Seamus Conneely

Seamus Joseph Conneely (born 9 July 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for EFL League Two club Accrington Stanley.

Seamus Conneely

Personal information
Full name	Seamus Joseph Conneely[1]
Date of birth	(1988-07-09) 9 July 1988 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth	Lambeth, England[2]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Accrington Stanley
Number	28
Youth career
–2007	Mervue United
2007	Galway United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Galway United	85	(2)
2011–2012	Sheffield United	0	(0)
2012	→ Alfreton Town (loan)	9	(0)
2012–2014	Sligo Rovers	59	(3)
2015–	Accrington Stanley	330	(13)
International career‡
2009–2010	Republic of Ireland U21	4	(0)
2010	Republic of Ireland U23	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:39, 24 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:54, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Born in London, Conneely moved with his parents to Connemara. He has previously played for Galway United, Sheffield United and Alfreton Town.

Playing career

Galway United

Conneely joined the club in 2007 from Mervue United. He completed a successful season in United's U21s before being given his senior competitive début against Shamrock Rovers at Terryland Park, replacing the injured Wesley Charles. This was Tony Cousins's last game in charge of Galway United.

Sheffield United

In January 2011 he signed an 18-month deal with English side Sheffield United.^[3] In over a year after signing for the Blades, Conneely did not make a first team appearance, but he was a regular for the reserve team where he was the team captain.^[4] On 9 March 2012 Conneely joined Alfreton Town on loan for a month.^[5] He made his Alfreton début the following day, coming on as a substitute after only 16 minutes away against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank in a 1–0 victory for Alfreton Town.^[6] After returning to Sheffield United, Conneely was released when his contract expired in May 2012.^[7]

Sligo Rovers

Conneely joined Sligo Rovers in July 2012, winning the League of Ireland Premier Division in his first season.^[8][9]

Accrington Stanley

In January 2015, Conneely signed for Accrington Stanley, reuniting with former Sligo Rovers manager John Coleman.^[10]

On 9 May 2025, the club announced the player would be leaving when his contract expired in June.^[11]

International career

Conneely was capped for Ireland at several youth levels from under-17s and made his under-21s début against Switzerland in October 2009.^[12] He also represented Ireland in an under-23 team as part of the 2009–11 International Challenge Trophy.^[13]

Career statistics

As of end of 2023–24 season

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Galway United	2008[14][15]	LOI Premier Division	20	0	5	0	1	0	—		—		26	0
	2009[14][16]	LOI Premier Division	34	2	2	0	2	0	—		—		38	2
	2010[14][17][18]	LOI Premier Division	31	0	3	1	1	0	—		1[a]	0	36	1
	Total		85	2	10	1	4	0	—		1	0	100	3
Sheffield United	2010–11[19]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2011–12[20]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Alfreton Town (loan)	2011–12[20]	Conference Premier	9	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	9	0
Sligo Rovers	2012[21][22]	LOI Premier Division	13	1	0	0	1	0	2[b]	0	0	0	16	1
	2013[21][23][24]	LOI Premier Division	21	1	4	0	2	0	2[c]	0	1[d]	0	30	1
	2014[21]	LOI Premier Division	25	1	0	0	1	0	4[b]	0	5[e]	0	35	1
	Total		59	3	4	0	4	0	8	0	6	0	81	3
Accrington Stanley	2014–15[25]	League Two	16	3	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	16	3
	2015–16[26]	League Two	46	3	1	0	1	0	—		3[f]	0	51	3
	2016–17[27]	League Two	38	1	4	0	3	0	—		1[g]	0	46	1
	2017–18[28]	League Two	33	2	1	0	2	0	—		0	0	36	2
	2018–19[29]	League One	27	1	2	0	1	0	—		4[g]	0	34	1
	2019–20[30]	League One	31	1	1	0	0	0	—		4[g]	0	36	1
	2020–21[31]	League One	38	1	1	0	0	0	—		2[g]	0	41	1
	2021–22[32]	League One	22	0	1	0	0	0	—		1[g]	0	24	0
	2022–23[33]	League One	26	0	3	0	0	0	—		5[g]	0	34	0
	2023–24[34]	League Two	27	0	2	1	0	0	—		1[g]	0	30	1
	Total		304	12	16	1	7	0	—		21	0	348	13
Career total			457	17	30	2	15	0	8	0	28	0	538	19

1. Appearances in League of Ireland Premier Division Relegation Playoffs
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in Setanta Sports Cup
5. Four appearances in Setanta Sports Cup, one appearance in President's Cup
6. One appearance in Football League Trophy, two appearances in League Two play-offs
7. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Sligo Rovers

• League of Ireland Premier Division: 2012^[21]
• FAI Cup: 2013^[35]
• Setanta Sports Cup: 2014^[36]

Accrington Stanley

• EFL League Two: 2017–18^[21]

Individual

• Accrington Stanley Player of the Season: 2020–21^[37]