Early career As a youngster, Kirby played for Johnville in the Waterford Schoolboys League. In the summer of 1994, as a 16-year-old, he went to England to join
Premier League club
Aston Villa. He was a regular in the youth team for two seasons, made his debut for the reserves in the 1995–96 season, and played not infrequently at that level for a further two years.
Waterford United Kirby returned to Ireland, signed for Waterford United in 1998, His first senior goal opened the scoring as Waterford beat
Dundalk 2–0 on 16 April, and his second, a "glorious 20-yard volley that simply flew past" the goalkeeper, was the only goal of the game against fellow relegation candidates
Bray Wanderers a few days later and made a significant contribution to Waterford retaining their Premier Division status. Available on a free transfer at the end of the season, Kirby returned to England for a trial with
Hartlepool United which came to nothing. He rejoined Waterford for the
1999–2000 League of Ireland season, but the club struggled to score, finished tenth in the league, and had to play off against
Kilkenny City for a place in the next season's Premier Division. Waterford lost the first leg 1–0, and their ill-fortune in front of goal continued in the second. Kirby shot against the post in the first half, and missed a chance in the second, and
Derek McGrath missed a late penalty, to leave Waterford in the First Division with only three contracted players, of which Kirby himself was one. Kirby helped Waterford reach the semi-final of the
FAI Cup in 2000–01. In the quarter-final, his shot was punched over the bar by a
Cobh Ramblers defender, and he converted the resulting penalty to give Waterford a 1–0 win. The semi-final, against
Longford Town, went to a replay. Kirby came close to scoring, and was named man of the match as he had been in the quarter-final, but the tie was settled by a penalty kick in favour of Longford. He was named in the
PFAI First Division Team of the Year for 2001, and shortlisted for the First Division Player of the Year award. When Kirby and teammate
Alan Reynolds signed two-year contracts with Premier Division club
Longford Town, Reynolds moved on a free, but the fee for Kirby was to be determined by tribunal. He had attracted the attention of manager
Stephen Kenny when the clubs met in the FAI Cup semifinal earlier in the year.
Longford Town Kirby made his debut in the
FAI Super Cup pre-season tournament, He played in the club's first appearances in European competition, the qualifying round of the
2001–02 UEFA Cup, against
Litex Lovech, which Longford lost in
stoppage time in the second leg in Bulgaria. Kirby scored six goals from 40 appearances in all competitions as Longford finished ninth in the League. The Premier Division was to drop from twelve to ten teams for the transitional
2002–03 League of Ireland season, so Longford had to play-off against First Division runners-up
Finn Harps to retain their top-flight status. The scores were level after two legs, and Longford won 6–5 on penalties. They reached the
2003 League of Ireland Cup Final via a 90th-minute equaliser against
Derry City followed by the winner in the last minute of
extra time, when Kirby's free kick struck the post and Alan Murphy converted the rebound.
St Patrick's Athletic goalkeeper
Chris Adamson made "the save of the night" from Kirby towards the end of the final, which Longford lost by a single goal when
Barry Ferguson missed a penalty with the last kick of the game. They went one better against the same opponents in the
FAI Cup Final. Playing at
Lansdowne Road, on a bigger pitch that allowed the wingers more space, Kirby fed
Sean Francis to open the scoring, as Longford went on to beat St Pat's 2–0 to win the first senior trophy in their history. His performance over the season earned him a nomination for the PFAI Player of the Year award, but he lost out to
Shelbourne's
Jason Byrne. Kirby made more appearances than any other Longford player as the club trebled its trophy collection in 2004. In the
League Cup Final, the
Daily Mirror wrote that he made clever use of the ball on the right wing, and came close to scoring a "wonder goal" when he dribbled past a couple of defenders but then shot wide. Longford had the better of most of the game, but were under pressure at the end, eventually holding on to beat
Bohemians 2–1. Longford were a goal behind after 86 minutes in the
2004 FAI Cup Final against Kirby's home-town club Waterford when his "stunning shot" tied the scores. Controversially, the goal was scored while a Waterford defender was clearing a stray football from the pitch. Longford's winner came a few seconds later. Kirby was left with mixed feelings. While pleased to have scored only his second goal of the season, and recognising the importance of the win to his current club, he had decided ahead of the game that he would not celebrate if he did score, and felt "a little gutted" for his former colleagues. He turned down a move to
Drogheda United, who reportedly offered to triple his wages, to sign a new two-year contract on improved terms with Longford. In 2004, Longford had given
Liechtenstein's
FC Vaduz their first ever European win, in the
UEFA Cup qualifying rounds. In the
2005 competition, they took a 2–0 first-leg lead against Welsh club
Carmarthen Town; the second goal was scored by Ferguson from Kirby's cross. In the second leg, Carmarthen's opener was equalised from the penalty spot, but they then scored four times in the second half to eliminate Longford and give Kirby what he describes as "the lowest moment of my career". He is one of three men to have played in all six, , of Longford's appearances in UEFA competition. Kirby was the only ever-present for Longford in 2006, and was also their leading goalscorer, but with just six goals. This took his figures to 24 goals from 235 games in all competitions for Longford as his contract expired at the end of the season. With the club's budget set to be reduced further, Kirby was one of several players to leave. He signed for
St Patrick's Athletic in December 2006; the season preview in the
Irish Independent saw "the capture of Alan Kirby [as] a particular coup."
