Denise O'Sullivan
Denise Rebecca O'Sullivan (born 4 February 1994) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains the American club North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and has represented the Republic of Ireland national team more than 100 times. She started her career with the Irish club Wilton United and joined the newly-formed Cork City at the outset of the Women's National League (WNL) in 2011. She also played for Peamount United in the County Dublin club's UEFA Women's Champions League campaigns in 2011 and 2012. In July 2013, she signed her first professional contract with Glasgow City of the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL).
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O'Sullivan with the North Carolina Courage in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Denise Rebecca O'Sullivan | ||
| Date of birth | 4 February 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | North Carolina Courage | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Wilton United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –2011 | Wilton United | ||
| 2011 | Peamount United | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Cork City | 15 | (6) |
| 2012 | Peamount United | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Cork City | 11 | (2) |
| 2013–2016 | Glasgow City | 65 | (33) |
| 2016–2017 | Houston Dash | 29 | (2) |
| 2017– | North Carolina Courage | 123 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | → Canberra United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | → Western Sydney Wanderers (loan) | 7 | (1) |
| 2020 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011– | Republic of Ireland | 109 | (21) |
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 November 2023 | |||
After a successful spell in Glasgow, which included being named 2014 SWPL Players' Player of the Year, O'Sullivan signed with Houston Dash of the NWSL in March 2016. In 2017, she signed with North Carolina Courage and helped the team win three consecutive NWSL Shield titles and two consecutive NWSL Championships. At North Carolina, O'Sullivan was voted most valuable player (MVP) by her teammates in both 2018 and 2019. She played on-loan for Australian W-League clubs Canberra United and Western Sydney Wanderers and English club Brighton & Hove Albion during the NWSL offseason.
In 2015, O'Sullivan was named FAI Senior International Player of the Year. She earned The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of Month honors in November 2019 and was on the RTÉ Sports Person of the Year shortlist the same year.