David Forde

Early career

Forde made his League of Ireland debut for his hometown side Galway United at Terryland Park on 3 September 1999. His form led to a move to Welsh side Barry Town. Here, he continued to show his potential as an excellent shot stopper, playing in sixteen league matches for the club, and in February 2002, he joined West Ham United for a fee of £75,000. Forde initially had a trial at Upton Park before earning a professional contract. He was recommended to the 'Hammers' by Barry Town boss Kenny Brown, a former West Ham player. Initially, Forde had ambitions of "looking to make the first team" at a time when David James was firmly established as England's World Cup number one, however, the signing of Raimond van der Gouw in the summer of 2002 pushed him further down the pecking order. At the start of the 2002/2003 season, manager Glenn Roeder made Forde available for loan and it was then when Forde first joined Derry City. After spending the season on loan at The Brandywell, Forde moved back to his hometown and signed for League of Ireland First Division side Galway United. It was at Galway that Forde built a fine reputation in Irish football circles and his form earned him a permanent move back to Derry City for the 2005 season. During this season and the next, he was ever present for 'City', consistently producing excellent performances and helping them to a second-place finish in the League of Ireland Premier Division on both occasions. Forde also played in…

Contrary to certain stories, Forde is not a Welsh former under-21 international. Forde stated, "I'm not sure where that came from, but it's wrong," continuing, "That story started a long time ago when I played for Barry Town and seems to have stuck. I even read that I have a Welsh grandmother, but that's not right. Don't get me wrong because I love it here in Wales, but I am only qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland." Forde was called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the first time on 13 March 2011, after impressing manager Giovanni Trapattoni by keeping 20 clean sheets (out of 46) in Millwall's first season back in the Football League Championship. Ireland played Macedonia and Uruguay although he remained on the bench for both games. On 24 May 2011, Forde made his Republic of Ireland debut against Northern Ireland, coming on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes of the game which Ireland won 5–0. He played his debut for Ireland on 7 June 2011 in a friendly international against Italy, conceding no goals. He played in another friendly international against Greece on 14 November 2012 and conceded the only goal of the match. He was selected by Ireland for the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, alongside Keiren Westwood and Shay Given, however it was the latter who played all the matches. With Given's retirement after the tournament, Westwood briefly took over. But when Westwood stopped being played by his club, Giovanni Trapattoni decided to give Forde a chance in…

Born in Galway, Forde grew up in the west side of the city. He received his primary education at St. Patrick's Boys' School in the city and his secondary education from St. Joseph's Patrician College. Forde played football for local underage sides in Galway in his youth, representing Newcastle United and Galway Hibernians. He was scouted by Dublin-based club, Belvedere and played for their youth teams.

Forde practises the ancient art of Japa.