Born in London,[1] to Irish parents, Foley joined hometown club Luton Town at the age of nine.

[6] Foley won promotion with Luton to the Championship in 2005,[7] and spent two seasons at this level before the club dropped back into League One in 2007.

[12] He ended his first season for Wolves as a regular member of their starting XI, featuring in a total of 49 games, scoring one goal.

[16] Foley made his Premier League debut in the team's opening fixture against West Ham on 15 August 2009.

When he did play it was mostly at right-midfield and central-midfield in a 4–5–1 formation, with players such as Ronald Zubar and Richard Stearman by now favoured in Foley's preferred right-back position.

[17] During the 2010–11 season, Foley scored his only Premier League goals, when he netted in consecutive home games, against Bolton then Sunderland, respectively.

[18][19] He made a career-best of 33 top flight appearances, scoring two goals during the campaign as the team narrowly avoided relegation.

In February 2014, Foley agreed a one-month loan with Championship club Blackpool,[23] for whom he made five appearances but was not offered the chance to remain until the end of the season.

[27] In November 2015, after a two-week trial with Shrewsbury Town, Foley began training with Reading with the view to a short-term contract.

"[29] On 22 January 2016, Foley signed for Championship club Ipswich Town on a contract until the end of the 2015–16 season, following the departure of full-back Jonathan Parr.

[39] Foley started as Billericay beat Chelmsford City 2–1 in the Essex Senior Cup final on 20 March 2018.

[47] Having been part of the team that achieved Ireland's first qualification for a major tournament since 2002, Foley was initially named in Giovanni Trapattoni's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012.

[52] In 2020, Foley joined former Wolves teammate Neill Collins' staff with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship, the American second division.

[54] In January 2022, Foley joined former Wolves teammate Rob Edwards' staff with Forest Green Rovers in League Two, the English fourth tier.

In September 2022, Foley joined Roger Johnson's staff with Brackley Town Football Club[56] in the National League North, the English sixth tier.