David Connolly is a professional football striker, who was born on June 6, 1977 in Willesden, England. He is married to Joanna and they have two daughters.
Nicknamed “Connors” in the football circuit, David Connolly made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland national team in May 1996 against Portugal and since then, has been a regular member of the team, including the 2002 World Cup squad. He also played in Niall Quinn's benefit match that year and scored against Sunderland. He has earned 41 caps for the national team, netting 9 goals as of December 2006.
David Connolly kicked off his football career with Watford in 1994 and made 34 appearances for the club, contributing 15 goals in his tenure. His excellent performances for Watford caught the attention of the Dutch club, Feyenoord Rotterdam, which signed him in 1997. David Connolly represented the club in 25 matches scoring 7 times. He also had brief loan stints with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Excelsior Rotterdam between 1998 and 2001.
David Connolly signed for the English football club, Wimbledon, in 2001 and during his association with the club, which lasted for two seasons, he played in 68 games and amassed 42 goals. After a short period with West Ham United, for which he netted 14 goals in the 2003-04 season, he moved onto Leicester City in 2004 for a fee of £500,000. Emerging as the club's top goal scorer in his first season, he is known for his hat-trick against Stoke City in August 2005. David Connolly appeared in 49 matches for the club, scoring 17 times. Wigan Athletic bought him on August 31, 2005, and he scored his first goal for the club on his debut for it against West Bromwich Albion. During his tenure with Wigan, he played in 22 games netting 3 goals.
In August 2006David Connolly switched to Sunderland, joining his former Republic of Ireland team-mate, Roy Keane. He secured his maiden goal for the club when he came in as a substitute versus Colchester United in November that year. His final goal of the 2006-07 season was instrumental in the club’s win over Luton Town to clinch the 2007 Coca-Cola Championship. David Connolly played a crucial role for the club in Sunderland's promotion during 2006-07 and became its top scorer with 13 goals for that season.
