Sean Hoare

When Seán Hoare left Shamrock Rovers for St Patrick's Athletic in January 2025, it was a return rather than a debut. He had come through the same club's academy after starting out at Castleknock Celtic, Home Farm and Shelbourne, and by the time he first left in 2016 he had made 98 appearances and scored four goals, taking in a League of Ireland Premier Division title in 2013, an FAI Cup in 2014, and two League of Ireland Cups. He started that 2014 final and had scored in the semi-final, and was named the club's Young Player of the Year that season.

The move to Dundalk in December 2016 coincided with the most productive spell of his career. Across 125 appearances and 11 goals, Hoare won back-to-back Premier Division titles in 2018 and 2019, an FAI Cup in each of 2018 and 2020, scoring in both finals, and a League of Ireland Cup in 2017 and 2019. He was named in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year in both title-winning seasons.

A further free transfer, to Shamrock Rovers in December 2020, saw Hoare win the Premier Division in 2021, 2022 and 2023, making 129 appearances and scoring eight goals, and made the PFAI Team of the Year again in 2022. The FAI Cup eluded him at Rovers, with quarter-final and first-round exits in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Since returning to St Patrick's Athletic on a contract running to November 2027, Hoare has made 38 appearances and scored twice. He also won five caps for the Republic of Ireland U21s between 2014 and 2016.