Academy
- Monday April 7th, 2025 @ 13:30
Quigley & Rooney Sign Pro Deals
St Patrick's Athletic are pleased to announce that Academy players Kian Quigley and Sam Rooney have signed their first professional contracts with the club.
Irish underage international Quigley (16) joined our U14s ahead of the 2023 season and won Player of the Year at U14s in 2023 and U15s in 2024, Captaining the side to the FAI Cup at U14 in his first year and the U15 League of Ireland title last season.
Rooney (16) also arrived at St Pat's in January 2023, the Ireland underage International helped The Saints to the U15 League of Ireland title in his first season, scoring 38 goals and being named St Patrick's Athletic U15 Player of the Year, before scoring the U17 Goal of the Season in 2024.
Quigley said:
"It has been an incredible experience so far playing for St Patrick's Athletic. The club have put a lot of time and effort into me and I am delighted to be able to sign my first professional contract and to continue learning here.
I know the staff in the Academy have been watching me play since I was 12 years old at St Joseph's Boys in Sallynoggin. They are constantly helping me learn through video analysis and challenging me and by playing in the older age groups and I've also had the opportunity to train with the first team and play in a friendly game against Drogheda United a couple of weeks ago.
Our team were victorious in winning the U14 Cup and the U15 League of Ireland and I was honoured to have been awarded Player of the Year both seasons.
Additionally, international experience with caps for Republic of Ireland at U15 and U16 has been so special for me.
Tá áthas orm. Ní neart go cur le chéile."
Rooney is also delighted to have signed his first professional contract:
"This is the proudest moment in my football career so far. It's an honour to sign a professional contract. It means a lot to me that Pat's believe in me and have given me this opportunity and hopefully it's the start of good things for me.
I've really enjoyed my time at the club so far it's been a really good experience, my coaches have helped me a lot and I've learned so much.
I've really enjoyed my experiences up with the First Team for training, it's been a really good test and it's a much bigger step but i enjoy being around top quality players. It's been really good to see previous St Pat's Academy players do really well and it pushes me on to do the same."
Head of Academy Football Ian Bermingham has welcomed today's news:
"Everyone at the club is delighted for Kian and Sam, it's a proud moment for the boys and their families.
They both joined our Academy in January 2023 and have really pushed on and had success in their respective age groups as well as representing their country too.
St Patrick's Athletic has shown it's commitment to developing young players and helping them progress their careers in our environment. We've seen a number of them earn professional contracts and make the breakthrough to our First Team over the last few years, some of those have moved on to clubs in the UK while others, with Mason Melia being a recent example, remain in our First Team and continue to make a real impact.
Kian and Sam will continue to work hard and we will help them with their ongoing development, we look forward to making more announcements regarding Academy professional contracts in the coming days."
Watch our interviews with Kian and Sam on our Youtube channel below.
