Alex O'Hanlon

A native of Blanchardstown, County Dublin, O'Hanlon played with top Dublin youth football clubs St Kevin's Boys, the club that produced Republic of Ireland internationals Liam Brady, Damien Duff, Stephen Carr, Ian Harte, Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick among others. O'Hanlon excelled at underage level playing at left back and in May 2011, at the age of 15, he was snapped up by Premier League club Liverpool, despite interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid, with comparisons in playing style being made with Wales international Gareth Bale.[1][2] After playing at left-back, O'Hanlon moved into midfield and his performances in the centre midfield earned him his first professional contract at the end of the 2012–13 season. He followed that up with seven goals in 28 games in 2013–14 season, helping him break into Alex Inglethorpe's U21s setup. O'Hanlon made 5 appearances in his side's 2014–15 UEFA Youth League campaign.[3] During his time as first team manager, Brendan Rodgers included him in his first team squad for Premier League games against Swansea City and Newcastle United.[4] In March 2016, first team manager Jürgen Klopp included him in the first team squad on their training camp in La Manga Club, Spain.[4] In April 2016, O'Hanlon was offered a new contract with the club but opted to turn down the offer as he looked elsewhere for first team football. During this spell he went on trial with Sheffield Wednesday in search of a contract[5] After he left Liverpool, he went on trial at Huddersfield Town, where he strangely went on to play over 10 games as a trialist and still didn't sign a full professional contract with the club.[6]

O'Hanlon returned home to Dublin and signed for League of Ireland Premier Division side St Patrick's Athletic on 9 January 2017 on a 2-year contract ahead of the 2017 season, alongside Barry Murphy and Kurtis Byrne.[7][8][9][10][11] On 31 January 2017 O'Hanlon made his Pats debut away to Bray Wanderers in the Leinster Senior Cup, scoring the fourth goal in a 4–0 win for the Saints at the Carlisle Grounds.[12][13] He began the season alternating between left wing and attacking midfield roles, impressing Pats supporters and media in the Dublin derby wins over Shamrock Rovers[14] and Bohemians. [15] On 17 April, O'Hanlon scored a penalty in a 5–3 shootout win over Bray Wanderers in the League Cup following a 0–0 draw after extra time.[16] O'Hanlon scored his first league goal at senior level on 16 June 2017 when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 Dublin derby defeat at home to Bohemians.[17] In the months after that, with the team struggling in a relegation battle, O'Hanlon lost his place in the starting 11 and was limited to the occasional substitute appearance. He scored his third goal of the season against Firhouse Clover amongst an experimental lineup in a 2–1 Leinster Senior Cup Quarter-final win, looping a shot over the goalkeeper from 25 yards.[18]

Despite having another year left on his contract with Pat’s, O’Hanlon and the club came to the decision to terminate his contract by mutual consent after he failed to nail down a spot in the starting team or even the bench in the second half of the season. He went on trial with newly promoted Waterford for pre-season, playing in a friendly vs Wexford but he was not offered a contract by the club. On 31 January 2018, O'Hanlon signed for Belfast club Glentoran, of the NIFL Premiership.[19]

On 17 July 2018, O'Hanlon played for Grimsby Town on trial in their pre-season game with Sunderland.[20]

On 18 December 2018, it was announced that O'Hanlon had signed for League of Ireland First Division club Shelbourne ahead of their 2019 season.[21] He made 9 appearances over the season as his side won the league, gaining promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division.[22] 2020 saw O'Hanlon play in all but one of Shels' 18 league games, as well as the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off as his side were relegated back to the League of Ireland First Division in what was a shortened season due to COVID-19.[23][22]

O'Hanlon signed for fellow League of Ireland First Division club Wexford on a season long loan on 25 February 2021.[24] After making just 7 appearances for the club, he departed Wexford and left Shelbourne, opting to play amateur football.[25]

O'Hanlon signed for Leinster Senior League side St Mochta's in July 2021 during their pre-season. He appeared in their 2021 FAI Cup campaign, setting up an extra-time winner for Alan Byrne in a 2–1 win over Ulster Senior League side Cockhill Celtic in the Qualifying Round on 10 July 2021.[26] On 25 July he played the full 90 minutes as his side reached the Second Round of the FAI Cup, beating fellow Leinster Senior League side Crumlin United 2–1 away from home.[27]