Tommy Lonergan Explained

Tommy Lonergan
Fullname:Thomas Lonergan
Birth Date:2 January 2004
Birth Place:Dunboyne, Republic of Ireland
Position:Forward
Currentclub:Fleetwood Town
Clubnumber:14
Youthyears1:2012–2019
Youthclubs1:Cherry Orchard
Youthyears2:2019–2021
Youthclubs2:St Patrick's Athletic
Years1:2021
Clubs1:St Patrick's Athletic
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:2022
Clubs2:UCD
Caps2:19
Goals2:6
Years3:2023–2024
Clubs3:St Patrick's Athletic
Caps3:31
Goals3:4
Years4:2024–
Clubs4:Fleetwood Town
Caps4:10
Goals4:1
Nationalyears1:2019–2020
Nationalteam1:Republic of Ireland U16
Nationalcaps1:6
Nationalgoals1:4
Nationalyears2:2021
Nationalteam2:Republic of Ireland U18
Nationalcaps2:3
Nationalgoals2:1
Nationalyears3:2022–2023
Nationalteam3:Republic of Ireland U19
Nationalcaps3:5
Nationalgoals3:3
Club-Update:23:44, 12 August 2024 (UTC)
Ntupdate:14:43, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

Thomas Lonergan (born 2 January 2004) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Fleetwood Town.

Club career

Youth career

A native of Dunboyne, County Meath,[1] Lonergan left his schoolboy club Cherry Orchard to join the academy of St Patrick's Athletic in March 2019, where he initially played with the U15 side, before progressing to the U17 and U19 teams over the following 3 seasons.[2] His debut season with the club was a success, as he won a league and cup double with the U15s.[3] In September/October 2021, he started both legs of the U19s side's UEFA Youth League tie against Crvena Zvezda as his side lost 2–1 at home and 2–0 away to exit the competition.[4]

St Patrick's Athletic

Lonergan's senior debut for the club came on 23 July 2021, when he replaced Billy King from the bench for the final 10 minutes of a 6–0 win over Bray Wanderers in the FAI Cup.[5] This proved to be his only first team playing time of the season as he remained an unused substitute on 10 occasions in the league and cup.[6]

UCD

In search of regular first team football, Lonergan signed for UCD on 21 January 2022.[7] Following an ankle fracture in pre-season, he had to wait until 19 May 2022 to make his debut, when he came off the bench in a 3–0 defeat against Shamrock Rovers at the UCD Bowl.[8] The first senior goal of his career came on 7 July 2022 in a 3–1 defeat at home to Bohemians.[9] On 29 July 2022, Lonergan scored twice in a 3–0 win at home to Cockhill Celtic in the First Round of the FAI Cup.[10] On 1 August 2022, he scored his 4th goal in 5 games in a 1–1 draw away to Drogheda United to lift his side off the bottom of the table.[11] On 26 August 2022, he scored another 2 FAI Cup goals, as his side defeated Galway United at Eamonn Deacy Park.[12] On 9 September 2022, Lonergan scored 2 goals in a vital 3–2 win at home to Dundalk, to again lift his side off the bottom of the table.[13] [14] A week later he scored a consolation goal in a 4–1 loss away to Treaty United in the Quarter Final of the FAI Cup.[15] Lonergan condemned relegation rivals Finn Harps to the League of Ireland First Division on 28 October 2022, when he scored 2 second half goals in a 3–1 win at Finn Park to avoid automatic relegation for his side.[16] He scored the winning goal of the game in the 2022 Promotion/Relegation Playoff Final on 11 November 2022 as his side defeated Waterford 1–0 at Richmond Park to confirm their League of Ireland Premier Division status for 2023.[17] His form for UCD drew interest from all of the top 4 clubs, with Dundalk and St Patrick's Athletic offering him contracts, while Derry City and Shamrock Rovers were reportedly monitoring his situation.[18]

Return to St Patrick's Athletic

On 25 November 2022, it was announced that Lonergan would be returning to St Patrick's Athletic, signing a multi-year contract ahead of the 2023 season and becoming manager Tim Clancy's first signing of the off season.[19] On 30 June 2023, he scored his first goals for three club, coming off the bench in the 60th minute to score 2 goals in a 7–0 win against his old club UCD at Richmond Park.[20] On 12 July 2023, Lonergan made his first appearance in European competition when he came off the bench for the final 9 minutes of a 2–1 loss against F91 Dudelange in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League at the Stade Jos Nosbaum, in which his cross was unsuccessfully cleared by a defender, allowing Mark Doyle to pull a goal back for his side.[21] On 15 September 2023, Lonergan scored an 85th minute winner in a 2–1 win away to Finn Harps in the FAI Cup, to earn his side a place in the Semi Final.[22] The following week Lonergan returned to the starting XI and scored twice in a 3–1 win over Dundalk at Richmond Park.[23] On 12 November 2023, Lonergan came off the bench to score his side's third goal of the game in the 87th minute of the 2023 FAI Cup Final, in a 3–1 win over Bohemians in front of a record breaking FAI Cup Final crowd of 43,881 at the Aviva Stadium.[24]

Fleetwood Town

On 1 February 2024, it was announced that Lonergan had signed for EFL League One club Fleetwood Town on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[25] [26] He made his debut for the club on 12 March 2024, coming off the bench as a late substitute in a 0–0 draw at home to Bristol Rovers.[27] He scored his first goal for the club on 27 April 2024, in a 3–0 win over Burton Albion on the last day of the season in what proved to be his only goal of the season in his 9 appearances as his side were relegated to EFL League Two.[28]

