Ronan Hale

Ronan Aiden Connolly Shea Chapman Hale (born 8 September 1998) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Gillingham and the Northern Ireland national team.

He previously played for Birmingham City, Derry City, Crusaders, St Patrick's Athletic, Larne, Cliftonville and Ross County. His brother Rory Hale is also a professional footballer, as was their grandfather Danny Hale.

Club career Early career Growing up in Newington, Belfast, Hale started off playing his youth football with local club Crusaders. It was there that he caught the eye and earned a move to England with Birmingham City. During this time, his brother Rory was playing at his side's city rivals, Aston Villa, which made the homesickness he suffered a little easier with both living in Birmingham.

Derry City loan Hale signed a six-month loan deal with League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City alongside his brother Rory Hale on 3 January 2018. He made his debut in senior football on 12 February 2018 away to Waterford at the RSC. His first senior goals came on 12 March 2018 when he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Limerick at the Brandywell. He followed this up 4 days later by scoring again in a 5–1 win over Bray Wanderers. His loan deal with Derry was extended until the end of the season on 28 June 2018. This allowed him his first taste of European football as he featured in both legs of the club's UEFA Europa League tie against Dinamo Minsk of Belarus. Derry lost the first leg 2–0 at home, leaving them with an uphill battle to go through in the second leg. After an early goal from Ally Roy, Derry performed well and after conceding a first half equaliser, Hale scored the winner in the 75th minute but it was not enough despite a late Derry push as they were knocked out 3–2 on aggregate. The 16 September 2018 saw Hale win the first trophy of his senior career when he scored in a 3–1 win over Cobh Ramblers as Derry City won the League of Ireland Cup for the record 11th time. Hale ended the season, with 12 goals in 40 appearances in his first season in senior football.

Crusaders On 11 January 2019, Birmingham City announced that Hale's contract had been terminated by mutual consent. It was announced shortly after that Hale had moved back to Belfast, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Crusaders. After his brother Rory, Ronan became the fourth member of his family to represent the club, following in his grandfather Danny and great-uncle Gerry's footsteps. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Linfield on 19 January 2019. His first goal for the club came a week later when he scored in a 3–1 win away to Institute. He was part of the squad that won the County Antrim Shield following a 4–3 thriller against Linfield in the final in March. He was an unused substitute in the Irish Cup Final as Crusaders beat Ballinamallard United 3–0 in the final at Windsor Park. He finished the season with 3 goals in 18 appearances. Hale made his debut the following day away to Cork City, coming off the bench for Ciarán Kelly in the 74th minute before scoring a 91st-minute winner to secure all three points for his new side with a 1–0 win. He went on to finish the season with nine appearances in all competitions and one goal. Two days later, he scored a penalty in a 6–0 win against Fermoy in a friendly. He finished a pre-season in top form, scoring two goals against Athlone Town and the winner against Galway United to make it five goals in five games. He scored on his first start of the season, opening the scoring in a 2–0 win over Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds. It was announced on 1 August 2020, exactly one year since he joined the club, that Hale had departed to sign for Larne of the NIFL Premiership.

Larne Hale returned to the NIFL Premiership on 1 August 2020, signing for Larne.

In Larne's maiden European campaign Hale scored the winner in a first round 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League tie and in the next round his goal eliminated Aarhus Gymnastikforening

At the end of the 2021–22 NIFL Premiership season, he scored all four goals for Larne in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off final match after coming on as a substitute as the club came back from 2–0 down against Glentoran. His goals in the 75th, 84th, 100th and 121st minutes included the fourth, dubbed a "wonder-goal" a 75 yard strike from just outside his own penalty box.

Cliftonville On 26 May 2022, Hale signed for Cliftonville.

Hale scored on his debut in a 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League tie at FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda

On 4 May 2024, in his last game for the club, he scored twice in extra-time in a 3–1 win over Linfield as Cliftonville won the Irish Cup for the first time since 1979.

Ross County On 9 July 2024, Hale signed for Scottish Premiership club Ross County on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He scored 18 goals in 42 appearances in his first season in Scotland including a goal in each leg of the relegation play-offs but it was not enough to keep his side up as they were relegated to the Scottish Championship following a defeat to Livingston on 26 May 2025. In January 2026, he reportedly handed in a transfer request after the club turned down a £200,000 bid from EFL League Two side Gillingham for Hale.

Gillingham On 29 January 2026, Hale signed for Gillingham on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Hale made his debut for the club on 31 January 2026, appearing as a half-time substitute in a 4–1 defeat at home to Bromley.

International career Republic of Ireland Hale played for Republic of Ireland under-19s in the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification. Both he and his brother Rory scored on their under-21 debuts in a friendly against Iceland in March 2018.

Northern Ireland In May 2024, senior Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill stated that he would be open to calling up Hale to his squad if he was to opt to switch his international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland. His switch of allegiance was approved in January 2025. In March 2025, he was called up to the Northern Ireland squad for the first time, for their friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden, but was not capped in either game. He made his debut on 10 June 2025, starting in a 1–0 win over Iceland in a friendly at Windsor Park.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Derry City League of Ireland Cup: 2018

Crusaders Irish Cup: 2018–19 County Antrim Shield: 2018–19

St Patrick's Athletic Leinster Senior Cup: 2018–19

Larne County Antrim Shield: 2020–21, 2021–22

Cliftonville Irish Cup: 2023–24