Ronald Andrew Whelan (/ˈrɒniː ˈhwiːlən/; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional football player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender.

Whelan was born into a family of footballers from Dublin, Ireland; his father, Ronnie Sr., was an Irish international and a key member of the successful St Patrick's Athletic side of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

[3] Whelan scored for a League of Ireland XI against the Basque Country at the San Mamés in August 1979 [4] Whelan was signed for Liverpool by Bob Paisley for a bargain £35,000[5] on 19 September 1979, a few days before his 18th birthday and made his debut 18 months later, on 3 April 1981, scoring his first goal in the 27th minute of the 3–0 league win over Stoke City at Anfield.

[7] The following season Whelan won his place on the left side of the Liverpool midfield, ending the Anfield career of Ray Kennedy[8] and also taking over his No.

[9] They also retained the League Cup with victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, with Whelan scoring twice[10] in the 3–1 win, including the equalizer late in regulation time and the winner in extra-time.

[9] In 1983, Liverpool retained these two trophies and Whelan again tallied in the League Cup final, scoring the winner with a curving shot into the Manchester United net in extra-time to secure a 2–1 win.

Whelan's name and profile was even left out of the official match programme at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Wimbledon, which prohibitive favourites Liverpool lost 1–0 to a team who had just completed only their second season in the First Division and their 11th in the Football League.

When Hansen recovered, Whelan maintained the captaincy for continuity purposes and it was he who lifted the FA Cup after a 3–2 win over derby rivals Everton.

He missed much of the 1991–92 season with injury, although returned to score a crucial equaliser against Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final, forcing a replay which Liverpool won on penalties.

[20] However, although he had recovered from another minor injury in time for the successful Cup final against Sunderland, he didn't feature, his place going to Jan Mølby.

[8] By the age of 20 Whelan had represented the Republic of Ireland national football team at schoolboy, youth, amateur, U21 and senior level.

[25] Whelan was a regular for the Republic of Ireland, making his debut on 29 April 1981 when he came off the bench in the 63rd minute of the 3–1 victory over Czechoslovakia at Lansdowne Road.

[30] In general, Ireland's style under manager Jack Charlton did not involve precision midfield play, which limited Whelan's international impact.