Quick Facts
Biography
Paul Earley (born 3 July 1964) is a former Irish sportsman who played Australian rules football for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Gaelic football for Roscommon.
Earley was the first player recruited from Ireland to play a VFL match, beating Sean Wight who was also listed by Melbourne at the time. He made his only appearance in Melbourne's last game of the 1984 VFL season, when they lost to Richmond by 28 points at the MCG.
Due to family reasons, Earley returned to Ireland at the end of the year and rejoined Roscommon, with whom his elder brother, Dermot Earley, played. He was named as a full-forward in the 1985 GAA All Stars team and represented Ireland in the 1987 International Rules series. The former VFL footballer then played in Roscommon's 1990 and 1991 Connacht Championship winning teams. Earley later managed both Allenwood and Celbridge. He has also worked as a commentator for Setanta Sports.
On 4 February 2013, Earley was announced as the new manager of Ireland. His tenure with Ireland was reasonably successful - he is most noted for leading the country to record-breaking victories over Australia to win the 2013 International Rules Series title. He returned to the coaching role for the 2014 test match, though oversaw an Irish squad which fell 10 points short of a star-studded Australian team.