Stephen Paisley (born 28 July 1983) is an Irish 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 lea ...

. Paisley was a central defender.

Career

Early career

Paisley played schoolboy football for Dublin sides St. Mochta's and Cherry Orchard before joining English

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 ...

side

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 ...

in 1999.

Manchester City

Paisley joined Manchester City in 1999 and spent three and a half years with the club playing at both youth and reserve team level.

Longford Town

Stephen joined

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...

in 2003 after being released by Manchester City in the summer. In his first season at Longford Town he won an FAI Cup medal and in 2004 he won a cup double as Longford retained the FAI Cup and won the League of Ireland Cup.

St. Patrick's Athletic

In March 2007 Paisley abruptly departed Longford Town on the eve of the new season after he was declared a free agent and he subsequently signed for

St. Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played ...

. In his two seasons with the

Inchicore Inchicore () is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Located approximately west of the city centre, Inchicore was originally a small village separate from Dublin. The village developed around Richmond Barracks (built 1810) and Inchi ...

club he finished a Premier Division runner-up and in all competitions made 56 appearances scoring 4 goals. On 22 November 2008 Paisley and seven other St Patrick's Athletic players were released by the club as the club's financial state deteriorated.

Sporting Fingal

Despite offers from Shamrock Rovers, Paisley signed for First Division club Sporting Fingal in January 2009. He was appointed club captain and in conjunction with the club and

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

he began a MSc in Finance and Capital Markets alongside his full-time football schedule. He achieved promotion and won the

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 ...

for a third time in his first season with the new League of Ireland entity. Paisley's spell at the club was hampered by injuries and he parted ways with Sporting Fingal in July 2010 as he accepted full-time employment in the financial services sector.

Shelbourne

Paisley made a swift return to League of Ireland football by signing for Shelbourne on 17 August 2010, reuniting with his former Longford Town manager

Alan Mathews Alan Mathews (born 27 June 1965)is an Irish former football player and manager. He is technical director at St Patrick's Athletic. Coaching career Following a stint as assistant at Shelbourne, Alan Mathews became Longford manager in the su ...

at the

Tolka Park Tolka Park () is an Ireland, Irish association football ground located in the Northside Dublin, north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Irelan ...

club. In 2011 Paisley was instrumental in the Shelbourne gaining promotion back to the Premier Division and their Cup progress. He was awarded man of the match in the 2011 FAI Cup final and later won the League of Ireland 'Player of the Month' award for November.

Bohemians

On 16 January 2013 Paisley signed for

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 upcoming

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 ...

campaign. He made his league debut for the club against Sligo Rovers 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., ...

on 29 March.Bohs-Sligo
/ref> In May of that year, Stephen left the club after only 4 league appearances due to work commitments.

International

Paisley has represented Ireland at U16, U18, U19, U20 and U21 level and has competed at an U19 FIFA European Championship and U20 FIFA World cup.

Honours

Longford Town *

(2): 2003,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

(1):

Sporting Fingal *

(1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Airtricity SWAI Player of the Month Award November 2011.

References

External links

Stephen Paisley's profile at www.shelbournefc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, Stephen 1983 births Living people Men's association football defenders Leinster Senior League (association football) players Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers League of Ireland players Longford Town F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Sporting Fingal F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Cherry Orchard F.C. players 21st-century Irish sportsmen