St Patrick's Athletic While at Longford, Kirby had worked full-time for the club's sponsors as assistant to the site engineer on a building site, but was allowed to leave early on training evenings. At St Pat's, he was a full-time footballer. He was named
Player of the Month for March, cited as central to St Pat's unbeaten start to the season. Pat's began the season with Kirby,
Keith Fahey and
Joseph Ndo in a central three in midfield; their "interchanging of passing and movement is excellent", according to
Bohemians' manager
Sean Connor. But an injury to Ndo, combined with Kirby's absences through injury and suspension, meant a switch to a
4–4–2 formation, with more workmanlike players in the centre and the flair and creativity of Fahey and Kirby pushed out to the wings; this coincided with a mid-season slump. Kirby was rested for the first leg of the UEFA Cup tie against
Odense, a goalless draw; he was brought back for the second leg, in which St Pat's were outclassed 5–0. Both player and club revived; Kirby scored four goals from 28 league appearances, as his club finished in second place. St Pat's beat Latvian club
Olimps and
IF Elfsborg of Sweden in the qualifying rounds of the
2008–09 UEFA Cup. Kirby was an unused substitute in the first leg against Elfsborg, and a hard-working substitute as St Pat's scored two late goals to go through on aggregate. He started on the left of midfield in both legs against
Hertha Berlin; despite the 2–0 away defeat, he described that as "the best trip so far" of his five UEFA Cup campaigns. St Pat's repeated their second-place league finish in 2008, but Kirby was "a little disappointed" by his personal season. He would have preferred to play more than he didhe started 18 of the 36 league matchesand was led to expect a new contract which, in the club's straitened financial circumstances, failed to materialise.
Sporting Fingal The
Fingal Independent labelled him a "big name signing" who was "regarded as a consummate professional by commentators in the game". The club's commitment to supporting players wanting to further their education allowed him to continue his studies alongside his football: "I'm in DCU, doing a degree in business, which I'm halfway through. I can come in and train, then go on to college and catch up on any lectures I've missed and stay as late as I want in the library." and in the semifinal, against
Bray Wanderers, he set up his club's first goal, was involved in the second, and scored the third, before leaving the field through injury. Fingal finished third in the First Division, and beat Shelbourne and Bray Wanderers in the playoffs to earn promotion to the Premier Division after only two years in the League. Kirby was a late substitute in the second leg of the final, having missed the earlier matches with a foot injury, and won his third FAI Cup-winners' medal as an unused substitute, as Sporting Fingal beat
Sligo Rovers with two late goals. Kirby signed another one-year contract for the 2010 season. He was a less frequent member of the starting eleven, but still took the field in 31 of the 36 League matches as Fingal finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Later career Kirby was one of many players to volunteer for the PFAI team to take part in the
FIFPro Scandinavian Tournament in January 2011, a regular event featuring out-of-contract players from summer leagues, but did not make the squad. Liam Buckley planned to speak to him about returning to Sporting Fingal, but at the end of the month, Kirby signed a one-year contract with
Sligo Rovers. He scored six times in 31 league appearances When no new contract was forthcoming at Sligo, and recognising he was approaching the end of the career, Kirby was happy to return to Longford Town for the 2012 season. helping Longford to a third-place finish and a
playoff against Waterford United. Replacing Gillespie towards the end of the playoff second leg, with Waterford 3–0 ahead on aggregate, Kirby scored his last goal in senior football in his home town against his first senior club. He had announced his retirement from football before the game. In his two spells with Longford, he scored 29 goals from 264 appearances in all competitions. ==International career==