FORMER Aston Villa and Ireland midfielder Conor Hourihane has called time on his professional career and will take up a coaching role at Barnsley.
The central midfielder from Bandon, Cork, played 619 games across his 15-year career, scoring 96 goals.
He played for Ireland 36 times, making his debut against Iceland in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. He scored his only goal for Ireland in a 1-0 win against Georgia in a European qualifier.
“To all my teammates, coaches, managers and fans, who have supported me on my journey thank you,” said Hourihane in a social media post.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have lived my dream. I take great pride in knowing I gave it my all.
“Hard work, sacrifice and the will to want to improve daily got me from League Two to the Premier League.
“That will be no different in my next journey.”
Having rejoined Barnsley this season in a player-coach capacity, Hourihane will take up the role of assistant head coach at the Colliers under Darrell Clarke.
Hourihane made his professional debut for Plymouth Argyle in 2011 against Shrewsbury Town after signing from Ipswich Town, where he was managed by Roy Keane.
The Sunderland academy player then moved to Barnsley, where he became club captain in 2015 and won the Football League trophy and the League One play-off final a year later.
In 2017, Hourihane signed for Aston Villa and helped them to gain promotion to the Premier League in 2019, he scored his first Premier League goal, meaning that he has scored in all four levels of professional football.
After his contract expired in 2022, Derby County was next for the central midfielder, after two years and after 98 appearances and 13 goals.
He finally returned to Barnsley, a club that held a special place in Hourihane’s heart.
