Rory Nicholas Gaffney (born 23 October 1989) 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 ...

who plays as a striker 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 ...

Club

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 ...

Career

Limerick

Gaffney started his career at League of Ireland First Division team

Mervue United Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue, Galway. Their senior men's team currently plays in the Galway & District League. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, the League of Ir ...

before joining Premier League team

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in July 2011. He completed his studies at the

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ga, Institúid Teicneolaíochta na Gaillimhe-Maigh Eo) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to ...

while playing in Ireland.

Cambridge United

On 25 November 2014 Gaffney agreed a move to

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 ...

club

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

when the transfer window opened. His first season was beset with injury and he made his

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 ...

debut on 26 September 2015, replacing Conor Newton in the 81st minute in a 1–0 win against

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...

at the

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional College F.C., Cambridge United's feeder cl ...

providing the cross from which Cambridge scored. Gaffney went on to score twice on his first start for

in the 3–2 away win over Yeovil Town on 23 October.

Bristol Rovers

On 14 January 2016, Gaffney moved permanently to

club

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

after a successful loan spell. After scoring 5 goals in 7 games for the West Country Club. Gaffney ended the season with a tally of 8 league goals as he played a useful part in the club's promotion to

Football 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 Lea ...

. Gaffney scored his first goal in Sky Bet League One and his first for the club since 16 April 2016 on 1 October 2016 with his club's first goal in a dramatic 3–2 win over

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

. Rory scored his first goal since 10 December 2016 in the 4–2 victory over

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

on 11 March 2017 in a 2–0 victory over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. He scored his second goal in a week scoring what would prove to be the winner in a 2–1 victory over

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituenc ...

taking his season total to 4 league goals. Gaffney ended the season with a total of 9 goals including two in a 4–2 loss vs

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...

as his side narrowly missed the playoffs. Gaffney scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season to make it 3–1 in a 4–1 defeat to Peterborough United on 12 August 2017 when he headed home a

Lee Brown Lee Brown may refer to: *Lee Brown (footballer) (born 1990), English footballer, for Portsmouth FC *Lee P. Brown (born 1937), police department chief and mayor of Houston *Lee Bradley Brown (1971–2011), British tourist allegedly beaten to death b ...

cross at the back post.

Salford City

In June 2018 he joined

Salford City Salford City may refer to: *The City of Salford *Salford City F.C., an association football club from the city *Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play i ...

on a three-year contract. He made his debut in the opening match of the 2018–19 season on 4 August as Salford drew 1–1 at home to

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...

. His first season with the club ended in success as Salford City won promotion to the Football League for the first time in their history in their first season in the fifth tier. Gaffney scored a penalty in a play-off semi-final shootout victory against

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 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...

and came off of the bench in the 3–0 final victory over

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional association football, football club based in Medlar-with-Wesham, Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm Sports Village, Mill Farm. Originally kn ...

Walsall (loan)

On 31 August 2019 he joined

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 ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season, linking up with former-Rovers manager

Darrell Clarke Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who played in the English Football League. He is the manager of club Port Vale. A box-to-box midfielder, Clarke began his career ...

. After 25 appearances, scoring just once, Gaffney had his loan terminated in February 2020.

Shamrock Rovers

On 24 February 2020, Salford City announced they and Gaffney had mutually parted ways and he had left the club and later that day signed for

. In April 2021, Gaffney opened his scoring for the club with a late equaliser against

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional 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 192 ...

. Gaffney scored twice at

KF Teuta Durrës Klubi Futbollistik Teuta Durrës, commonly referred to as Teuta, is an Albanian professional football club based in Durrës. They currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore and they play their home games at the Niko Dovana Stadium. The club w ...

in a

2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Roma ...

tie where Rovers won 2-0 In the

2022–23 UEFA Champions League The 2022–23 UEFA Champions League is the 68th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 31st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final will ...

Gaffney scored against

Hibernians F.C. Hibernians Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in the town of Paola. History The club played one season in 1922 as Constitutionals FC, representing the pro-British Constitutional Party. They started up again in the 1 ...

At the end of the 2022 season, a season in which Shamrock Rovers won the league for a third consecutive season, Gaffney was named the

PFAI Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFAI Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Irish Player of the Year) award is given to the footballer the Le ...

at the end of season awards.

Career statistics

Honours

Limerick *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Bristol Rovers *

Football 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 ...

third-place promotion: 2015–16 Salford City *

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

play-offs:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Shamrock Rovers *

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland ...

(3):

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

President of Ireland'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 ...

- 2022 * SRFC Player of the Year: **

- 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffney, Rory 1989 births Living people Association footballers from County Galway Republic of Ireland association footballers Association football forwards Mervue United A.F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players National League (English football) players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England