Connor Malley signs 5 December 2025

Shamrock Rovers F.C. is delighted to announce that, after a short term contract from July of this year, midfielder Connor Malley has agreed to a multi-year contract to remain at the club

We spoke to Connor asking what it’s like to now have a long term commitment with the club:

You joined us on loan from Sligo Rovers in July, but now sign a multi-year deal with Rovers. How pleased are you to get the deal done?

“I’m delighted. I came in and with the success Rovers have had this season, it’s been refreshing to be a part of it. In the end, it’s turned into a no-brainer to come here, especially off the back of the season we’ve had. We want to keep pushing the levels, particularly in Europe and getting to that next level. I feel we’ve already made strides and pushed the boundaries in terms of the league and Europe. So I’m just delighted to be part of it all.”

You finished the domestic season with a league and cup winners medal, so how much did you enjoy the second half of the season with the group and management?

“It’s been brilliant. Personally, when I came into the group, it was about getting up to speed. Then I had a bit of a setback with an injury, but I managed to come out the other side of it and I was around for the big moments in big games. That’s all you can ask for as a player.”

That injury you mentioned, in the 4-0 Conference League win against Ballkani set you back a bit, so is an injury-free run essential for you now as we end 2025 with two upcoming big European games to play and a short pre-season ahead of 2026?

“I think I’m still not yet quite 100%, so it’d be nice, albeit with a short pre-season, to get that run and fitness and sharpness back and have a clean slate going into the new season so I can really show my best.”

Finally, you scored our goal in the recent unlucky 2-1 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk. How much can we take from an excellent performance that night into these next two Conference League games against Breidablik and Hamrun Spartans?

“It was a really good performance against Shakhtar. I felt we carried out our game plan really well, but their first goal really showed their levels, it was a great goal and a moment of quality from them. But to lose the game from a fluke set-piece goal when the ball came off the wall and into our goal, was really disappointing as it would have really helped our chances of qualifying. But it was a brilliant performance and we know what we have to do going into the next two games. To do the right things, getting back to those performance levels and hopefully the results will take care of themselves.”