Irish professional footballer
Ronan Finn
(born 21 December 1987) is an
Irish
professional
footballer
who plays as a
midfielder
for
League of Ireland First Division
side
UCD
, where he is also club captain. Across a playing career spanning nearly 20 years, he has turned out for
UCD
(over 2 spells),
Sporting Fingal
,
Dundalk
and
Shamrock Rovers
(over 2 spells). Having made over 50 appearances in European competition, Finn competed in the group stages of the
Europa League
with both Shamrock Rovers (2011) and Dundalk (2016).
[1]
[2]
Club career
[
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]
Finn began his youth career at
Cambridge United
, spending eight months with their youth team in 2004?05.
[3]
Due to a requirement that he had to finish school in Ireland, he would fly from Dublin to Cambridge after school on Fridays, play a game on Saturday and fly straight back home. Finn scored on his
FA Youth Cup
debut in a 3?1 victory over
Mansfield Town
.
[4]
As the demands to fly over became more frequent from Cambridge United youth manager Ricky Duncan, Finn decided to end his time with the club to instead focus on his education.
[3]
Finn was signed by
UCD
in 2005 and went straight into the under-21 team. He was a member of the side that won a second straight Dr. Tony O'Neill Under-21 League Championship, scoring the winning goal in the final against
Shelbourne
. His impressive displays earned him a call-up to the first-team squad towards the end of the season. He made his
League of Ireland
debut for
UCD
in a 1?0 defeat against
Longford Town
in November 2005. He made his home debut the following week on 18 November against
Shamrock Rovers
, again as a substitute, and also scored his first senior goal in this fixture.
Finn started the 2006 season back in the under-21s. He regularly began to make the match day squad at the beginning of June, making a couple of brief substitute appearances. However, he got his chance to impress when he was handed his first senior start away to
Sligo Rovers
in August and was named the man-of-the-match in this game. He became a regular name on U.C.D. manager Pete Mahon's teamsheet for the remainder of the season. Finn made his
FAI Cup
debut in the third round against
Limerick
and scored his first goals of the season in this game, scoring twice in a 3?1 win. His displays did not go unnoticed, and he was nominated for the
PFAI
Young Player of the Year
award and also won the UCD Supporters' New Player of the Yea.
Finn secured his place as a regular in centre midfield in 2007. He forged a partnership with fellow Irish under-21 international
Shane McFaul
, which helping
UCD
reach the semi-finals of both the League and FAI Cups.
With the retirement of
Tony McDonnell
and the departure of Shane McFaul in 2008, Finn became one of the most experienced central midfielders at the club and formed a new partnership with Alan McNally in the centre. He began the 2008 season in good form in the opening games against
Derry City
and
Bray Wanderers
. However,
UCD
struggled as the season went on and was eventually relegated after finishing bottom of the Premier Division.
Following relegation,
UCD
lost almost all of its first-team squad but Finn decided to remain to complete his degree in Sports Management at the university. Finn was handed the captaincy of this squad by
Martin Russell
who led them to promotion and the 2009 First Division title.
[5]
He was subsequently named the PFAI First Division Player of the Year for 2009.
[6]
Sporting Fingal
[
edit
]
Finn departed
UCD
after five seasons to join
Sporting Fingal
on 8 December 2009.
[7]
He represented the club in the
2010?11 UEFA Europa League
qualifying second round against
Maritimo
.
[8]
On 10 February 2011 the directors of Sporting Fingal confirmed that the club withdrew its application for a licence from the FAI to participate in the 2011 Airtricity League season.
[9]
This decision was made after funding targets integral to the club's continued existence were not reached during the off-season. After their demise, Finn became a free agent.
Shamrock Rovers
[
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]
Following the demise of
Sporting Fingal
, Finn signed for
Shamrock Rovers
on a two-year deal in February 2011
[10]
He made his League debut for the club in the opening night win over Dundalk
[11]
and helped them win the
Setanta Sports Cup
by beating Dundalk 2?0 in the final.
In his first season at the club, Finn won the
League of Ireland Premier Division
and was also a member of the first Irish team to reach the group stage of European competition, as they went on to reach the
2011?12 UEFA Europa League
group stages.
[12]
Dundalk
[
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]
In December 2014, Finn signed a two-year deal with Dundalk, linking up with his former boss at Shamrock Rovers,
Stephen Kenny
.
[13]
He won the league and cup double at the club in 2015. Following the departure of
Richie Towell
in December 2015, Finn was played in a more advanced position.
[14]
His form in this role and a
hat-trick
against
Longford Town
on 9 April
[15]
led to him being named the SWAI
League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month
for the first time in his career in April 2016.
[16]
Finn played in all 6 of Dundalk's
UEFA Champions League
qualifying matches as they reached the play-off stage.
[17]
Shamrock Rovers return
[
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]
In December 2016, Finn returned to
Shamrock Rovers
. On 31 March 2017, he scored his first league goal since his return to the club, in a 3?2 win against
Finn Harps
at
Tallaght Stadium
.
Finn holds the record for the most European appearances by a League of Ireland player (63)
[18]
He scored his only European goal against
Hibernians F.C.
in a
2022?23 UEFA Champions League
qualifier
[19]
Return to UCD
[
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]
On 2 November 2023, Finn announced that he would be returning to his first senior club
UCD
, despite an offer of a contract extension from
Shamrock Rovers
, in order to combine football with a two-year Masters’ course in Sports Management at the University.
[20]
International career
[
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]
Finn was called up to the
Republic of Ireland U21
squad for the first time in early 2007, for the annual Madeira Cup tournament. He won his first cap when he came on as a half-time substitute against Madeira. In May 2010, Finn made his
Republic of Ireland U23
debut against
England C
in the
2009?11 International Challenge Trophy
game at the
Waterford Regional Sports Centre
.
[21]
Personal life
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]
Finn has a degree in Sports Management from
University College Dublin
.
[5]
Honours
[
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]
UCD
Shamrock Rovers
Dundalk
- League of Ireland Premier Division:
2015
,
2016
- FAI Cup:
2015
Individual
References
[
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]
External links
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]