Hoops lose Aaron McEneff as he heads to Hearts

Aaron McEneff lifting the league trophy

Aaron McEneff lifting the league trophy Credit: Peter Fitzpatrick (ETPhotos)

Aaron McEneff has made the move to Scottish Championship league leaders Heart of Midlothian from Shamrock Rovers.

The midfielder has been a crucial part of Rovers' recent success since joining from Derry City in 2019 as he helped the Hoops win the FAI Cup and League of Ireland title in the last two seasons but has moved to Scotland on a two and a half year deal.

McEneff noted on Twitter his thanks to everyone at Shamrock Rovers for everything they had done for him over the last two season and "in particular Stephen Bradley who has been a huge influene on my career and my life. Stephen's gone above and beyond for me and my family."

He went on to say "I leave Shamrock Rovers with memories I will cherish forever - winning the league unbeaten, very special European nights and of course that unforgettable FAI Cup win.

"The chance to join a huge club in Hearts was too good an opportunity to turn down. I am 26 years old this summer and I felt it was time for me to test myself at a higher level."

The Hearts Sporting Director Joe Savage said they had been tracking the player for some time. 

“Aaron is someone that I’ve been looking at for the best part of four years and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring him to Hearts,” said Savage.

“He’s been one of Ireland’s standout players for a couple of years now, evidenced by his recent international call up.

“I’m sure the fans are going to be excited by him; he’s really energetic, a box-to-box midfielder who can chip in with goals as well."



The 25-year-old played 60 competitive games for Rovers scoring 19 goals. Having previously been on the books at Tottenham Hotspur, he made his professional debut with Derry City in 2015.

The midfielder scored 25 goals in 95 league appearances for the Candystripes, including ten goals in the 2018 campaign.

Having played underage for Northern Ireland, McEneff switched allegiance to the Republic of Ireland and he was called into Stephen Kenny’s senior squad for last November’s Europa League game against Bulgaria.

Rovers wished the player well with the move on twitter noting “all at Shamrock Rovers thank Aaron for two great seasons at the club and wish Aaron all the best in his career in Scotland.”

McEneff was under contract at Rovers and a substantial six figure sum transfer fee was required as part of the deal.



Rovers players out: Greg Bolger (Sligo Rovers), Jack Byrne (APOEL), Aaron McEneff (Hearts), Sean Callan (Bray), Danny Lafferty (Derry City), Rhys Marshall (Glentoran), Thomas Oluwa (Bohs), Brandon Kavanagh (Bray - on loan)

Rovers players in: Danny Mandroiu (Bohs), Chris McCann (Oldham), Sean Hoare and Sean Gannon (both Dundalk)

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile