Steve Finnan

Early career

Finnan was born in the Janesboro area of Limerick, and moved to Chelmsford, England, at a young age. He began his career playing in Wimbledon's youth system, but he joined non-League club Welling United in 1993 after being released at the age of 16. Finnan turned professional when he signed with Birmingham City in 1995, who paid a fee of £100,000 to Welling United to acquire his services. He scored his first professional goal against Watford on 23 September 1995.

Notts County

Finnan made a loan switch to Notts County in March 1996, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over Walsall and scoring his first goal a month later in a 4–2 victory over Bristol Rovers. He appeared in all of Notts' games for the remainder of the season, helping the team finish fourth in the Second Division and qualify for the promotion play-offs. In the first-leg of the semi-finals held at the Alexandra Stadium he scored against Crewe Alexandra, with the match ending 2–2. The return-leg at home saw Notts win 1–0, winning 3–2 on aggregate. In the play-off final against Bradford City at Wembley Stadium, Notts County lost 2–0. He returned to Birmingham following the conclusion of the loan deal. During the following 1996–97 season, Notts County signed Finnan for a fee £300,000 on 30 October 1996. He played his first match as a permanent player for Notts County after being introduced as a substitute against Shrewsbury Town. The season was not a successful one for Finnan as Notts…

Club

International

Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Finnan goal.

A Republic of Ireland under-21 international, Finnan made his debut for the senior side on 26 April 2000, against Greece. He cemented his place in the starting eleven during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, supplying the cross for Jason McAteer to score the only goal in a crucial 1–0 win against the Netherlands on 1 September 2001. Finnan appeared in all three of Ireland's group matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Cameroon, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Ireland progressed to the Round of 16 of the tournament for only the third time in their history where they faced Spain. The match ended 1–1 in extra-time and went to penalties. Finnan took a penalty and scored, but Ireland eventually lost the shootout 3–2. Injury disrupted Finnan's participation in the unsuccessful attempt to reach the Euro 2004 finals. He was a regular starter in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches but Ireland failed to qualify for the finals. He was again a regular starter in the Euro 2008 qualification matches but Ireland did not qualify for the finals. He scored his second international goal in the group match against Cyprus in a 1–1 draw. He announced his retirement from international football on 22 January 2008 after making 50 appearances for the Republic of Ireland. Tempted by the prospect of working with the newly appointed Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Finnan came out of retirement in August 2008 to be included in the squad to face Norway in an international…

Finnan was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving on 14 June 2005, after his Range Rover ran over an 81-year-old man from Liverpool, who later died of his injuries. Finnan faced no charges over the man's death, despite his vehicle travelling at 58mph in a 30mph zone. Finnan later expressed his sympathy to the man's family. In May 2015, Finnan was living in London and working in property development. On 4 December 2023, the High Court struck out a £6 million professional-negligence claim brought by Finnan against law firm Charles Russell Speechlys in relation to advice over a property dispute with his brother. On 20 August 2024, he unsuccessfully challenged a costs judgment ordering him to pay around £120,000 to another former firm of solicitors. On 18 November 2025, UK legal and news outlets reported that Finnan had become the subject of a bankruptcy petition in the Central London County Court, based on an unpaid five-figure costs order arising from the same dispute, and that a High Court judge later described his attempt to appeal directions in the petition as "totally without merit" and "completely hopeless".