Michael Noonan (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 July 2008 | ||
| Place of birth | Rathangan, County Kildare, Ireland | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Monasterevin | |||
| –2022 | Ballyoulster United | ||
| 2022–2024 | St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024 | St Patrick's Athletic | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Shamrock Rovers | 21 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | Republic of Ireland U15 | 12 | (8) |
| 2023–2024 | Republic of Ireland U16 | 14 | (12) |
| 2024– | Republic of Ireland U17 | 13 | (5) |
| 2025– | Republic of Ireland U19 | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:37, 25 June 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:50, 9 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Michael Noonan (born 31 July 2008) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers. He started his senior career at his previous club St Patrick's Athletic.
Club career
Youth career
Raised in Rathangan, County Kildare, Noonan attended Ardscoil Rath Íongahain[1][2] and began playing his schoolboy football with Monasterevin.[3] He later played for Celbridge-based club Ballyoulster United, before signing for the Academy of League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic in 2022. He initially played for the club's under-15 side, before progressing through the under-17, under-19 and under-20 sides over the following 3 seasons.[4]
St Patrick's Athletic
On 3 February 2024, Noonan made his senior debut for St Patrick's Athletic, replacing Ruairí Keating from the bench in the 76th minute of a 3–1 win away to UCD in the Leinster Senior Cup.[5] On 17 September 2024, he scored his first goals in senior football, scoring twice in a 3–1 win over Maynooth University Town in the Semi Final of the same competition.[6] On 8 October 2024, he opened the scoring in the Final of the 2023–24 Leinster Senior Cup in an eventual 2–1 win over St Mochta's at Richmond Park.[7] His performances in the Leinster Senior Cup led to manager Stephen Kenny giving him his league debut on 14 October 2024, replacing Aidan Keena in the 89th minute of a 3–1 win over Bohemians at Dalymount Park.[8] Later that month he was linked with a move to Premier League champions Manchester City.[9][10]
Shamrock Rovers
On 15 January 2025, he signed for fellow League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers, turning down St Patrick's Athletic's matching contract offer as they had Mason Melia and Aidan Keena ahead of him in the pecking order, as well as Noonan being raised as a Shamrock Rovers fan by his family.[11][12][13] Noonan became the youngest ever scorer in UEFA Conference League history when he scored for Shamrock Rovers away at Norwegian side Molde in his debut for the club on 13 February 2025.[14][15][16] He scored the first senior league goal of his career in his 11th senior league appearance on 21 April 2025, giving his side a 2 goal lead in an eventual 3–2 loss at home to Bohemians in the Dublin Derby at Tallaght Stadium.[17]
International career
Noonan has previously represented the Republic of Ireland at various age levels. He scored 2 goals in 5 appearances for the Republic of Ireland U15 in 2022.[18] He continued his form into 2023 for the side, helping them to win the Torneo della Nazioni in Italy, scoring throughout the tournament including the winning goal against the hosts in the final on 1 May 2023.[19] On 15 May 2023, he scored on his second appearance for the Republic of Ireland U16 side, scoring the winner in the final of the UEFA Development Tournament in a 2–1 victory over hosts Slovakia U16.[20] On 11 November 2023, he scored in the final of the Victory Shield for the U16s as they retained their title with a 3–0 victory over Northern Ireland.[21] On 26 January 2024, he scored his first international hat-trick, in a 6–0 win over Greece U16 in İzmir, Turkey.[22] On 5 September 2024, he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U17 team in a 2–1 loss to Denmark U17 in Marbella, Spain.[23] He received his first called up to the Republic of Ireland U19 squad in March 2025.[24]
Personal life
He is the son of former League of Ireland player Andrew Noonan who in May 2025 was jailed for a 13 and a half year prison sentence for possessing €2.77 million worth of heroin in 2020.[25][26]
Career statistics
- As of match played on 23 June 2025[27]
| Club | Division | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2024 | LOI Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0[a] | 0 | 4[b] | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2025 | LOI Premier Division | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 0[b] | 0 | 23 | 7 |
| Career total | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 10 | ||
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in the UEFA Conference League
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
Honours
- St Patrick's Athletic
References
- ^ "Noonan back in school in Rathangan the morning after breaking European record - Homepage - Kildare Nationalist". kildare-nationalist.ie. 16 February 2025.
- ^ "Meet Michael Noonan: The transition year student and gifted GAA player who made European history with Shamrock Rovers". www.independent.ie. 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Congratulations to local lad and... - Monasterevin A.F.C".
- ^ "Michael Noonan | Stats | History | Career Details | Images | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com". www.extratime.com.
- ^ Merriman, Rory. "Leinster Senior Cup Report: UCD 1 -3 St Patrick's Athletic". extratime.com.
- ^ "Result: Saints 3 - Maynooth 1". www.stpatsfc.com.
- ^ Team, Extratime. "St Patrick's Athletic crowned Leinster Senior Cup winners". extratime.com.
- ^ Ward, Johnny (14 October 2024). "Tierney red proves a turning point as Pat's beat Bohs" – via www.rte.ie.
- ^ "St Pat's teenage striker Michael Noonan to finalise Manchester City deal this weekend". Irish Independent. 25 October 2024.
- ^ Harrington, Eoin (19 October 2024). "Report: Manchester City Pushing To Sign St Pats Ireland U17 Star". Balls.ie.
- ^ Rovers, Shamrock (15 January 2025). "Michael Noonan is a Hoop! 15 January 2025".
- ^ Early, Ronan (15 January 2025). "Michael Noonan makes switch to Shamrock Rovers from St Patrick's Athletic". The 42.
- ^ "Highly-rated St Pat's youngster Michael Noonan set for move to Shamrock Rovers". Irish Independent. 11 January 2025.
- ^ "Teenager Michael Noonan makes history on debut as Shamrock Rovers win away in Molde". The Irish Times. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Noonan, 16, makes history with Shamrock Rovers winner". BBC Sport. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Michael Noonan's heroics show why League of Ireland is the place for young stars". 16 February 2025.
- ^ Geraghty, Darryl (21 April 2025). "Bohs stun Shamrock Rovers with dramatic 96th minute winner". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "MU15: Review of 2022". fai.ie.
- ^ "REPORT | MU15 | Ireland beat Italy to win tournament". fai.ie.
- ^ "REPORT | MU16 | Ireland win tournament and end season unbeaten". fai.ie.
- ^ "MU16 | Ireland lift the Victory Shield with win over Northern Ireland". fai.ie.
- ^ "REPORT | MU16 | Ireland 6-0 Greece". fai.ie.
- ^ "REPORT | MU17 | Denmark 2-1 Ireland". fai.ie.
- ^ "Men's Under-19s and Under-17s Squad named for EURO qualifiers". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
- ^ "'We love him, we'll do everything we can for Michael' – Stephen Bradley pays tribute to teen star on difficult day". www.independent.ie. 17 May 2025.
- ^ O'Toole, by Michael (3 May 2025). "Irish football figure faces possible 10 years behind bars after drugs conviction". Irish Mirror.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland - M. Noonan - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.