Dara O'Shea joined Ipswich Town towards the end of the summer transfer window, becoming the last piece in the puzzle of their back line. Alex Jones takes a closer look at the defender.
A proper Irish start
O’Shea was born and raised in Dublin, meaning that he got a taste of hurling and Gaelic football (GAA) as a child, both as a schoolboy at St. Pius X and at his local club, St. Jude’s.
“Hurling is not as dangerous as Gaelic,” he told The Sun.
“In hurling, the closer you get to someone, the less likely you are going to get hurt, as mad as that sounds.
“In Gaelic there’s more bad injuries and bad tackles.
“I was one of the taller ones so I was well able to handle myself. It was a side of sport I enjoyed.”
He had a decision to make with which sport he wanted to pursue, ultimately opting to go with football.
Although he started at Bushy Park Rangers, it was during his time at St. Kevin’s Boys - a club based in Dublin 9 with over forty schoolboy teams who play in the Dublin District Schoolboys League - that saw him make up his mind.
The likes of Liam Brady, Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick had represented them at youth level before going on to play in England, and O’Shea saw that pathway was open for him too.
"I started to progress a lot more when I went to St Kevin's," he said via OneFootball.
"And then I started to get opportunities to go on trial at clubs. It opened my eyes to how good football really was.
"I was on trial at a few clubs prior to signing for West Brom.
"But St Kevin's had a link with West Brom and we'd been coming over every January and playing games against West Brom.
"I was used to the surroundings. I think I came over to West Brom the most on trial and it just felt the right fit for me.
"My family felt the same, that it was a nice family club where I could kick on and hopefully break into the first team.”
GAA certainly gave him an advantage. "First and foremost I’m a defender and I love to defend," he said via Town TV. "That’s in my roots from being Irish and playing Gaelic football. That’s a brutal sport."
He added: "I feel like I’m quite an aggressive player and that does come from my upbringing in Ireland. That’s served me well in football."
Made in the lower leagues
The aforementioned link between St. Kevin’s and West Brom saw him move to The Hawthorns at the age of 16.
Even then, he balanced playing football and GAA without the Baggies knowing, reportedly returning just days after the end of the English football season to play a game for St. Jude’s after six or seven months away from the sport. He put in a star performance in what proved to be his final game.
His break into the first team at West Brom did come, but not without a couple of loan spells. The first was at Hereford, where he was one of the standout players as they secured promotion to the National League North. It quickly became clear that the seventh tier was far below his level and he was sent up to League Two as a result.
That next step came at Exeter City under Matt Taylor, joining the club on loan in August 2018. Ironically, fellow Republic of Ireland international Chiedozie Ogbene - now his team-mate at Ipswich - joined from Brentford just a few weeks later. It took time for them to get the minutes they were after, but O’Shea was the first to break into the side and make an impression.
"He could go all the way," Taylor told BBC Sport in March 2019.
"If you're 19 years old and playing regularly at centre-half or centre midfield in League Two, you've got a chance of making it all the way in the game.
“Since he's come into the team he's been exceptional for us.
"He's still a young defender learning his game and we feel we've played a part in his development.
"He's going to be a very good player.”
Held in high regard
Returning to West Brom that summer, it took some time for O’Shea to fully establish himself in the team. He made his league debut for them in December 2019, which he described as ‘the best Christmas present’.
“I’m not going to lie I was a bit nervous. Coming on to make your league debut is a big thing. Having not been in the squad the last few weeks and then to be thrown in on the bench and come on and make my debut, it was great. I am buzzing.
“I said to myself I was going to come on and keep everything solid and keep the ball ticking and not try and do anything mad. First of all I am a defender so I just wanted to defend and show everyone that I can defend. I thought I did alright, obviously there is improvement to be made. For a debut it wasn’t bad.”
Discussing what manager Slaven Bilić had asked of him, the defender said: “Slaven said just do your thing. Do what you have been doing the whole time. Go out and play your game. He said I am good enough to play so I am well able for it.”
Speaking after the game, Bilić piled praise on him, saying: “Dara is the future, and he can be the present. Dara is one of the reasons why when I came to the club we didn’t sign another defender.
“They [West Brom] wanted to bring in not only Semi [Ajayi] but another, because they were lacking numbers. I didn’t want to.
“Why? Because of Dara. I believe in him. Based on today, he’s a player. I love Dara.”
This wasn’t the only time that Bilić singled out O’Shea. In fact, the Croatian manager often spoke of his admiration for the centre-back, who he often used at right-back during his time in charge of the club.
“Dara is clever – he thinks about the game, nothing surprises him,” Bilic told the Express & Star. “He has a good touch but he still keeps things simple. But he does have that good touch, he could complicate things but he doesn’t.
“He is very mature for his age. But, to be fair, I expect it from him. As a young player you can have your ups and downs but he is very mature.
“He has got a plan no matter where he is – whether with or without the ball. For both phases of the game he has got a plan."
Burnley move
In four seasons with West Brom, O’Shea had grown to become a regular. One of those campaigns - 2020/21 - was in the Premier League. It was his first taste of the level and he clearly wanted to get back there.
Burnley’s interest was first reported in June 2023. The Clarets had just secured promotion from the Championship and Vincent Kompany was looking to establish them in the top flight. Later that month, he completed a £7 million move to Turf Moor, signing a four-year contract.
O’Shea spoke about his ambitions early on. "I’m at the stage of my career now when I want to push myself,” he said after signing for the club. “I want to be the best I can be and this is the club that can help me do that and I can help them too.”
Kompany noticed all the right traits in his performances for West Brom, describing him as: "Strong at the back as well as confident moving forward, a leader with experience and knowledge of playing at the highest level."
It wasn’t to be for the Clarets, however, who finished 19th and were relegated back to the second tier at the first time of asking. O’Shea featured 33 times for them last season, scoring three goals and providing four assists - strong attacking numbers for a centre-back.
A move back to the Premier League didn’t seem to be on the cards despite reported interest from Wolves, Brentford and Ipswich. He played in Burnley’s first two games of the season as they beat Luton Town 4-1 and Cardiff City 5-0, scoring their third goal against the Hatters.
In the end, the move to Portman Road did materialise, providing himself with another chance to prove himself at the top level.
Representing Ireland
As a child, O’Shea often went with his father to watch the Republic of Ireland play at Lansdowne Road before it was demolished in 2007. Three years later, it was replaced by the Aviva Stadium, which is where the 25-year-old currently plays international football.
It didn’t take him long to progress through the youth ranks, starting off with the U19s before stepping up to the U21s in 2019. After just one year and 10 caps at the level, he was named in the senior squad, something which Bilić described as a ‘fairytale’.
His debut came due to a plethora of injuries in the first team, giving him the chance to start in a 1-0 defeat away to Finland in the Nations League in October 2020. He was named as the FAI Young Player of the Year less than 12 months later and managed to establish himself in the side, now playing under Heimir Hallgrímsson.
Playing internationally alongside club team-mates Ogbene and Sammie Szmodics, the Boys in Green now have their sights set on securing promotion from their Nations League group. They should get the chance to feature at Wembley when they face England in November.
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