Career Summary

Shane Long comes from Gortnahoe, Co. Tipperary, and, predictably, he was a richly talented hurler at underage level. He played for Tipperary in a semi-final of the All Ireland Minor Championship before opting for football.

He signed for Cork City after playing his under-age football with St. Kevin's and made an occasional first team appearance while playing for Cork's U21 team. He was transferred together with Kevin Doyle to Reading in the summer of 2005 and he has had a meteoric rise to the top at the Madejski Stadium. He made his debut for Ireland's seniors in the European Championship tie away to San Marino in February, 2007.

He created history when introduced as substitute in the European Championship tie against Slovakia on March 28, 2007, at Croke Park - the first to have played hurling and International football at the venue. Shane played against Ecuador and Bolivia in the USA in May, 2007 and scored his first goal for Ireland against Bolivia in a 1-1 draw. He also scored a marvellous two goals against Denmark after coming in as a substitute during the friendly match in Aarhus on 22/08/07.