Ryan McGivern
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Ryan McGivern (born 8 January 1990) is a Northern Irish
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 for
NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...
club Newry City. He can play as a
left-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 ...
or a
central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
, and has represented
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 ...
in international football. He began his career with
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
and won the
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
with the club in 2008. He played on
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
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 ...
,
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
,
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
,
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
,
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
and
Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...
. He spent the 2012–13 season on loan at Hibernian, playing on the losing side in the
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 ...
final of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
. He joined
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 ...
in June 2014 and made 55 appearances for the club across two seasons. He moved on to
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...
in June 2016 and had his
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
terminated by mutual consent 14 months later. He signed a short-term contract with
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
in November 2017 before moving on to
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
four months later. He returned to Northern Ireland in July 2018 to sign for Linfield. The club won the
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 ...
title in his first two seasons, though he made only limited appearances. He joined hometown club Newry City in June 2021 and helped them win the
NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...
title in the 2021–22 season and the
Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Co ...
in 2023. He won
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
s for Northern Ireland at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels before he won his first senior cap in August 2008. He won a total of 24 caps in an eight-year international career. He has also played for the Northern Ireland B team.


Club career


Manchester City

Born in
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
, McGivern is a product of the Manchester City youth teams. He played in the club's 2008
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
final win over Chelsea. He scored in the
2007–08 Premier Academy League The 2007–08 Premier Academy League season is the tenth since its establishment, and the fourth under the current name and make-up. Aston Villa were crowned the 2007–08 Premier Academy League Champions after beating Manchester City 2–0 in the ...
play-off semi-final win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, before featuring in the side that lost to
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
in the play-offs. On 25 October 2008, McGivern joined
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
loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...
; "Shrimps"
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 ...
Sammy McIlroy Samuel Baxter McIlroy (born 2 August 1954) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played for Manchester United, Stoke City, Manchester City, Örgryte (Sweden), Bury, VfB Mödling (Austria), Preston North End and the Northern Ireland na ...
stated that "I have seen Ryan play a few times and been very impressed by what I've seen". Having already won international
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
s, he made his debut in the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
on 25 October, featuring in a 2–1 defeat 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 ...
at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...
. He scored his first ever senior goal in a 2–0 victory over
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 level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...
at Christie Park on 1 November. In total he played five League Two games and made one appearance in the
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...
. McGivern was promoted to Manchester City's first-team squad for their
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 ...
game versus
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...
on 12 April 2009 and was an unused substitute. On 29 August 2009, McGivern 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 sys ...
side
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on loan until January 2010. He made his debut for
Nigel Pearson Nigel Graham Pearson (born 21 August 1963) is an English association football, football coach (sport), manager and former professional player. He last managed EFL Championship, Championship club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City. During his playi ...
's "Foxes" in a 2–0 win over
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
at the
King Power Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attenti ...
on 20 October. Despite scoring an
own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
in a 1–1 draw with
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
on 10 January, the following day his loan was extended until the end of the 2009–10 season. He played a total of twelve league games for Leicester but was not selected for the
Championship play-off 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 syst ...
semi-finals, which they lost to
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
. McGivern was loaned to
Chris Hutchings Christopher Hutchings (born 5 July 1957) is an English former footballer and manager. He played for a number of clubs, including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town. He has managed in the Pre ...
's
League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...
club
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
on loan for the
2010–11 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 ...
season, having beaten competition for his services from other clubs. He was a regular in the first-team before losing his place after getting
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
for a "reckless two-footed challenge" during a 1–1 draw with
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 ...
in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
on 6 November. He made a total of 16 appearances for the "Saddlers" during his stay at the
Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...
before he was recalled on 20 January 2011. City manager
Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for h ...
handed McGivern his first-team debut at the
City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...
in a Premier League game against
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
on 3 April 2011, using him as a 70th-minute substitute to replace
Dedryck Boyata Dedryck Anga Boyata (born 28 November 1990) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back. He made his senior debut with Manchester City F.C., Manchester City in 2010, and was their Young Pla ...
in a game that City won 5–0. After signing a new deal, keeping him at City until 2013, McGivern made a 28-day loan move to
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
on 3 August 2011. He provided an assist for Jonathan Parr on his home debut for
Dougie Freedman Douglas Alan Freedman (born 25 May 1974) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently the sporting director of Al-Diriyah, where he has been since 2025. Freedman played as a striker, primarily for Crystal Pal ...
's "Eagles" at
Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...
, in a 2–0 victory over
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
on 13 August. After his loan spell at Palace ended, McGivern moved to
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut for
Derek McInnes Derek John McInnes (born 5 July 1971) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian. He featured prominently for Greenock Morton, Rangers, West Bromwich A ...
's "Robins" on 10 September, in a 1–0 defeat to
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...
at Ashton Gate. He made a total of 32 appearances for Bristol City, helping the club to finish above the Championship
relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
zone.