International career

Lonergan has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level, playing for both the under 16, under 18 and under 19 sides. On 20 August 2019, he made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U16 team in a 4–2 loss to Denmark U19.[29] He scored his first goal for the side 2 days later in a 3–3 draw with England U16 at St George's Park.[30] His Republic of Ireland U18 debut came on 14 November 2021 in a 1–0 defeat to Sweden U18 in Marbella, Spain.[31] On 9 December 2021, he scored his first goal for the U18 side, in a 7–1 win over Malta U18.[32] He scored on his Republic of Ireland U19 debut on 21 September 2022, in a 6–0 win over Gibraltar U19 in Wales.[33]

Career statistics

[34]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Patrick's Athletic2021LOI Premier Division001010
UCD2022LOI Premier Division19635112312
St Patrick's Athletic2023LOI Premier Division314522000386
2024LOI Premier Division1010
Total314522010396
Fleetwood Town2023–24EFL League One9191
2024–25EFL League Two1000100020
Total101001000111
Career total6011971020217519

Honours

St Patrick's Athletic

2021, 2023

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dunboyne’s twin towers ready for next career chapter. 14 January 2021. BOYLAN TALKS SPORT.
  2. Web site: Thomas Lonergan | Stats | History | Career Details | Images | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com. www.extratime.com.
  3. Web site: Tommy Lonergan. www.stpatsfc.com.
  4. Web site: The Athletic bow out of UEFA Youth League with 2-0 defeat to Crvena Zvezda. David. Donnelly. 20 October 2021. DublinLive.
  5. Web site: St Pat's see off Bray in most dominant performance of season. 23 July 2021. Irish Mirror.
  6. Web site: Republic of Ireland - T. Lonergan - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway. ie.soccerway.com.
  7. 1484617795635720192. UCDAFC. We are delighted to confirm the signings of Dylan Duffy and Alex Dunne from @ShamrockRovers, Thomas Lonergan fro…. 21 January 2022.
  8. Web site: League Report: UCD 0 – 3 Shamrock Rovers. extratime.com.
  9. Web site: League Report: UCD 1 - 3 Bohemians. Rónán. MacNamara. extratime.com.
  10. Web site: UCD have too much for Cockhill Celtic as teenager Lonergan doubles up. Paul. Buttner. 29 July 2022. Irish Examiner.
  11. Web site: Thomas Lonergan keeps up scoring run to help UCD off bottom spot. The Irish Times.
  12. Web site: United gift UCD late winner to suffer FAI Cup dejection. Keith. Kelly. 2 September 2022. Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.
  13. Web site: Lonergan stars for UCD as they stun Dundalk to move off the bottom. Dave. Donnelly. 9 September 2022. The 42.
  14. Web site: Tommy Lonergan bags a brace as UCD beat Dundalk. Paul. Buttner. 9 September 2022. Irish Examiner.
  15. Web site: Curran hat-trick helps Treaty United power past UCD and into semi-finals. Brendan. Graham. 16 September 2022. The 42.
  16. Web site: Finn Harps relegated as UCD claim relegation play-off place. 28 October 2022. Independent.ie.
  17. Web site: UCD secure another season of top-flight football in play-off victory over Waterford. 11 November 2022. BreakingNews.ie.
  18. Web site: Dundalk FC offer deal to UCD striker Thomas Lonergan. 22 November 2022. Independent.ie.
  19. Web site:
    1. SAINTS2023 | Tommy Lonergan Returns
    . www.stpatsfc.com.
  20. Web site: 15-year-old Mason Melia becomes youngest Saints scorer in rout of UCD. 30 June 2023. Independent.ie.
  21. Web site: Mark Doyle’s late strike keeps struggling Saints alive in Conference qualifier. 13 July 2023. Independent.ie.
  22. Web site: Lonergan completes St Pat's comeback to flatten Harps. 15 September 2023. www.rte.ie.
  23. Web site: Lonergan on the double as Saints sink Dundalk. Ronan. McNamara. 22 September 2023. www.rte.ie.
  24. Web site: FAI Cup final recap: Bohemians 1-3 St Pat's. James. Fenton. 12 November 2023. www.rte.ie.
  25. News: Town sign young forward Tommy Lonergan from St Patricks Athletic. 1 February 2024 . Fleetwood Town FC . 1 February 2024.
  26. Web site: Tommy Lonergan Departs. www.stpatsfc.com.
  27. Web site: Fleetwood Town v Bristol Rovers. www.bbc.com.
  28. Web site: Burton avoid drop despite final-day mauling. www.bbc.co.uk.
  29. Web site: Republic of Ireland 2 - 4 Denmark | 2019 - U16 Mens Friendlies | 999945879 | Football Association of Ireland. www.fai.ie.
  30. Web site: England 3 - 3 Republic of Ireland | 2019 - U16 Mens Friendlies | 999945880 | Football Association of Ireland. www.fai.ie.
  31. Web site: REPORT | MU18 0-1 Sweden | Football Association of Ireland. www.fai.ie.
  32. Web site: REPORT | Malta MU18 1-7 Ireland MU18 | Football Association of Ireland. www.fai.ie.
  33. Web site: Ireland U19s open Euro qualifying campaign on a high with 6-0 rout. The42. Team. 21 September 2022. The 42.
  34. Web site: Republic of Ireland - T. Lonergan - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway. int.soccerway.com.