Paul Rooney (footballer)

Paul Rooney

Personal information
Full name	Paul Laurence Michael Rooney[1]
Date of birth	(1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3]
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
2014–2015	St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015	St Patrick's Athletic	0	(0)
2016	Bohemians	0	(0)
2016–2018	Millwall	0	(0)
2016–2017	→ Torquay United (loan)	6	(1)
2018–2019	Colchester United	0	(0)
2018	→ Bromley (loan)	5	(0)
2018–2019	→ Billericay Town (loan)	17	(0)
2019–2021	Dover Athletic	21	(1)
2021–2023	Havant & Waterlooville	54	(4)
2023–2024	Dartford	38	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:10, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

Paul Laurence Michael Rooney (born 22 March 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender. He is currently a free agent.

He spent his early senior career in his native Ireland at St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians before signing for the English club Millwall. He had a loan spell at Torquay United during the 2016–17 season and made a permanent switch to Colchester United in January 2018. He joined Bromley on a short-term loan deal in September 2018 and then Billericay Town on another loan in November 2018. He was released by Colchester at the end of his contract in the summer of 2019.

Career

Born in Dublin, Ireland,^[2] Rooney came through the youth setup at St Patrick's Athletic. He was a part of the team that won the national under-19 league in 2015 by beating Derry City 3–2 in the final in Buncrana.^[4][5]

His debut in senior football was on 22 September 2015, a 1–0 loss against Dundalk in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior Cup at Richmond Park.^[6] Rooney went on to be an unused substitute in another nine games for Pats in the 2015 season.^[7] He signed for Dublin rivals Bohemians ahead of the 2016 League of Ireland season. He made two appearances for the club, a 4–3 win over Dundalk, and a 1–0 win over UCD, both in the Leinster Senior Cup.^[8][9]

Rooney signed for English club Millwall in July 2016.^[10] He made his Millwall debut on 8 November 2016 in a 3–1 win away to Luton Town in the Football League Trophy.^[11]

On 8 December 2016, Rooney signed a 28-day loan deal with National League club Torquay United.^[12] His loan was extended by a further 28 days on 6 January 2017.^[13]

On 24 January 2018, Rooney signed for League Two side Colchester United on a one-and-a-half-year deal.^[14] He was called up to the first-team squad for the first time ahead of Colchester's League Two game against Yeovil Town on 17 March. He was given squad number 46.^[15]

On 4 September 2018, Rooney made his Colchester United debut starting in their 2–0 defeat by Southampton Under-21s in the EFL Trophy.^[16]

On 28 September 2018, Rooney joined National League side Bromley on loan in an initial month-long deal.^[17] He made his debut on 29 September in Bromley's 2–2 draw with FC Halifax Town.^[18]

After his Bromley loan ended in November, Rooney joined National League South side Billericay Town on loan on 30 November.^[19] He made his debut on 1 December in a 3–2 defeat to Oxford City.^[7] His loan was extended until the end of the season on 4 January 2019.^[20]

On 14 May 2019, it was announced Rooney was to leave Colchester United at the end of his contract.^[21][22]

In June 2019, he signed for Dover Athletic.^[23] Following's Dover's decision to not play any more matches in the 2020–21 season, made in late January, and subsequent null and voiding of all results, on 5 May 2021 it was announced that Rooney was out of contract and had left the club.^[24]

On 22 May 2021, Rooney joined National League South side Havant & Waterlooville.^[25]

On 25 May 2023, Rooney joined Dartford.^[26]

Career statistics

As of 23 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Patrick's Athletic	2015[6]	LOI Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[a]	0	1	0
Bohemians	2016[8][9]	LOI Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	2[a]	0	2	0
Millwall	2016–17[11]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[b]	0	1	0
	2017–18[27]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Torquay United (loan)	2016–17[7]	National League	6	1	0	0	–		1[c]	0	7	1
Colchester United	2017–18[27]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2018–19[16]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[b]	0	1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Bromley (loan)	2018–19[7]	National League	5	0	1	0	–		0	0	6	0
Billericay Town (loan)	2018–19[7]	National League South	17	0	0	0	–		1[c]	0	18	0
Dover Athletic	2019–20[7]	National League	18	1	3	0	–		0	0	21	1
	2020–21[7]	National League	3	0	0	0	—		1[c]	0	4	0
	Total		21	1	3	0	—		1	0	25	1
Havant & Waterlooville	2021–22[7]	National League South	25	0	3	0	–		1[c]	0	25	0
	2022–23[7]	National League South	29	4	0	0	—		0	0	29	4
	Total		54	4	3	0	—		1	0	58	4
Dartford	2023–24[7]	National League South	38	3	1	0	–		6[d][e][f]	0	45	3
Career total			141	9	8	0	0	0	15	0	164	9

1. Appearance(s) in Leinster Senior Cup
2. Appearance in EFL Trophy
3. Appearance in FA Trophy
4. Three appearances in the London Senior Cup
5. One appearance in the FA Trophy
6. Two appearances in the Kent Senior Cup

References

1. "Retained List 2016–17" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
2. "Football Squads - Millwall – 2017/2018". FootballSquads. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
3. "Paul Rooney – DOVER ATHLETIC FC".
4. "St Patrick's Athletic Win SSE Airtricity U19 League". St Patrick's Athletic F.C. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
5. Arthur Duffy (25 April 2015). "Heartbreak as Derry City lose out in dramatic U19 Elite League Final". Derry Journal. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
6. "Live Updates - Leinster Senior Cup - St Patrick's Athletic -v- Dundalk". Extra Time. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
7. Paul Rooney at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
8. "LSC: Bohs 4-3 Dundalk - Dundalk Football Club". Dundalk F.C. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
9. Aaron Gallagher (23 May 2016). "Leinster Senior Cup Report: UCD 0 - 1 Bohemians". Extra Time. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
10. "Paul Rooney: Millwall sign former Bohemians centre-back". BBC Sport. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
11. "Games played by Paul Rooney in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
12. "Millwall defender Rooney joins Torquay United on loan". Millwall F.C. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
13. "Millwall defender Rooney extends Torquay loan". Millwall F.C. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
14. "Colchester sign Millwall defender Rooney". BBC Sport. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
15. Matt Hudson (16 March 2018). "Rooney Called Up For Yeovil Game". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
16. "Games played by Paul Rooney in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
17. "Paul Rooney joins Bromley on short term loan deal". The Non-League Paper. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
18. "Bromley 2–2 FC Halifax Town". BBC Sport. 29 September 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
19. Hudson, Matt (30 November 2018). "Rooney Heads To Billericay". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
20. Hudson, Matt (4 January 2019). "Rooney Remains With Billericay". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
21. Hudson, Matt (14 May 2019). "U23s Players To Leave The U's". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
22. Waldron, Jonathan (14 May 2019). "Colchester United under-23 players to leave the club". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
23. "Dover agree Rooney deal". Kent Online. 10 June 2019.
24. "RETAINED AND RELEASED LIST". www.doverathletic.com. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
25. "Havant and Waterlooville FC Sign Paul Rooney". www.havantandwaterloovillefc.co.uk. 22 May 2021.
26. "NEW SIGNING : Paul Rooney". www.dartfordfc.com. 25 May 2023.
27. "Games played by Paul Rooney in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 January 2018.