Up and Ronan

Cliftonville Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Ronan Hale.

The 23-year-old forward joins from Larne less than a fortnight after making global headlines with an outrageous 80-yard strike that capped a four-goal display in the Invermen’s European Play-Off Final victory over Glentoran.

The switch to Solitude sees the former Birmingham City man link up with elder brother Rory for the third time in their careers, having also been team-mates at both Derry City and Crusaders.

Ronan, who spent a year at St Patrick’s Athletic prior to joining Larne in the summer of 2020, has been capped by the Republic of Ireland at Under-19 and Under-21 level, and will soon give his first interview as a Cliftonville player here on cliftonvillefc.net.

Moving to Inver Park as part of the deal is defender Aaron Donnelly, who departs with the thanks and best wishes of everyone at Solitude.

Aaron scored five goals in 130 appearances for the Reds after making his debut in 2016 and was voted 2020/21 Player of the Year by our supporters, who will doubtless share the Club’s expression of gratitude and regards for the future.