February 2018, opening the scoring in a 1–1 draw with

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

in a pre-season friendly at

United Park Sullivan and Lambe Park, also known as United Park, and formerly O2 Park, Hunky Dorys Park, Head In The Game Park and Weavers Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Drogheda, Ireland. The ground has been home to League of Irel ...

. His competitive debut in senior football came on 16 February 2016, in a 0–0 draw away to champions,

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 ...

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 ...

. Coughlan scored his first league goal on 16 April 2018 in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

at the

Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided ...

. He was released at the start of the summer transfer window by Bray who were in financial difficulty and were looking to lower their wage bill. Coughlan made a total of 21 appearances for the club, scoring 4 goals.

Cork City

Coughlan signed for

on 11 July 2018 until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–0 league win over Derry City at Turners Cross on 23 July 2018. His first appearances in European football came in August 2018 when he came off the bench at home and away to Norwegian club

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien (football), Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles ...

in the

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 ...

. He scored 4 goals in 4 games in the club's

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 ...

campaign but remained an unused substitute in the 2018 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 ...

as his side lost 2–1 to

, who had also pipped them to the league title. He made a total of 10 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 5 goals.

Sligo Rovers

On 14 February 2019, Coughlan signed for

on a season long deal. He scored his first goal for the club with a 90th-minute penalty at home to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

on 26 April 2019. His first career hat-trick came in a 5–1 win over UCD on 1 July 2019. Over the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, he made 30 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals. He extended his contract by another year in October 2019 to keep him at the club until the end of the 2020 season. On 9 November 2020, Coughlan scored an injury time goal to confirm a 2–0 win over

to secure

football for his club. He scored 7 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions over the season. Coughlan announced on 22 December 2020 that he would be leaving the club.

St Patrick's Athletic

On 22 December 2020, it was announced that Coughlan had signed for

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 ...

club

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 ...

. On 3 April 2021, he scored the winning goal 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., ...

as his side beat

rivals

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 ...

for the first time in 9 games. He scored a penalty in a 2–0 win over his former club

on 18 June 2021, in what was his club's first game with supporters in attendance in 470 days due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

restrictions. On 28 November 2021 Coughlan scored his penalty in the 2021 FAI Cup Final penalty shootout, as his side defeated rivals

4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record

Final crowd of 37,126 at the

. His side finished in 2nd place, securing

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

football for the following season, as he scored 8 goals in 32 appearances through the year. Coughlan signed a new contract with the club on 1 January 2022. Coughlan's first goal of the season came on 31 July 2022 in an

tie with

in what was his first start in over 3 months following a hamstring injury. He made a total of 13 appearances in all competitions in 2022, scoring 1 goal in an injury plagued campaign.

Waterford

On 14 February 2023, it was announced that Coughlan had signed for

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

. Coughlan's first goals for the club came on 18 March 2023, when he scored both his side's goals in a 2–2 draw with one of his former clubs,

at the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

. Coughlan was named

League of Ireland Player of the Month The League of Ireland Player of the Month is awarded monthly to the best player in the League of Ireland. The winners are selected by Soccer Writers' Ireland, commonly known as the SWI (formerly known as Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland). Wi ...

for April 2023 after scoring 11 goals in 5 appearances during the month. On 10 November 2023, he scored the winning goal in the Play-Off Final in a 2–1 win over

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 ...

, to help his side to promotion to the

. He finished the season with 37 goals in 35 games in all competitions. On 28 December 2023, Waterford announced that Coughlan had left the club, despite their offers of contract extensions, in order to move to England.

Fleetwood Town

On 3 January 2024, Coughlan signed for

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

club

on an 18-month contract. On 3 February 2024, he scored his first senior goal in English football, in a 3–0 win at home to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

. On 25 January 2025, in the process of scoring his 10th goal of the season in all competitions, 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 ...

, he snapped his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

, with the injury set to keep him out of action for 9 months.

Personal life

His brother Garbhan Coughlan is also a footballer, having played in the

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 ...

before moving to play in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coughlan, Ronan 1995 births Living people People from Limerick (city) Men's association football forwards Bray Wanderers F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Waterford F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Association footballers from County Limerick Republic of Ireland men's association footballers 21st-century Irish sportsmen