Born: 4 May 1976, Coleraine
Height: 5.08 ft
Weight: 12.03 st
Position: Forward/Midfielder
Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1999), 3 'B' Caps (1995-2003), 2 Under-18 Caps, 6 Under-16 Caps, 3 Under-15 Caps; PSNI Representative.
Club Honours: (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1998/99; Irish Cup Winner 1997/98, 1999/00; Irish League Cup Winner; Co. Antrim Shield Winner; (with Coleraine) Irish Cup Winner 2002/03; (with Dungannon) Irish Cup Runner-Up 2006/07; (with Cliftonville) Irish Cup Runner-Up 2008/09; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 2008/09.
Club Career:
Clubs
|
Seasons
|
Signed
|
Fee
|
League
|
FA Cup
|
FL Cup
|
Europe
|
Other
|
Coleraine
|
-
|
-
|
Youth
|
0 (0)/ 0
|
||||
Southampton
|
-
|
-93
|
Youth
|
0 (0)/ 0
|
||||
Portstewart
|
94/95
|
Aug-94
|
-
|
-
|
||||
Fulham
|
94/95-96/97
|
Nov-94
|
-
|
24(24)/ 7
|
2 (4)/ 3
|
2(0)/0
|
-
|
1(3)/0
|
Glentoran
|
96/97-00/01
|
Sep-96
|
£5,000
|
131(18)/28
|
*56(13)/14
|
-
|
6(0)/0
|
-
|
Coleraine
|
01/02-03/04
|
Jun-01
|
-
|
/23
|
*/14
|
-
|
6(0)/1
|
-
|
Ballymena
U.
|
04/05-05/06
|
c/s-04
|
-
|
34(13)/ 8
|
3 (3)/ 0
|
11(0)/6
|
-
|
3(2)/0
|
Dungannon.S.
|
06/07
|
c/s-06
|
-
|
/ 4
|
*/ 2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Glentoran
|
07/08
|
Jun-07
|
-
|
3(11)/ 2
|
-
|
4(3)/1
|
1(1)/0
|
2(0)/0
|
D'gal
Celtic
|
07/08
|
Jan-08
|
Loan
|
#/ 5
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Cliftonville
|
08/09-09/10
|
c/s-08
|
-
|
#/ 9
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
L.
Distillery
|
09/10
|
Aug-09
|
Loan
|
/ 0
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Glenavon
|
09/10
|
Feb-10
|
-
|
7 (2)/ 1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Bangor
|
10/11
|
Jul-10
|
-
|
10 (1)/ 4
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
PSNI
|
11/12
|
c/s-11
|
-
|
7 (1)/ 2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
TOTALS
|
£-
|
/93
|
/33
|
17(3)/7
|
13(1)/1
|
6(5)/0
|
||
Biography:
Rory Hamill had won youth caps for Northern Ireland before joining English Premier League side Southampton as a trainee in 1993. At the Dell he added Under-18 caps to his collection but failed to make the first team. In November 1994 his ex-Saints boss Ian Branfoor signed him for Fulham. At Craven Cottage he quickly established himself as a member of the first team squad playing a total of 25 League and Cup games that season, using his pace and powerful shot to claim seven goals. He also picked up a B cap in a 3-0 defeat by Scotland in February 1995.
The following season Hamill failed to consolidate his position in the Fulham first team, and as the club struggled he dropped out of the reckoning. In September 1996 he joined Glentoran on loan, a move that became permanent in November. At the Oval he again showed his earlier promise developing into one of the top players in the Irish League. His strong running and tireless work rate meant that Hamill was effective as a midfielder, a winger or up front, and this brought him back to the attention of the Northern Ireland set-up and he won his second B cap in a 1-0 defeat by Wales in February 1999.
In April 1999, with Lawrie McMenemy keen to experiment with new players, Hamill was called up to the Northern Ireland full squad along with Linfield’s Glenn Ferguson. On 60 minutes, with the game at 0-0 he came off the substitutes bench to make his full Northern Ireland debut against Canada. The game eventually finished 1-1.
With Glentoran Hamill picked up an Irish League title in 1999 and Irish Cup winner’s medals in 1998 and 2000. However, early in the 2000/01 season things started to go awry. Hamill was made available for transfer as Roy Coyle sought to cut costs by selling some of his highest paid players. Things were to get worse.
A drugs test after a UEFA Cup tie between Glentoran and Norwegian side Lillestrom in August 2000 proved positive with traces of cannabis. Initially Hamill was banned from all European competitions, but on the eve of the 2001 Irish Cup Final a ban from all football was imposed, causing him to miss the Final, and all games up to 4th October 2001.
Having made almost 150 League appearances, and scored 28 goals, Hamill finally left Glentoran during the 2001 close season for Coleraine, where he had played as a youth. At the Coleraine Showgrounds Hamill added another Irish Cup medal, as his new club stopped Glentoran completing a domestic trophy clean-sweep in the 2002/03 season. A year later, with the club in severe financial difficulties, Hamill moved on to Ballymena United, where he was to become vice-captain.
After a protracted falling out with the Ballymena hierarchy, Hamill signed for Dungannon Swifts for the 2006/07 season. He helped the Swifts to their first ever Irish Cup Final appearance in his only season, scoring a first-half goal in a 2-2 draw with Linfield, unfortunately he was to miss from the spot in a penalty shoot-out defeat.
In June 2007 Hamill re-signed for Glentoran, becoming Alan McDonald's first signing as manager. In October he was a member of the Glens side that claimed the season's first trophy - the Co. Antrim Shield - with a 2-1 win over Crusaders. In January 2008 he joined Donegal Celtic on loan, marking a return to the Oval with two goals in a 2-1 Irish Cup quarter-final win. At the close of the season Cliftonville clinched his signature ahead of a number of other clubs. In his first season with the club he claimed a Co. Antrim Shield winner's medal following a 2-1 defeat of Linfield and an Irish Cup runners-up medal following a 1-0 reverse by Crusaders.
In August 2009 he joined Lisburn Distillery on loan having made a last-minute U-turn over a move to Institute. In February 2010 he joined-up with his ex-Coleraine boss, Marty Quinn, at Glenavon. He was released at the end of the season and quickly signed for Championship One side, Bangor and he marked his competitive debut with a goal in a 3-0 win over Institute.
IFA Premiership
Northern Ireland Cap Details:
27-04-1999 Canada.. H D 1-1 FR sub
Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.
Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
21-02-1995 Scotland A L 0-3 FR sub
09-02-1999 Wales... A L 0-1 FR
20-05-2003 Scotland A L 1-2 FR sub
Summary: 1(2)/0. Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 3.
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