Rory Delap

Carlisle United

He was one of several promising players who came through the ranks at Brunton Park during the mid-1990s, alongside Matt Jansen, Scott Dobie and Lee Peacock. In 1997, he was part of the side which gained promotion to Division Two and defeated Colchester United on penalties to win the Football League Trophy at Wembley Stadium.

Derby County

Delap was signed by Derby County manager Jim Smith for £200,000 in February 1998, and went on to make 13 appearances during the remainder of the 1997–98 season. Despite failing to score a league goal during the 1998–99 season, he did manage to find the net in a second round League Cup tie with Manchester City. During the 1999–00 season he was Derby's top scorer with eight goals. His first goal of the campaign came during a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal. After scoring his second goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, his third came during a 3–3 stalemate with his future club Southampton. A 3–1 home victory over Chelsea saw Delap score two goals and increase his tally to five, while it was just two games later when he scored against eventual champions Manchester United in a 2–1 loss at Pride Park. Later that season, Delap scored and assisted a goal in a 3–0 win over Leicester City – a game in which Stan Collymore broke his leg. His eighth and final goal of the campaign came after just 22 seconds of a 4–4 draw with Bradford City, although he was later sent off for conceding one of four penalties.…

A former Republic of Ireland under-21 international, Delap won 11 caps for the national team between 1998 and 2004. He was not included in the Irish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where the nation reached the final sixteen of the tournament. His international career was marked by a number of withdrawals, the last of which was with a twisted knee on 25 April 2004 before a midweek friendly with Poland.

After retiring from playing he began working as a coach at Derby County's academy. In June 2015 he was appointed coach of Derby's under-18 side. On 10 February 2016, he was promoted to coach of the under-21 team. Delap returned to Stoke in June 2018 as first-team coach to Gary Rowett. Delap took caretaker charge of Stoke on 1 November 2019 following the sacking of Nathan Jones. His one game in charge was a 2–0 home loss to West Bromwich Albion four days later, and Michael O'Neill was appointed on 9 November. Delap left his role at Stoke in January 2023. In June 2023, Delap was appointed assistant under head coach Robbie Keane at Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Delap and his former international teammate Keane were evacuated to Greece during the Gaza war, while their team led the table with four wins and a draw. After helping the club to win the league and Toto Cup, Delap along with Keane departed the club.

Delap was born in Sutton Coldfield to Irish parents. His family moved to Carlisle when he was just six months old. He subsequently supported Carlisle United and attended matches at Brunton Park with his father. Rory's father is John Delap from Letterkenny and his mother Maura Delap from Kells. His uncle is Paddy Delap, a Letterkenny businessman, golfer, and athletics coach who runs Clarke's Newsagent's and organises an annual charity cycling event in aid of cancer noted for launching the career of former Cervélo TestTeam member Philip Deignan. Another uncle, Anthony, is an actor-playwright whose works have been performed at An Grianán Theatre in the town. Delap visits his family in Letterkenny at least once every year. He married Helen Brentnall, in 2006. They met after he joined Derby County, where she was employed as a physiotherapist. Her mum was physiotherapist for the England cricket team. They were the first couple to marry at Shottle Hall in Derbyshire. Her father was reported as being a General Practitioner in the Derbyshire area. Their sons, Liam and Finn are both professional footballers, playing for Nottingham Forest and Burton Albion respectively.