sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Sean Friars (born 15 May 1979 in Derry, Northern Ireland) is a football coach and former player. He is currently the assistant manager of NIFL Premiership club Institute and works for the Depaul Foyle Haven Centre, which helps people afflicted by addiction issues and homelessness in Derry. As a former addict he is now fully focused on helping people struggling with some of the demons that wrecked his own football career.[1]

Sean Friars

Personal information
Full name	Sean Friars
Date of birth	(1979-05-15) 15 May 1979 (age 43)
Place of birth	Derry, Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current team	Institute (assistant manager)
Youth career
199?–1995	Foyle Harps
1995–1998	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2001	Ipswich Town	1	(0)
2000	→ Portadown (loan)	?	(?)
2001–2002	Carlisle United	1	(0)
2002	Newry Town	4	(0)
2002–2004	Derry City	?	(?)
2004	→ Finn Harps (loan)	13	(1)
2004–2007	Cliftonville	60	(12)
2007	Limavady United	8	(2)
2007–2009	Newry City	38	(5)
2009–2010	Institute	28	(1)
2010–2011	Aileach	?	(?)
2012– 2014	Dungannon Swifts	21	(4)
Total		174	(25)
National team
2001–2004	Northern Ireland U21	21	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

His brother Emmet also played as a defender.

Early career

Prior to his move to Cliftonville, Friars played for Foyle Harps, Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Portadown, Newry Town, Derry City and Finn Harps.

Friars made only one appearance, as substitute, for Ipswich Town. He came on against Crewe Alexandra in a 2–1 home win at Portman Road.

In 2001, he had a short-term deal with Newry Town which expired in September.[2]

In March 2004 a loan deal from Derry City to Finn Harps was announced.[3] The left-sided midfielder, had been a member of Derry City's 2002 FAI Cup winning team. After returning from a loan spell with League of Ireland First Division club Finn Harps, it was announced in August 2004 that he had left Derry City by mutual agreement.[4]

Cliftonville

He made his Cliftonville debut in August 2004 in a friendly match against Holywood During his first year at Cliftonville, Friars was included in the 2004–05 Irish League Team of the Year. Friars returned to Cliftonville from a spell at Limavady United where he spent the latter half of the 2006–07 season.

In October 2006 there was some doubt over his future with Cliftonville after he went absent from the club and was subsequently dropped from the squad for a number of matches.[5]

He remained with Cliftonville and recently had an "outstanding" match in their second leg away win in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in July 2007.[6]

Newry City

Friars sealed a return to Newry City in the summer of 2007 where he proved himself as a vital member of the team scoring 8 goals in his first 14 matches. His brother Emmett was also in the Newry City team.

Institute

In January 2009 Sean Friars was transferred to Institute for an undisclosed fee, signing a 2-year contract.

Dungannon Swifts

On the same day as his brother Emmet Friars, 3 January 2012, Sean joined Dungannon Swifts.

Coaching career

Institute (academy)

He was appointed as Institute Under-20 team manager in the summer of 2016 and went on to win back to back Championship titles with the team.

Limavady United

Friars left his role at Institute to take on his first senior managerial job with Limavady United on 19 May 2018.

Institute return

On 3 May 2019, he returned to old club Institute as assistant manager, following relegation from the NIFL Championship with Limavady. He took on the role; initially, as assistant to John Quigg and maintained the position, following Quigg's resignation and the appointment of Sean Connor.

International career

He is a former Northern Ireland Under-21 international.[4] He captained the Northern Ireland team at U-21 level.[3]

References

External links

• Sean Friars at Soccerbase

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