Cillian Sheridan (born 23 February 1989) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Sheridan began his career with Celtic in 2006, but a lack of first team opportunities saw him being loaned to other Scottish clubs. In 2010, he switched clubs and countries joining CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria, from where he was loaned to Scottish side St Johnstone in 2011. After playing for Kilmarnock between 2012 and 2013, he signed for defending Cypriot champions APOEL. In both his seasons with the club, he won the double. Subsequently, he moved to rivals Omonia. After stints in Poland, New Zealand and Israel, Sheridan returned to Scotland with Dundee, and in 2023 signed a short term deal with Inverness Caledonian Thistle until early 2024
He earned three international caps for the Republic of Ireland in 2010.
Club career
Early years
Born in Bailieborough, County Cavan, Sheridan grew up playing Gaelic football for Bailieborough Shamrocks. He began playing the association code with Bailieboro Celtic before travelling to Dublin to play for Belvedere, where he received call-ups for Irish youth squads. During his time at Belvedere, Sheridan chose to focus on his football career, having turned down an offer to join Australian rules club Brisbane Lions. He had trials with several clubs before being offered a contract by Scottish Premier League club Celtic, which he accepted.
Celtic
After joining Celtic in the summer of 2006, Sheridan was promoted to the reserve team and then the first team squad during his first season at the club, a "spectacular rise" according to coach Joe McBride.
He made his first team debut for Celtic in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 25 February 2007, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Mark Wilson in a 2–1 away victory. He signed a new three-year contract with the club two days later. On 20 May 2007, the final game of the season, he made his league debut against Hibernian, playing the final two minutes of a 2–1 defeat at Easter Road in place of Craig Beattie. Sheridan made his European debut on 21 October 2008, coming on as a substitute for Scott McDonald in Celtic's Champions League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He also started in the return game at Celtic Park on 5 November 2008, a 1–1 draw. Just four days after his European debut, Sheridan made his first league start against Hibernian, scoring the second goal of a 4–2 win.
Loan moves
On 2 February 2009 Sheridan signed for Motherwell on loan until the end of the season, to replace Chris Porter, who had signed for Derby County the previous day. He made his debut five days later, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw with St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. He made his first start and league debut a week later on Valentine's Day in Motherwell's 1–0 win over Hamilton, playing the entire 90 minutes as his strike partner David Clarkson scored the only goal of the game. Sheridan scored his first league goal for The Well a fortnight later, the winner in a 2–1 victory at Inverness. His only other goal for Motherwell came near the end of the season in a 3–0 win over Hamilton.
On 13 August 2009, Sheridan joined Plymouth Argyle on a six-month loan deal. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Queens Park Rangers. He played 14 times for the Championship team but failed to find the net.
Sheridan completed his loan spell at Plymouth and returned to Celtic on 14 January 2010. Later the same day he was again loaned out, this time to St Johnstone for the rest of the season. On his debut, on 17 February, he scored two goals in a 5–1 win against Hibernian. On 30 March he scored the opening goal for St Johnstone in a 4–1 win over Rangers.
CSKA Sofia
Sheridan signed a three-year contract with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia on 13 August 2010. Sheridan made his debut in the 2–2 draw against League of Wales side The New Saints; CSKA won 5–2 on aggregate. He scored his first goal for the club in their 3–1 away win against Sliven. On 25 September, Sheridan scored twice in a 2–0 win against Montana. Changes of management, however, made it difficult for Sheridan to settle in Bulgaria.