Colin Doyle

Early career

Doyle was born in Cork, County Cork, and attended Douglas Community School. He played both Gaelic football and hurling with Douglas GAA, before taking up association football with Douglas Hall. He joined Birmingham City as an academy scholar during 2001, before signing his first professional contract in 2003. He made his first senior appearance for the club during the 4–0 victory over the Malaysian national team during the first Premier League Asia Trophy on 26 July 2003, replacing Ian Bennett with 13 minutes of the match remaining. Having not yet made a professional appearance for Birmingham, Doyle joined League Two club Chester City on loan in October 2004. Chester's first-choice goalkeeper Wayne Brown was injured and they needed cover for reserve Chris Mackenzie. While at Chester, Doyle played his first match in English senior football as Chester defeated Rochdale in the Football League Trophy. After returning to Birmingham, Doyle soon linked up with Championship club Nottingham Forest on a short-term loan in December 2004. The loan was then extended to keep him at the City Ground for the rest of the season. Doyle made his first-team debut for Forest in a fifth-round FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur on 20 February 2005. As the match approached half-time, Doyle gifted Tottenham the lead as a Jermain Defoe free kick bounced out of his hands and into the net, but Forest were able to equalise in the second half to take the tie to a replay. Even though…

In August 2006, Doyle played for the Republic of Ireland under-21s away against Greece and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory. He went on to make three further appearances for the U21 team. He made his first appearance for the senior national team, starting in a 1–1 friendly draw with Ecuador, on 23 May 2007. The match was at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Following this match, he made an appearance for the Republic of Ireland B squad, playing 81 minutes of a match against Scotland B on 20 November 2007. In November 2016, regular football for Bradford City – chasing promotion from League One – and an impressive performance when watched by Ireland's goalkeeping coach, Jim McDonagh, led to Doyle's recall to the international squad for the first time in seven years. He was an unused substitute for the World Cup qualifier away to Austria; his former Birmingham teammate Darren Randolph kept a clean sheet as Ireland won 1–0. On 23 March 2018, he made his first senior appearance for Ireland in almost 11 years, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 defeat to Turkey.

Club

As of match played 10 December 2024

International

Doyle and his wife Becky have three children.