Paul Fennessy reports from the Aviva Stadium

SHAMROCK ROVERS’ FAI Cup final hero Rory Gaffney says he will “think about” his future in football.

The 36-year-old played a starring role, with his two second-half goals making the difference as the Hoops overcame 10-man Cork City.

Gaffney missed a large portion of the 2024 campaign after undergoing ankle surgery last year.

The striker’s future at the club was uncertain ahead of the 2025 season, but his decision to take a pay cut and remain with Rovers amid interest elsewhere has been vindicated.

The Tuam native, who nursed a can of “not great” warm cider in the post-match mixed zone, has played an integral role in Rovers’ double-winning campaign, contributing nine goals from 27 Premier Division appearances in addition to his cup final heroics.

And with his contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign, Gaffney was non-committal on whether he would be sticking around next year.

“I suppose I have to think about it. Days like today make you want to keep going, but I’m obviously not getting any younger. You know, the legs go at some point, and I know it’s coming, but I suppose you want to hang on for as long as possible, but you don’t want to be a passenger at the same time.”

Gaffney has now been part of five Premier Division title successes, though today is his first FAI Cup triumph, having joined the club in 2020, after spending five years in England.

And he feels this current group is as strong a Rovers team as he has ever played in.

“I think so. I think everyone talks about the double with the fact that we’ve qualified for Europe by going through the hardest route possible, having to win all the games, not knowing that we didn’t have a back door to fall on. We’ve had to beat Santa Clara, a team that finished fifth in the Portuguese league last year. Let’s be honest, you don’t fancy your chances when you get it all like that.”

Individually, too, Gaffney is more than happy with his output.

“I suppose it’s the best season I’ve ever had, no doubt about it. After being injured last year, if he’d told me that I’d get back and be a part of a team that would do the double and qualify for Europe and chipped him 15 goals along the way, I’d have probably said you were mad. But here we are.

“After missing last year with an injury, questioning myself, I aimed to get back to full fitness. I needed to play at this level. And I have, thankfully.

“I just had to do the rehab [last year], regardless of whether it was going to get back playing professional football, I had surgery, so I just had to take a couple of weeks off, rest up. Do your usual gym stuff, and all that comes with recovering from an injury and got back training with the lads in January, and just had to prove to myself and prove to the club that I was fit enough to play again.” 

While they will be celebrating unrestrainedly this evening, the season is not over for Gaffney and Rovers.

Their Uefa Conference League campaign recommences in Tallaght on 27 November against Shakhtar Donetsk, with a couple of wins badly needed to keep alive their hopes of progression to the knockout stages.

The hard-fought point they earned away to AEK Athens on Thursday has given the Hoops hope they can emulate last season’s achievement of getting out of the league phase, despite losing their opening two fixtures against Sparta Prague and Celje.

“We’re off now for a week to 10 days, and then we’ll be back in for eight or nine days in the build-up to Shakhtar Donetsk, and then we’ve got two games left after that. The season’s not over yet, but we’re definitely getting a small break now, so we’ll probably need it as well.

“We definitely need to win two out of the last three games. I think seven points got you through last year, so if we get to seven this year, you’re hoping that maybe the goal difference doesn’t do us, but all we can do is put our best foot forward and focus on the next game.”