Conor Sammon
 Sammon with the Republic of Ireland in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Conor Sammon[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 6 November 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Malahide United | |||
| Cherry Orchard | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2007 | UCD | 69 | (13) |
| 2008 | Derry City | 16 | (3) |
| 2008–2011 | Kilmarnock | 65 | (17) |
| 2011–2012 | Wigan Athletic | 32 | (1) |
| 2012–2016 | Derby County | 83 | (10) |
| 2014–2015 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2015 | → Rotherham United (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 27 | (5) |
| 2016–2019 | Heart of Midlothian | 20 | (1) |
| 2017 | → Kilmarnock (loan) | 15 | (5) |
| 2017–2018 | → Partick Thistle (loan) | 31 | (7) |
| 2018–2019 | → Motherwell (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Falkirk | 43 | (8) |
| 2021–2026 | Alloa Athletic | 160 | (33) |
| Total | 611 | (107) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (4) |
| 2007 | Republic of Ireland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013 | Republic of Ireland | 9 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 May 2026 | |||
Conor Sammon (born 6 November 1986) is a retired Irish professional footballer who played as a forward.
Sammon started his professional career in the League of Ireland Premier Division with University College Dublin and Derry City. In 2008, he moved to Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock, and in January 2011, English Premier League club Wigan Athletic signed him for £600,000. In August 2012, he moved to Derby County for £1.2 million. During his time there, he also had loans to Ipswich Town, Rotherham United and Sheffield United, before returning to Scotland by signing for Heart of Midlothian in June 2016. He was then loaned by Hearts to Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle and Motherwell before joining Falkirk in 2019. After leaving Falkirk, Sammon signed for Alloa in June 2021.
Formerly an under-21 international, Sammon won 9 international caps for the Republic of Ireland, all in 2013.
Club career
[edit]UCD and Derry
[edit]Born in Dublin, Sammon started his career with Malahide United before moving to Cherry Orchard.[3] He then signed a scholarship deal with UCD ahead of the 2005 season.[4]
Sammon scored a hat trick in the Harding Cup final in February 2005. On 8 April 2005, he made his League of Ireland debut as a substitute at Turners Cross. His first league goal came exactly one year later when he netted a brace against Bray Wanderers at Belfield Park.
His single goal knocked Derry City out of the 2007 FAI Cup.[5] While Sammon was nominated for 2007 PFAI Young Player of the Year, he lost out to Mark Quigley of St Patrick's Athletic.[6]
Some UCD fans referred to him as "Sammon of college",[citation needed] before he was signed by fellow League of Ireland side Derry City in December 2007.[7]
Kilmarnock
[edit]
After a short trial, Sammon signed a three-year deal with Kilmarnock in July 2008 for an undisclosed fee,[8] and made his debut on 9 August 2008 in a 1–0 win against Hibernian.[9] He scored his first goals for the club on 24 September 2008, scoring a brace in a 4–2 Scottish League Cup win against Aberdeen.[10] Sammon struggled in his first two seasons at the club,[11] scoring just seven times in all competitions.[12] In the 2010–11 season, his record was more prolific, scoring 18 goals in 27 games.[13] In January 2011, Sammon turned down a move to Championship club Scunthorpe United after Kilmarnock had accepted a bid of around £450,000 for him.[12] Derby County were also interested in the player.[14]
Wigan Athletic
[edit]On 31 January 2011, Sammon signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee,[13] believed to be worth an initial £600,000,[15] after he turned down a move to Derby County.[16] He made his debut on 5 March in a 1–0 defeat against Manchester City.[17] He scored his first goal for the club in his sixth game – the second in a 3–2 win against West Ham United on 15 May.[18] His first start for the club came in the following game, a 1–0 win at Stoke City on 22 May 2011, a result which ensured Wigan's Premier League status.[19]
In the 2011–12 season, Sammon started nine games and came on as a substitute eighteen times but he failed to score a single goal.[20] On 26 December 2011, in a game at Manchester United Sammon was sent off for catching the face of Michael Carrick with his elbow, a decision which was judged as "harsh" by the BBC.[21] Wigan appealed the decision, with manager Roberto Martínez saying, "Conor did nothing wrong. You need to accept punishment when you do something wrong but this is a normal phase of play."[22] The appeal was successful and the card was rescinded.[22]
In July 2012, Sammon was again linked with a move to Derby County.[23] A fee of £1.2 million was reported to be agreed by both clubs on 12 August 2012.[24] After leaving, Sammon said of his time at Wigan: "I learned a lot from my time in the Premier League. I've got a lot of time for Roberto Martínez and the staff there. They looked after me well and gave me a great opportunity. I look back on my time there with good memories but also some frustration from not playing as much as I would have liked. Ultimately, I've had a great experience in the Premier League. I've taken lots of positives from my time there and I'm looking to use all of those during my time here at Derby."[25]