CONOR HOURIHANE

Born: 02 February 1991

Came from: Ipswich Town   Went to: Barnsley

First game: 06 August 2011   Last game: 03 May 2014

Appearances: 142 (136/6)   Goals: 16

Hourihane began his career with hometown club Bandon before joining Douglas Hall AFC in Cork. His performances there led to a call-up to the Republic of Ireland schoolboy team and he later represented his country at every level up to under-21. A midfielder who could also play at left-back, he attracted the attention of several clubs, including Liverpool, Chelsea and Celtic, but in 2007 chose to join Sunderland, partly due to the presence of manager Roy Keane.

After completing a two-year apprenticeship at the Academy of Light he signed a professional contract and impressed for the academy and reserve teams. However, when offered a contract extension he turned it down and left the club without making a first team appearance. Citing competition for places as the main reason, he chose instead to pursue first team football at Ipswich Town, linking up again with former manager Keane.

Hourihane, who was also a talented Gaelic footballer and hurler, did not make a first team appearance during his first season at Portman Road but signed a six-month contract extension at the end of the 2010-11 campaign, new manager Paul Jewell wanting to evaluate him during the coming pre-season. Despite this he was allowed to join Argyle on a free transfer following a successful trial. Hourihane's first season at Home Park saw him become a regular member of the first team as he helped the club avoid relegation from the Football League.

Following the departure of Darren Purse to Port Vale and a change of management when Carl Fletcher was replaced by John Sheridan, the latter made Hourihane his captain - perhaps a surprising choice considering his comparative youth. Revelling as more of an attacking midfielder in a more successful side, in the 2013-14 season he appeared in all but one of the Pilgrims’ fixtures; the only game missed was due to him accumulating five bookings. He scored nine goals that season and provided a regular threat from free-kicks, including one in a memorable brace in Argyle's final game of the campaign, an entertaining 3-3 draw at Portsmouth's Fratton Park.

With 12 months still remaining on his contract, few that day could have foreseen that it would be his last game for the club, although it wasn't a surprise that his form attracted attention from a higher division. After two bids from Barnsley were declined, their manager (Danny Wilson, another successful midfielder) made a third bid, reported to be around £200,000 (though 50% of the fee would be paid to Argyle's creditors). The Argyle board of directors reluctantly accepted the offer and in June 2014, Hourihane duly signed for League One Barnsley on a three-year contract. Commenting on his departure, the board released a statement to point out that they had been forced to accept the best deal offered because Hourihane was unwilling to renew his contract at Home Park and his age meant that he would have been entitled to leave on a free transfer, without compensation for the club, the following summer.

Hourihane spent a very successful two and a half years at Oakwell, which proved to be yet another stepping stone in his career. He played 135 times and scored 31 goals, with 2015-16 being his most successful campaign, culminating in two visits to Wembley: a win in the Football League Trophy and success in the League One play-off final, returning the club to the Championship. His performances bought wider attention, and after much rumour he signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Championship rivals Aston Villa during the January 2017 transfer window. Whilst the fee was recorded as 'undisclosed', some reports suggested it was £3 million, with Argyle expected to receive a consequential windfall.

Hourihane spent six seasons at Villa Park, the first three at Championship level as the Midlands giants fought their way back to the Premier League. He scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 4-2 victory at home to Norwich City in August 2017, and in 2019 he signed a new three-year deal as a reward for helping the side win promotion to the Premier League. His first Premier League goal was in a 5-1 away victory over Norwich City (again), which meant that he had scored in all of the top four tiers of English football.

During his time at Villa Park, Hourihane was awarded a medal for the play-off success which led Villa back to the Premier League in 2019, and he also gained a League Cup runners-up medal in 2019-20 after a narrow 2-1 loss to Manchester City at Wembley. Also in those six years, he had spells at Championship side Swansea City, on loan for the second half of the 2020-21 season (24 games, five goals), and a full-season loan with Championship side Sheffield United in 2021-22 (31 games, one goal).

Hourihane was released by Aston Villa at the end of his contract in June 2022, having made 151 appearances and scoring 29 times. Whilst at Villa he won his first cap for the Republic of Ireland's senior side in March 2017, starting in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Iceland at the Aviva Stadium, and in March 2019 he scored his first senior international goal, in a 1-0 home win over Georgia. His final cap came in 2022, so amassing 36 caps for the Republic without adding to that single international goal.

In July 2022 he joined recently relegated Derby County in League One on a two-year deal. He was named captain ahead of the 2023-24 season and helped Derby secure automatic promotion to the Championship as runners-up of League One, with Hourihane lifting the promotion trophy.

Hourihane left Derby at the end of his contract in June 2024, after 98 appearances and 13 goals over two seasons. He then returned to Barnsley for the 2024-25 season, as a player-coach, on what was described as a multi-year deal.