Hibernian

In August 2012, McGivern signed on loan for
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 ...
's
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
side
Hibernian Hibernian may refer to: * Of Hibernia, Latin name for Ireland; hence ** Irish (disambiguation) Hibernian, Hibernians or The Hibernian may refer to: Sports clubs * Hibernian F.C., a Scottish football club, founded 1875 * Hibernian W.F.C., a Sc ...
until January 2013. Having been an unused substitute for two games, he finally made his debut, coming on for Alan Maybury, in a 2–1 loss against
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
at
Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground o ...
. He then established himself at "Hibs", playing in the left-back position, replacing Maybury, who would play in the right-back position. His playing time having been increased, his loan deal was extended until the end of the
2012–13 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 ...
season. After having his loan extended, McGivern said he would decide his future beyond then at the end of the season. During a match against
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
on 24 February 2013, McGivern was penalized for a foul on
Gary Mackay-Steven Gary Sean Mackay-Steven (born 31 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ross County. Having not made the first team at English clubs Liverpool and Fulham, he began his professional career with Airdrie U ...
which resulted in a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
for United even though television coverage showed the incident was clearly outside the
penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...
. After the match, McGivern criticised
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
Alan Muir and his assistant Graham McNeillie for their decision. McGivern scored his first goal for Hibernian three days later, a 2–2 draw with
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...
at
Easter Road Easter Road is a football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity of , which makes it the fifth-largest ...
. McGivern agreed to a two-year
contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...
with Hibernian after his contract with
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
came to an end. He made 38 appearances in the 2013–14 campaign, as the club suffered relegation into the
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 sys ...
under the stewardship of
Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps in a ten-year international career that feature ...
.


Port Vale

McGivern signed a two-year contract with League One side
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 ...
in June 2014 after newly appointed Hibernian boss
Alan Stubbs Alan Stubbs (born 6 October 1971) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a centre-back who played top flight football for every club he played for. He played in the Premier League with Bolton Wande ...
agreed to release him from the remaining 12 months of his contract. He started the 2014–15 season in a centre-back partnership with
Richard Duffy Richard Michael Duffy (born 30 August 1985) is a Welsh former professional footballer who is the player-manager at club Congleton Town. A versatile player who can play either on the right or at the centre of defence, he won 13 caps for Wales b ...
. He remained a regular first-team player until he fractured his arm in a 2–0 defeat to
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
at
Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...
on 13 December; the injury required a plate to be fitted in his arm and a six-week recovery period. He was out of the first-team picture in the first two months of the 2015–16 season before he returned to the starting eleven due to injuries to Ryan Inniss and Remie Streete. He was released upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.


Shrewsbury Town

McGivern signed with League One side
Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...
in June 2016, along with former Port Vale teammates
A-Jay Leitch-Smith Jay Leitch-Smith (born 6 March 1990), known as A-Jay Leitch-Smith, is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Hanley Town. A graduate of the Academy at Crewe Alexandra, he played on loan for Halifax Town, Newcastle ...
and
Louis Dodds Louis Bartholomew Dodds (born 8 October 1986) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or as a striker who is now a coach at club Congleton Town. After many years at the Leicester City Academy, Dodds turned professio ...
. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season, in a 0−1 home defeat against
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
. Featuring regularly for the club in the early part of the season saw McGivern recalled to the
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 ...
squad for the first time in nearly two years, however, subsequent call-ups limited his first-team opportunities at Shrewsbury during a period which also saw manager
Micky Mellon Michael Joseph Mellon (born 18 March 1972) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is the manager of club Oldham Athletic. As a player, he was a midfielder for clubs including Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion, Blackp ...
leave the club. He was recalled to the side by new manager
Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he was a left back from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, bar a brief loan spell with Burton Albion i ...
as Shrewsbury kept back-to-back clean sheets in 0−0 draws against former club
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 ...
and
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 ...
, but a
shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...
injury picked up in the next match, a 1−0 victory away at
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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
in December, kept him out of contention for a minimum of three weeks. He was not allocated a
squad number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...
ahead of the following season, having been told he was not in the club's plans. On 31 August 2017, McGivern had his contract terminated by mutual consent.


Northampton Town

On 3 November 2017, McGivern signed a two-month contract with League One side
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
. Manager
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...
said that "with
Regan Poole Regan Leslie Poole (born 18 June 1998) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a centre back for club Portsmouth and the Wales national team. Early life Poole was born in Cardiff and loved playing football from an early age. Club career Newport C ...
playing a lot of his football in midfield recently and with
Leon Barnett Leon Peter Barnett (born 30 November 1985) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Defender (association football), defender, he primarily played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back, but a ...
recovering from injury, while
Ash Taylor Ashton John Taylor (born 2 September 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Gibraltar Football League club FCB Magpies. He began his career with Tranmere Rovers, and during his time there had a loan spell at Colwyn Ba ...
and
Aaron Pierre Aaron Pierre may refer to: * Aaron Pierre (footballer) (born 1993), Grenadian footballer * Aaron Pierre (actor) (born 1994), English actor {{hndis, Pierre, Aaron ...
have done very well, they have had to play a lot of football recently and haven't had the benefit of competition for their places. Ryan coming in provides that and, with him having been on the
training ground A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important ...
with us for a while, we have had the chance to have a look at him and he has already fitted in well with the group." He was released by the "Cobblers" upon the expiry of his contract on 3 January 2018.


