Mick Leahy (footballer)

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Mick Leahy is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre back for UCD, Limerick, Sligo Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland. After retiring from playing, he began working with FIFPRO.

Leahy started in football with Belvedere before joining UCD in 2007. He made his first-team debut on 6 March 2009 as UCD won promotion from the First Division. He played 88 league games for UCD in his first spell, scoring 3 goals, and helped the team win the 2009 First Division title. In 2010 he played 13 Premier Division games and scored his first league goal against Sporting Fingal. In 2011 he became a first-choice centre back and even captained the team, playing 37 games in all competitions. He had 29 league appearances in 2012, and injuries limited his 2013 season.

Leahy moved to Limerick in 2014, but injuries restricted him to 7 league appearances, and the season included playing in the Munster Senior Cup Final, which Limerick lost. He returned to part-time football with UCD in 2015 while studying to become a solicitor. UCD reached the Europa League qualifiers that season, beating F91 Dudelange before losing to Slovan Bratislava. He scored 4 goals as UCD reached the promotion play-offs, where they were knocked out by Finn Harps.

He joined Sligo Rovers for 2016, helping them finish 5th and signing a new one-year contract for 2017. That year, Leahy scored 4 important goals to help Sligo stay in the Premier Division. In January 2018 he signed for St Patrick’s Athletic and wore number 23. He debuted on 9 April 2018 in the League Cup against Dundalk, a match that Pats lost on penalties after a 4–4 draw. His performance was eventful: he scored a goal, attempted an own goal, scored again with a diving header, and also converted his penalty in the shootout.

After leaving St Patrick’s Athletic, Leahy spent a year in Australia in 2019 playing semi-professionally before returning home and moving to Amsterdam in late 2020 to work with FIFPRO in Global Policy & Strategic Relations.