Shane Griffin

Shane Griffin (born 8 September 1994) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He spent his entire senior career playing in the League of Ireland, for Cork City, St Patrick's Athletic, Shelbourne and Cobh Ramblers.

Club career Youth Career A native of Carrigaline, County Cork, Griffin began playing football with local club Carrigaline United before moving to the academy of English club Reading in the summer of 2011. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Griffin was one of five academy players offered a new contract with Reading.

Cork City On 4 February 2017, Griffin returned home, signing for League of Ireland Premier Division club Cork City on a two-year contract. He made 29 league appearances as the club won the 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division title. On 5 November 2017, he was part of the team that defeated Dundalk on penalties in the 2017 FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium. On 4 November 2019, he featured against Dundalk in the 2018 FAI Cup final, but this time his side were defeated 2–1 at the Aviva Stadium. In December 2019, it was announced that Griffin would be leaving Cork City after scoring 2 goals in 111 appearances in his 3 seasons with the club

St Patrick's Athletic On 3 December 2021, Griffin signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic on a two-year-contract. He made 14 appearances in his first season with the club. On 28 November 2021, Griffin was an unused substitute in the 2021 FAI Cup final, as his side defeated rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record FAI Cup final crowd of 37,126 at the Aviva Stadium.

Shelbourne On 3 December 2021, it was announced that Griffin had signed for newly promoted League of Ireland Premier Division club Shelbourne. On 13 November 2022, he was part of the Shels team that suffered the biggest margin of defeat in FAI Cup history when they were defeated 4–0 by Derry City in the 2022 FAI Cup final. On 14 October 2022, he signed a contract extension until the end of the 2023 season. On 5 May 2023, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win at home to UCD at Tolka Park. On 23 December 2023, he signed a new one-year-contract with the club. He made 12 league appearances in 2024 as his side won the 2024 League of Ireland Premier Division. He departed the club at the end of the season having scored 2 goals in 77 games over his 3 seasons at the club.

Cobh Ramblers On 6 January 2025, Griffin returned to him home county, signing for League of Ireland First Division club Cobh Ramblers. He scored 1 goal in 25 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the club. In November 2025, he was named in the PFAI First Division Team of the Year as voted by his fellow players in the league. In July 2026, Griffin retired from professional football, after scoring 1 goal in 57 appearances in all competitions during his 18 months in Cobh.

International career Having previously been capped up to Republic of Ireland under-21 level, Griffin along with fellow St Patrick's Athletic teammates Lee Desmond and Conor Kearns, was called up to train with the Republic of Ireland senior squad on 31 August 2020, in what was new manager Stephen Kenny's first training session with the squad.

Career statistics

Honours Club Cork City League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 2017 FAI Cup (1): 2017 President of Ireland's Cup (2): 2017, 2018 Munster Senior Cup (3): 2017, 2018, 2018–19

St Patrick's Athletic FAI Cup (1): 2021

Shelbourne League of Ireland Premier Division (1): 2024

Cobh Ramblers Munster Senior Cup (1): 2024–25

Individual PFAI First Division Team of the Year (1): 2025