William Michael "Billy" Dennehy (born 17 February 1987) is an Irish former footballer and is the Sporting Director of League of Ireland First Division side Kerry. He was a left-sided midfielder but also played on the right wing. He is the older brother of Darren who is a former Irish footballer.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Michael Dennehy | ||
| Date of birth | 17 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Tralee, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kerry FC | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tralee Dynamos | |||
| Kingdom Boys | |||
| Shelbourne | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Sunderland | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Accrington Stanley (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2008 | Derry City | 4 | (0) |
| 2009 | Cork City | 29 | (7) |
| 2010–2013 | Shamrock Rovers | 124 | (19) |
| 2014–2015 | Cork City | 55 | (23) |
| 2016–2017 | St Patrick's Athletic | 50 | (6) |
| 2018 | Limerick | 30 | (4) |
| International career | |||
| Republic of Ireland U17 | |||
| Republic of Ireland U19 | |||
| 2007 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Republic of Ireland U23 | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022–2023 | Kerry | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:38, 17 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Playing career edit
Dennehy was a talented underage player in both soccer and Gaelic football. In the latter sport, he won the 2004 Munster Minor Football Championship with the Kerry minor team and also played with the Austin Stacks club in Tralee. He attended Irish language primary and secondary schools and is fluent in the Irish language.
Dennehy began his soccer playing career at local club Tralee Dynamos until the club disbanded and he joined Kingdom Boys. There, Dennehy was called into the Shelbourne team. After trials with Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Southampton, Dennehy was brought to Sunderland by Mick McCarthy after the midfielder impressed during a trial at the Stadium of Light. He signed for the Black Cats in January 2005.
Dennehy did not make a first-team appearance for Sunderland, but was a reserve and youth player at the club, and was given the squad number 34 for the 2006–07 season.
On 22 November 2007, Dennehy made the move from Wearside to Lancashire, joining Accrington Stanley on a one-month deal. There, he made his first ever league appearance on 5 December against Rochdale. After a further 6 appearances in June 2008, Dennehy was released by Sunderland.
On 27 August 2008, Dennehy signed for League of Ireland side Derry City.[1] After just a few months, however, he opted to uproot and join Cork City, signing a two-year contract with the club on 27 January 2009.[2]
On 25 January 2010, Dennehy moved from Cork City to Shamrock Rovers.[3] He scored on his debut in a preseason friendly at Longford Town.[4] He scored his first league goal for the Hoops on 9 April.[5]
In 2010 and 2011 he won the League of Ireland championship with Shamrock Rovers. He also won the Setanta Cup in 2011 and played in the Europa League group stages netting against PAOK in November 2011:[6]
In 2011, he was club top scorer (in all competitions) with 16 goals.
On 13 November 2013 Dennehy was released by Shamrock Rovers and 13 days later he rejoined Cork City and would be part of John Caulfield's squad for the 2014 season alongside his brother Darren Dennehy. After 2 successive seasons as runners up in the league to Dundalk, as well as 2015 FAI Cup runners up to the same opposition, it was announced that Dennehy would not remain at Cork for the 2016 season.
On 9 December 2015, Dennehy signed for Dublin club St Patrick's Athletic, along with younger brother Darren.[7] Dennehy scored on his debut for Pats on 20 February 2016 in a 3–1 loss away to Bray Wanderers in the Leinster Senior Cup.[8]
International career edit
Dennehy has played at U17, U18, U19, U21 and U23 levels for the Republic of Ireland national football team making his U21 debut in February 2007.[9] He made his U23 debut in May 2010.[10] Has part of the winning team in the Under-19 International La Manga Tournament in Spain in 2006.
Management edit
In December 2022, he was named as the manager of newly founded League of Ireland First Division team Kerry F.C..[11] On 17 November 2023, it was announced that Dennehy had stepped down as manager to return to his original position of Sporting Director of the club.[12]
Career statistics edit
Professional appearances[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sunderland | 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | EFL Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Accrington Stanley (Loan) | 2007–08 | EFL League Two | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Derry City | 2008 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Cork City | 2009 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 7 | |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2010 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 34 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 6 |
| 2011 | 35 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 52 | 15 | ||
| 2012 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2013 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 5 | 5 | 35 | 6 | |||
| Shamrock Rovers Total | 124 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 198 | 33 | ||
| Cork City | 2014 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 30 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 34 | 16 | |
| 2015 | 25 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 12 | ||
| Cork City Total | 84 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 98 | 35 | ||
| St Patrick's Athletic | 2016 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 27 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 9 |
| 2017 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| St Patrick's Athletic Total | 50 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 12 | ||
| Limerick | 2018 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 30 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 33 | 4 | |
| Career Total | 300 | 59 | 25 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 409 | 84 | ||
Honours edit
Club edit
- Shamrock Rovers
- League of Ireland (2): 2010, 2011
- League of Ireland Cup (1): 2013
- Setanta Sports Cup (2): 2011, 2013
- Leinster Senior Cup (2): 2012, 2013
- St Patrick's Athletic
Individual edit
- Shamrock Rovers Young Player of the Year (1): 2010
Gaelic Football edit
- Kerry GAA
References edit
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20200212173324/https://www.derrycityfc.net/season/08/news/displaystory.php?storyid=357. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Dennehy signs for Rovers". Shamrockrovers.ie. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Report – Longford Town 0:4 Rovers". Shamrockrovers.ie. 4 February 2010. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Shamrock Rovers 1 Bohemians 0 | Airtricity League – Real Football, Real Fans". Airtricity League. 8 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Rovers 1:3 PAOK FC". Shamrockrovers.ie. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Billy & Darren Dennehy Sign for Saints".
- ^ "Leinster Senior Cup Report: Bray Wanderers 3–1 St Patricks Athletic".
- ^ [2] Archived 23 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Republic of Ireland U23 1–2 England U23 | Airtricity League – Real Football, Real Fans". Airtricity League. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Kerry FC name Billy Dennehy as manager and announce first two signings". The 42. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Change in Senior Management Team Ahead of the 2024 Season". 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Republic of Ireland – B. Dennehy – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
External links edit
- Billy Dennehy at Soccerbase
