Barry Cotter (footballer)
Irish footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barry Noel Cotter (born 4 December 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a right back or right wing-back for First Professional Football League club CSKA Sofia.
|
Cotter in action for St Patrick's Athletic in 2022. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Barry Noel Cotter[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 December 1998[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Ennis, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Right back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | CSKA Sofia | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lifford | |||
| Avenue United | |||
| –2015 | Ennis Town | ||
| 2015–2017 | Limerick | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Limerick | 11 | (0) |
| 2018–2021 | Ipswich Town | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Chelmsford City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Chelmsford City (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Shamrock Rovers | 24 | (1) |
| 2022 | → St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2023–2026 | Barnsley | 63 | (3) |
| 2025–2026 | → Notts County (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2026 | Derry City | 25 | (2) |
| 2026– | CSKA Sofia | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:01, 20 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:07, 14 September 2021 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Limerick
Cotter signed for Limerick in August 2015, having previously played for local Ennis club Lifford AFC, Avenue United and Ennis Town.[4] He worked his way up through the youth system at Markets Field, and managed to break into the first team in 2017. He made 11 appearances during the 2017 League of Ireland season.[5]
Ipswich Town
On 31 January 2018, Cotter signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with English Championship club Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee.[6] Although a member of Ipswich's under-23 squad, Cotter made his first team debut on 10 April 2018, in a 1–0 win over Barnsley at Portman Road.[7] He made one further appearance during the 2017–18 season, appearing as a late substitute during a 4–0 win over Reading at the Madejski Stadium on 28 April 2018.[8] Cotter left Ipswich on 22 March 2021 after being told he wouldn't be offered a new contract.[9]
Chelmsford City (loans)
On 26 September 2019, Cotter signed for National League South club Chelmsford City on a one-month loan deal.[10] He made his debut for the club in a 0–4 away win over Eastbourne Borough on 28 September.[11] On 16 October 2020, Cotter returned to Chelmsford, on loan until 2 January 2021.[12]
Shamrock Rovers
Cotter signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers on 31 August 2021.[13] He scored his first goal for Shamrock Rovers against UCD on 19 May 2022.
St Patrick's Athletic (loan)
On 20 July 2022, Cotter signed for St Patrick's Athletic on loan until the end of the season.[14] He made his debut for the club a day later in a 1–1 draw with Slovenian side NŠ Mura in the UEFA Europa Conference League.[15] On 29 August 2022, Cotter scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win away to Bohemians at Dalymount Park, picking up the ball on the half way line before beating four players on his way to finding the net to open the scoring in the 8th minute of the match.[16] On 3 October 2022, he scored in a 4–4 draw away to rivals Shelbourne at Tolka Park.[17]
Barnsley
On 18 January 2023, it was announced that Cotter had signed for EFL League One club Barnsley on a 3+1⁄2-year deal for a fee in the region of £20,000.[18][19] Cotter scored his first goal for the club on 15 August 2023, in a 3–1 loss against Peterborough United at Oakwell.[20]
Notts County (loan)
On 4 July 2025, he joined EFL League Two side Notts County on a season long loan deal.[21]
Derry City
On 23 February 2026, it was announced that Cotter had signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City on a permanent basis on a one-year-contract.[22] He made 30 appearances in all competitions during his time with the club, scoring twice before departing in September 2026.[23]
CSKA Sofia
On 8 September 2026, Cotter signed for Bulgarian First League side CSKA Sofia on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, having impressed when playing against them in the UEFA Europa League two months earlier.[24]
International career
Cotter made his International debut for the Republic of Ireland U19 team on 10 February 2017, in a 2–1 loss to Norway. He won 2 caps for Ireland's under-19's in 2017.[25]
He was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad in March 2019, for a 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match against Luxembourg.[26] He was an unused substitute in the qualifier which took place on 24 March 2019 in Dublin, with Ireland emerging as 3–0 winners.[27]
Career statistics
- As of match played 20 September 2026
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Limerick | 2017[28] | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| Ipswich Town | 2017–18[8] | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[29] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20[30] | League One | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[31] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Chelmsford City (loan) | 2019–20[30] | National League South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Chelmsford City (loan) | 2020–21[31] | National League South | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Shamrock Rovers | 2021[28] | LOI Premier Division | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2022[28] | 15 | 1 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||||
| St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 2022[28] | LOI Premier Division | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[e] | 0 | 16 | 2 | |
| Barnsley | 2022–23[28] | League One | 6 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24[28] | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[f] | 1 | 40 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25[28] | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26[28] | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 61 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 4 | ||
| Notts County (loan) | 2025–26[28] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Derry City | 2026[28] | LOI Premier Division | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[g] | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| CSKA Sofia | 2026–27 | First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 154 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 182 | 9 | ||
- Appearances in the EFL Trophy
- Appearance in the Essex Senior Cup
- Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
- 1 appearance in the League One Playoffs & 2 appearances, 1 goal in the EFL Trophy
- 2 appearances in the UEFA Europa League; 1 appearance in the UEFA Conference League
Honours
Shamrock Rovers
CSKA Sofia