Shane Blaney returns to Sligo Rovers on a six-month loan from Livingston

Shane Blaney will make a return to Sligo Rovers for six months on loan from Livingston.

The Letterkenny native has spent the last three and a half seasons in the Scottish Premiership, having joined Motherwell from Sligo Rovers.

But the 26-year-old joined Livingston in the summer of 2025 and has endured an injury-ridden start to life at the club.

Blaney, who began his career with Finn Harps before moving across the water to Doncaster Rovers, joined the Bit O’Red ahead of the 2021 season and played 45 times for the club.

And he makes his return to the Showgrounds as he looks to get matches under his belt.

Talking to sligorovers.com, Blaney says that Sligo is the ideal place for him to be right now.

“I found out last week that there was a possibility of coming back,” Blaney said.

“So I spoke to Livingston and obviously I’ve had a rough year in terms of injuries, so it’s important that I get back playing and enjoying it.

“I spoke to a few clubs, but John Russell was on the ball and to be honest, there’s no place better for me to be playing football, so I jumped at the chance, and I’m really looking forward to getting going.

“John played a huge part. We’ve stayed in contact all through the time I’ve been away. I have a great relationship with (Ryan) Casey, (Richard) Brush and John, so it’s all very familiar to me. I loved their ideas and their enthusiasm in wanting to push the club to the next level. The squad is keen to get a good buzz going around the north-west and getting some good results and you can really feel that already.

“I’ll be bringing experience back with me. Under John and Ryan, I got a lot of confidence back and that helped me when I was heading to the UK. I’ve played a lot of big games in the Scottish Premier, so hopefully it’ll stand to me. I want to leave Rovers in a good spot when it’s my time to head off again.

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“Playing here, we had a great changing room. It was so good.

“The spell we had in Europe was brilliant and was a major highlight of my career. But that’s all in the past and I want to help my team achieve something similar now.

“I’ve watched a good bit of the league since I left. The games are really exciting and the brand of football is very good. I’ve been back here a few times in the Scottish off-season to see some of my friends playing and the games are always good.