Lewis Temple (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 June 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Bray, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Shelbourne | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2020–2021 | Bray Wanderers | ||
| 2022–2024 | Shelbourne | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022– | Shelbourne | 13 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Longford Town (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Wexford (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | Republic of Ireland U19 | 5 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:05, 2 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 April 2025 | |||
Lewis Temple (born 11 June 2005) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shelbourne.
Club career
Youth career
A native of Bray, County Wicklow, Temple played youth football for his local club Bray Wanderers. He played for their under-15 team in 2020 before graduating to the under-17 side in 2021 before moving to Shelbourne's academy in 2022.[1]
Shelbourne
Temple's first involvement with the Shelbourne first team came when he appeared in both the First Round of the 2022 FAI Cup on 29 July 2022, being introduced as a second-half substitute against his former club Bray Wanderers.[2]
Longford Town loan
On 6 July 2023, Temple joined League of Ireland First Division club Longford Town on loan until the end of the season.[3] He made 15 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell with the club.[4] After impressing on his loan with Longford, Temple signed a new two-year contract with Shelbourne in February 2024.[5]
Wexford loan
He joined Wexford on loan for the second half of their First Division season in 2024.[6][7] Temple scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 win against Athlone Town at Ferrycarrig Park on 30 August 2024.[8] He went on to make 20 appearances as the club reached the promotion and relegation play-off semi-final and the 2024 FAI Cup semi-final.[9]
Return from loan
Temple found himself given more first-team opportunities for Shelbourne in 2025 following injuries to Paddy Barrett and Sam Bone. In his third start of the season on 4th April he was awarded the player of the match award against St Patrick's Athletic.[10] Shelbourne manager Damien Duff praised his "amazing mentality" after having "to wait for his chance" but then "going in and doing brilliantly".[11] In September 2025, Shelbourne manager Joey O'Brien initially left Temple out of the club's League Phase squad for the UEFA Conference League.[12] He eventually made it back into the squad through injuries and made 3 appearances in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase.[13]
Personal life
Temple attended Presentation College in Bray.[14] He competed internationally in kickboxing in his youth. He began kickboxing at the age of 4 with the Eagle Martial Arts Club for Bray and Arklow. When he was nine years old he won bronze at the 2014 WKKC World Kickboxing Championships, before going on to obtain a black belt and become world champion by age 12.[15] He decided to fully focus on football when he was 15.
Career statistics
- As of match played 18 December 2025[16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shelbourne | 2022 | LOI Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3[b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2[b] | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Longford Town (loan) | 2023 | LOI First Division | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Wexford (loan) | 2024 | LOI First Division | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Career total | 41 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 59 | 1 | ||
- ^ Includes FAI Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
- ^ 1 appearance in the UEFA Champions League; 3 appearances in the UEFA Conference League
- ^ Appearances in the 2024 League of Ireland First Division Playoffs
Honours
Shelbourne
References
- ^ "Lewis Temple player profile - Extratime". extratime.com. Extratime. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Lewis Temple player profile - Shelbourne". shelbournefc.ie. Shelbourne FC. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Lewis Temple signs on loan!".
- ^ "Lewis Temple | Stats | History | Career Details | Images | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com". www.extratime.com.
- ^ Cleary, Darren. "Lewis Temple signs two-year deal". shelbournefc.ie. Shelbourne FC. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Lewis Temple signs on Loan from Shelbourne – Wexford FC".
- ^ "Wexford secure loan deal for Shelbourne defender Lewis Temple". extratime.com. Extratime. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Wexford FC vs Athlone Town AFC - August 30, 2024 - SSE Airtricity League First Division 2024 - Soccer | Global Sports Archive". GSA Website.
- ^ O'Connor, Seán. "Lewis Temple credits Damien Duff factor for lifting his own standards as Wexford target FAI Cup final spot". independent.ie. Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Sneyd, David. "From world champion kickboxer to heart of Shels defence - Damien Duff hails 'incredible' Lewis Temple". the42.ie. The 42. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Aidan. "'To be a black belt and a world champion at 12 is an incredible mentality. I know what I was doing at 12, watching The Simpsons'". independent.ie. Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "'When we were bottom of the league, nobody gave a s**t how we played' – Kevin Doherty dismisses Drogheda's possession stats". www.independent.ie. 23 September 2025.
- ^ "The official website for European football". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Lewis Temple (6th Yr) – Ireland U-19 Football team". presbray.ie. Presentation College Bray.
- ^ McCadden, Mark. "Damien Duff details incredible kickboxing background of League of Ireland prospect". irishmirror.ie. Irish Mirror. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Lewis Temple at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ McDonnell, Daniel (1 November 2024). "Shelbourne crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions on final night of drama". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (7 February 2025). "Odubeko scores on debut to aid Shelbourne to President's Cup win over Drogheda". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 March 2025.