Barnsley have confirmed the signing of former Blues full-back Barry Cotter from Shamrock Rovers on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The Tykes, who are sixth in League One, are understood to have paid a fee of £20,000 for the 24-year-old, who spent much of the last League of Ireland season on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic.
"It’s so exciting,” the Irishman told the official Barnsley website. "It’s a great opportunity, I’m absolutely buzzing. I can’t wait to hit the ground running. It’s a huge club, there’s great history. I’m over the moon.”
Khaled El-Ahmad, CEO of the South Yorkshire club, added: "We are pleased to bring Barry to Oakwell.
"We look forward to seeing him work with [manager] Michael [Duff] and the staff out on the training pitch and wish him a warm welcome to the club.”
Ennis-born Cotter joined the Blues from Limerick in January 2018 and made his debut in Mick McCarthy’s final game in charge, the 1-0 victory over, coincidentally, Barnsley in April of the same year.
He came on as a late sub in the 4-0 win at Reading in the final away game of that season but didn’t feature at all during 2018/19.
Cotter, who had two spells on loan at Chelmsford while with the Blues, scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out in the Leasing.com Trophy tie at Peterborough on his 21st birthday in November 2019, with his final Town appearance later that month in the 2-1 home FA Cup defeat to Coventry. In total he made three starts and one appearance from the bench.
Having been released by the Blues in March 2021, Cotter had a spell on trial at Bromley before joining Shamrock Rovers that August.