Keith Fahey

Early career

Fahey started his professional career as a trainee with Arsenal before signing for Aston Villa in April 2000 for a fee of £250,000. He played for Villa's youth and reserve teams, but never made a first-team appearance.

Return to Ireland

Having failed to settle in England, Fahey returned home in 2003. He initially played a few games in non-League football for Bluebell United, before a six-week trial at St Patrick's Athletic led to a contract. He made his League of Ireland debut and had a goal disallowed at Waterford United on 21 April. He contributed to St Pats's victory in the League of Ireland Cup and scored a "stunning" free kick in extra time of the semi-final replay against Bohemians to reach the FAI Cup final. However the final turned out to be very disappointing for both team and player, who was sent off for a "two-footed lunge" on Longford Town's Sean Prunty after 77 minutes as the Saints lost 2–0. He joined Drogheda United in exchange for Alan Reilly and a cash adjustment in July 2005. He was involved in Mark Leech's golden goal that won the Setanta Cup for Drogheda in April 2006, but a few months later was released, following a disagreement with manager Paul Doolin, and returned to St Pats. RTÉ reported that "Danger man Fahey was quieter than usual" as Pats lost 2–0 to Hertha BSC in the first round of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, held at the Olympiastadion; however, in the second leg, despite Pats' "excellent performance" failing to overturn…

Fahey played for the Republic of Ireland at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship and scored against their English counterparts. He also played at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, where he contributed to Ireland topping their group to reach the knockout stages. In the second round match against Colombia under-20, he came on as a late substitute to assist Kevin Doyle's goal and help turn the game around, coming back from a two-goal deficit only to lose on the golden goal. On 25 May 2010, Fahey won his first senior cap for the Republic of Ireland in a 2–1 win against Paraguay at the RDS Arena, replacing Damien Duff in the 77th minute. He made his first start against Argentina on 12 August, in the first international match at the new Aviva Stadium. Fahey scored his first goal for the Republic of Ireland eight minutes into his competitive debut, coming off the bench to score the only goal in a Euro 2012 qualifying win over Armenia in Yerevan on 3 September 2010. On his first competitive start, in a 1–1 draw against Slovakia in Žilina on 12 October, Fahey delivered the free kick that led to Ireland's goal, scored by Sean St. Ledger. In February 2011, he scored his second goal for Ireland in a 3–0 defeat of Wales in the 2011 Nations Cup, and his third came in March 2011, a penalty against Uruguay. Fahey was part of the squad that clinched victory in the inaugural Nations Cup with a 1–0 win over Scotland on 29 May 2011 at the Aviva Stadium. He was called into…

Club

International

International goals

St Patrick's Athletic

League of Ireland Cup: 2003 President's Cup: 2014 Leinster Senior Cup: 2014 FAI Cup: 2014 Drogheda United

Setanta Sports Cup: 2006 Birmingham City

Football League Cup: 2010–11 Football League Championship runner-up: 2008–09 Republic of Ireland

Nations Cup: 2011 Individual

PFAI Players' Player of the Year: 2008 Monday Night Soccer Goal of the Season: 2008 Birmingham City Goal of the Season: 2011–12 (vs Crystal Palace) St Patrick's Athletic Player of the Year (3): 2004, 2007, 2008