Stuart Callaghan (born 20 July 1976) is a Scottish former

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 le ...

who played for several Scottish league clubs, mostly in the lower divisions, after starting out in the top level as a youth player with Heart of Midlothian. He also played in Finland for Finnairin Palloilijat on loan, and in Northern Ireland for Linfield.

Career

At Hearts, his most notable achievement was taking part in the semi-final of the

1996–97 Scottish League Cup The 1996–97 Scottish League Cup was the 51st staging of Scotland's second most prestigious football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Coca-Cola Cup. The competition was won by Rangers, who defeated Heart of Mi ...

, winning a penalty for his side in a 3–1 win over

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

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-larges ...

. However, he was not selected in the squad for

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

in an era where only three substitutes were allowed. Finding opportunities limited at

Tynecastle Park Tynecastle Park is a football stadium in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). It has also hosted Scotland international matches, and been used as a ...

, Callaghan had a season with Linfield and won the 1999–2000 League and League Cup with the ''Blues'', before returning to Scotland, initially with

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

but quickly switching to

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

where he won the country's lowest senior division in his first campaign (the only season endured at that level by the ''Accies'' in their history) and was involved in the first matches at the club's new stadium. He later had spells with semi-professional clubs

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a ...

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

and

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, just south of the border with Scotland. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite hailing fr ...

, playing regularly for each and winning a rare promotion to the First Division with Brechin, before moving to down to the

Junior grade A junior grade is a subdivision of a military rank, lower than the corresponding rank without that qualification. In the U.S. armed forces, the Army formerly appointed warrant officers (junior grade), and the Navy's lieutenants, junior grade ar ...

in his mid-30s. After retiring from playing, he took on a role as a youth football coach.

Honours

Linfield * Irish League: 1999–2000 *

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

: 1999–2000 Hamilton Academical *

Scottish Third Division The Scottish Football League Third Division was the fourth tier of the Scottish football league system between 1994 and 2013. History The Scottish football league system had operated with three divisions in the Scottish Football League (SFL) fro ...

: 2000–01 Brechin City *

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...

: 2004–05

References

External links

London Hearts Supporters' Club profile

Veikkausliiga historical statistics profile
* *
Bankies Archive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Stuart 1976 births Living people Footballers from North Lanarkshire Men's association football midfielders Scottish men's footballers Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Clydebank F.C. (1965) players Linfield F.C. players NIFL Premiership players Veikkausliiga players FinnPa players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Alloa Athletic F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Berwick Rangers F.C. players Beith Juniors F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Finland