Swindon Town

On 15 March 2018, following an increasing amount of injuries at the County Ground, McGivern joined
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...
on a deal until the end of the 2017–18 League Two campaign. He was Phil Brown's first signing as manager of the "Robins". Swindon offered him a new contract at the end of the season, but never signed it and instead left the club on 28 June after Brown confirmed that the offer had been withdrawn.


Linfield

On 23 July 2018, following his release from Swindon, McGivern returned to Northern Ireland to join
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 Linfield on a three-year deal. "Blues" manager David Healy said that he believed McGivern would "make a major contribution to the club". However, injury problems meant that he featured only five times during the 2018–19 title-winning season after making his debut in a 1–0 victory over
Ballymena United Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The club has been man ...
on 23 February. He was an unused substitute in the final of the
Northern Ireland Football League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean Cup for sponsorship purposes, and commonly known as the Irish League Cup) is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the N ...
, where Linfield beat
Ballymena United Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds. The club has been man ...
. He made 12 appearances during the 2019–20 season, before self-isolating after testing positive for
Coronavirus disease 2019 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 f ...
on 10 March. Linfield were crowned league champions on points per game after the season was ended early due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland The COVID-19 pandemic reached Northern Ireland in February 2020. At the start of the first official lockdown, the Department of Health (Northern Ireland), Department of Health reported 3,445 deaths overall among people who had recently tested ...
. He featured just four times in the
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
campaign, scoring one goal in a 5–1 win over
Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as th ...
at
Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...
.


Newry City

On 8 June 2021, he signed a two-year contract with
NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...
club Newry City, his hometown club. He was sent off during a 2–0 win at
Ards Ards (or ARDS, ARDs) may refer to: Medical * ARDS, Acute respiratory distress syndrome * ARDs, age-related diseases Places * Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland ** Ards (territory), several historical territorial divisions on the Ards Peninsula ...
in November. He made 21 league appearances in the 2021–22 campaign as Newry won the Championship title and secured
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
into the NIFL Premiership. On 7 February 2023, he played in the
Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Co ...
final as Newry beat
Dungannon Swifts Dungannon Swifts Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1949, has risen from the Mid-Ulster league to the top tier in Northern Ireland since its election to the I ...
2–0. He featured in 33 league games throughout the
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
season. He featured 26 times in the 2023–24 season as the club were relegated in last place. He extended his stay into the 2024–25 season. Newry suffered a second successive relegeation.


International career

McGivern was a regular at various under-age levels for
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 ...
, winning caps at under-17 level in 2006, before elevation to the under-19 set-up in 2007. He played in the Northern Ireland elite side during their 2008
Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...
win.
Steve Beaglehole Steven Beaglehole (born 17 October 1960) is an English football coach who is currently working at Leicester City with youth squads. He managed Doncaster Rovers from 1991 to 1993. Playing career Beaglehole's playing career included appearanc ...
called McGivern to the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad for a mini-tournament in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
on 19 and 20 August 2008. He did not make his under-21 debut as
Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County ...
instead promoted McGivern into the full Northern Ireland squad as a replacement for the injured
George McCartney George Macartney or McCartney may refer to: * George Macartney (British Army officer) (died 1730) *George Macartney (1672–1757), MP for Belfast, Newton Limavady and Donegal * George Macartney (died 1724), MP for Belfast *George McCartney, 1st Ear ...
for a friendly international against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
on 20 August. Aged 18, he made his debut in that match as a starter, but was sent off for two bookable offences by referee
Nicolai Vollquartz Nicolai Vollquartz (born 7 February 1965) is a Danish football referee. He was born in Viborg. He was promoted to the FIFA referees list in 1999 and took charge of his first UEFA Cup match – a first round tie between Rapid București and Liverp ...
. On 11 October 2008, he made his competitive debut for Northern Ireland, coming on as a second-half substitute in a
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oce ...
match against
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
; the match ended in a 2–0 defeat. He continued to make occasional appearances for the national team, featuring in three further 2010 World Cup qualifying games. However, he played in just one Euro 2012 qualifying game and two 2014 World Cup qualification matches. He did not feature for Northern Ireland in their
Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
campaign but was recalled to the squad in September 2016 for their first
2018 World Cup qualifying The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
match against the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. McGivern made his first international appearance since 2014, as a
half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
substitute in a 3–0 defeat to
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, on 15 November 2016.


Career statistics


Club statistics


International statistics


Honours

Northern Ireland *
Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area of ...
: 2008 Manchester City *
FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
: 2008 Hibernian *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 ...
Linfield *
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 ...
: 2018–19, 2019–20,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*
Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (known as the BetMcLean Cup for sponsorship purposes, and commonly known as the Irish League Cup) is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the ...
: 2018–19 Newry City *
NIFL Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championsh ...
: 2021–22 *
Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Co ...
: 2023


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGivern, Ryan 1990 births Living people Association footballers from Newry Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland men's international footballers Northern Ireland men's B international footballers Men's association football defenders Manchester City F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Newry City A.F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players NIFL Premiership players NIFL Championship players 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland