Jamie Lennon

Jamie Lennon

Lennon in action for St Patrick's Athletic in 2022.
Personal information
Full name	Jamie Lennon
Date of birth	(1998-05-09) 9 May 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Santry, Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Centre midfielder
Team information
Current team	St Patrick's Athletic
Number	6
Youth career
2009–2015	Shelbourne
2016–2017	St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–	St Patrick's Athletic	178	(3)
International career‡
2019–2020	Republic of Ireland U21	4	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:22, 2 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2020

Jamie Lennon (born 9 May 1998) is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic, the club where he started his professional career.

Club career

Youth career

Lennon spent seven years in the youth setup of Shelbourne but was let go ahead of his first year at under 19 level. It was then that he made the move to Dublin rivals St Patrick's Athletic in 2016, where he played at under 19 level for two years. ^[1] At Pats he captained the side as they reached the league final but lost out to Bohemians at Dalymount Park on 1 November 2017. ^[2]

St Patrick's Athletic

Lennon made his first team debut on 8 August 2017, starting a Leinster Senior Cup game against Firhouse Clover, scoring after 15 minutes when he smashed a shot into the top corner from 30 yards to help his side to a 2–1 win. ^[3] He went on to make a second first team appearance that season, playing the full 90 minutes again as Pats lost 1–0 to Shelbourne in the next round of the Leinster Senior Cup ^[4] On 19 December 2017, ahead of the 2018 season Lennon signed his first professional contract with the first team. ^[5]

Lennon made his League of Ireland Premier Division debut on 26 February 2018 in a 2–0 loss to Waterford, replacing Owen Garvan after 50 minutes. ^[6] His first league start came in Pats next game, a 1–0 win away to Bohemians. ^[7] After his first start, he cemented his place in the team earning great plaudits from manager Liam Buckley ^[8] as he ended the season with 36 appearances in all competitions with all but 3 of those being in the starting XI, as the Saints finished up in 5th place. ^[9] For his performances, Lennon was voted as St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Year by the club's supporters. ^[10]

On 7 December 2018 it was announced that Lennon had signed a contract extension for the 2019 season. ^{[11] [12]}

On 28 November 2021 Lennon was part of the starting XI in the 2021 FAI Cup Final, beating rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record FAI Cup Final crowd of 37,126 at the Aviva Stadium. ^[13]

Lennon started in the 2022 President of Ireland's Cup against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium on 11 February 2022, as his side lost 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. ^[14]

On 21 November 2022, it was announced that Lennon had signed a new multi-year contract with the club, turning down interest from clubs in the United States and other countries to stay at the club where he started his career. ^{[15] [16]}

On 7 April 2023, Lennon scored his first league goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Cork City at Richmond Park, ending a goal drought of 143 competitive games, dating back to his debut for the club in 2017. ^[17] Lennon made his 150th appearance in all competitions for the club on 12 May 2023, in a 3–0 win over Drogheda United. ^[18]

On 12 November 2023, Lennon was part of the starting XI in the 2023 FAI Cup Final, earning the Man of the Match award in a 3–1 win over Bohemians in front of a record breaking FAI Cup Final crowd of 43,881 at the Aviva Stadium. ^[19]

Lennon started the 2024 season in goalscoring form, scoring a consolation goal in injury time of the 2024 President of Ireland's Cup, ^[20] before scoring in a 1–0 win over Galway United a week later on 16 February 2024, in the opening game of the season. ^[21] On 3 June 2024, Lennon scored his side's second goal in a 3–2 loss to Dundalk, blasting home a volley from a Cian Kavanagh knockdown from a corner. ^[22] Lennon made his 200th appearance for the club on 28 June 2024 in a 0–0 draw at home to Bohemians. ^[23] On 1 November 2024, Lennon signed a new long term contract with the club, again turning down offers from clubs in the United States. ^{[24] [25]}

Style of play

Lennon is a defensive midfielder and in November 2024 was described by his St Patrick's Athletic (and former Republic of Ireland) manager Stephen Kenny as having a similar play style to Ballon D'Or winner Rodri, with Kenny stating "There's not many players like him. He is a conventional number 6 but much more than that. He's our Rodri, in terms of the job he does. Jamie has without doubt, in my opinion, got the capacity to show he is one of the best players in the league over the next number of years." ^[26]

International career

On 24 January 2019, Lennon was called up to a Republic of Ireland U21 home-based squad by newly appointed manager Stephen Kenny, for a friendly against the Ireland Amateur squad. ^{[27] [28]} Lennon received great plaudits as he captained the side as they won 1–0 at Whitehall Stadium on 6 February 2019. ^{[29] [30]} On 13 March 2019, Lennon was named in his first competitive underage international side as he was called up to the full Republic of Ireland U21 side for their 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification game against Luxembourg U21 at Tallaght Stadium. ^{[31] [32]} Lennon came off the bench for Jayson Molumby in the 77th minute of a 3–0 win to earn his first international cap. ^{[33] [34]} On 21 May 2019, Lennon was called up to the Ireland Under-21 squad for the prestigious 2019 Toulon Tournament in France where they were drawn against China, Mexico and Bahrain. ^[35] On 18 November 2020, Lennon scored his first international goal in his last underage international game, scoring the winner away to Luxembourg in a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 November 2024 ^[37]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
St Patrick's Athletic	2017	LOI Premier Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		2 [a]	1	2	1
	2018		29	0	2	0	1	0	—		4 [a]	0	36	0
	2019		28	0	1	0	0	0	2 [b]	0	0 [a]	0	31	0
	2020		16	0	1	0	—		—		—		17	0
	2021		28	0	5	0	—		—		—		33	0
	2022		12	0	1	0	—		4 [c]	0	1 [d]	0	18	0
	2023		31	1	5	0	—		2 [c]	0	0 [a]	0	38	1
	2024		34	2	1	0	—		6 [e]	0	2 [f]	1	43	3
	2025		0	0	0	0	—		0 [e]	0	0 [a]	0	0	0
Career total			178	3	16	0	1	0	14	0	9	2	218	5

1. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
4. Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
5. Appearance(s) in the UEFA Conference League
6. 1 appearance, 1 goal in the President of Ireland's Cup & 1 appearance in the Leinster Senior Cup

Honours

Club

St Patrick's Athletic

• FAI Cup (2): 2021, 2023
• Leinster Senior Cup (2): 2018–19, 2023–24

Individual

• St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Year (1): 2018

References

1. Paul O'Hehir (13 April 2018). "St Pat's young star Jamie Lennon thinking outside dreams of overseas riches". Irish Mirror Online. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
2. "SSE Airtricity League". sseairtricityleague.ie. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
3. "Result: Saints 2 - Firhouse 1". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
4. "Extratime.ie - Live Updates - 2017 Leinster Senior Cup Semi Finals - St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Shelbourne". extratime.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
5. "Extratime.ie - Underage star Jamie Lennon signs senior contract with St Patrick's Athletic". extratime.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
6. "Waterford (2) - St Patrick's Athletic (0)". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
7. "Bohemians (0) - St Patrick's Athletic (1)". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
8. "'He's a top player and he'll get a career out of it, that's for sure' - Saints boss singles out young duo". the42.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
9. "Republic of Ireland - J. Lennon - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
10. "St Patrick's Athletic FC on Twitter: The senior team young player of the year is Jamie Lennon #SaintsAwards 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻… "". twitter.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
11. "Extratime.ie - Jamie Lennon re-signs with the Saints". extratime.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
12. "Jamie Lennon Looks Ahead To 2019". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
13. Leahy, Ed (28 November 2021). "Benson spot on as Saints beat Bohs to lift the FAI Cup" – via www.rte.ie.
14. Fennessy, Paul. "Memorable return for Jack Byrne as Shamrock Rovers beat Pat's on penalties". The42.
15. "Jamie Lennon happy to sign new St Pat's deal after 'a couple of offers from the US and other places'". independent.
16. "#SAINTS2023 | Lennon Signs New Contract". www.stpatsfc.com.
17. Fallon, John (7 April 2023). "St Pat's run out comfortable 4-0 winners over Cork City". Irish Examiner.
18. "𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪: 𝗝𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗡 - "𝗜'𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯"". thetricolour.com.
19. Fenton, James (12 November 2023). "FAI Cup final recap: Bohemians 1-3 St Pat's" – via www.rte.ie.
20. "Shamrock Rovers overcome St Pat's in front of record crowd at Tallaght". TheJournal.ie. 9 February 2024.
21. "Jamie Lennon's early strike ensures St Pat's get off to winning start in fiery Galway affair". Independent.ie. 16 February 2024.
22. "Blistering start propels Dundalk FC to significant victory over St Patrick's Athletic". Irish Independent. 4 June 2024.
23. "x.com".
24. "Jamie Lennon Signs New Long Term Contract". www.stpatsfc.com.
25. Dempsey, Andrew. "Jamie Lennon turns down US interest to pen long-term St Patrick's Athletic deal". extratime.com.
26. "Kenny hails St Pat's 'Rodri' as Lennon agrees new deal". 1 November 2024 – via www.rte.ie.
27. "Ireland U21: Kenny announces squad and coaching staff". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
28. "Lennon Named In U21 Squad". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
29. "Lennon Captains Ireland U21's To 1-0 Win". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
30. "Ireland U21: Kavanagh strike seals Amateur win". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
31. "Ireland U21: Kenny announces Luxembourg squad". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
32. "Lennon Included In Kenny's U21 Squad". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
33. "Lennon Makes U21 Appearance". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
34. "Republic of Ireland 3 - 0 Luxembourg | 2021 - U21 Mens Friendlies | 2026497". Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
35. "Ireland U21: Kenny names Toulon tournament squad". Football Association of Ireland.
36. Fallon, John (18 November 2020). "Ireland end European U21 qualifying campaign with a win" – via www.rte.ie.
37. "Republic of Ireland – J.Lennon". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

External links

• "Republic of Ireland – J.Lennon – Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway" . Retrieved 26 March 2019.
• "Player Profiles". stpatsfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
• "Player Profiles". extratime.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2019.