Mark O'Brien (footballer, born 1984)

Last updated

Mark O'Brien
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-05-13) 13 May 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
Belvedere
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2002–2004 Shamrock Rovers 27 (3)
2005–2007 Bohemians 19 (0)
2006 → Shamrock Rovers (loan) 11 (0)
2007 → Shelbourne (loan) 18 (1)
2007–2009 Shelbourne 60 (3)
2010 Bray Wanderers 4 (0)
2010 Shelbourne 0 (0)
2011–2012 Drogheda United 44 (2)
2012 Dundalk 0 (0)
2015–? Drogheda United 0 (0)
International career
Republic of Ireland U18 [1]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mark O'Brien (born 13 May 1984) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Contents

O'Brien comes from a footballing background as his father Derek played for Shamrock Rovers from 1981 to 1983 and his uncles Fran and Ray both played for Ireland. His younger brother Colin played alongside him at Shelbourne.

Career

Early years

O'Brien was born in Dublin, Ireland. He played for Belvedere at youth level and made several appearances at under-age level for Ireland. He began his senior career at Shamrock Rovers making his debut on 7 May 2003 in a League of Ireland Cup tie against Bray Wanderers. [2] He impressed enough to win the Young Player of the Year at the club in 2004.

Bohemians

O'Brien then signed for bitter rivals Bohemians [3] for the 2005 season and he made his debut for Bohs against his former club Shamrock Rovers on 18 March 2005 at Dalymount Park. [4] He never showed the same form at Bohemians and midway through the 2006 season, he returned to Shamrock Rovers on loan where he helped the Hoops to the First Division title. [5] After his loan spell finished at the end of the 2006 season, he returned to Bohemians but had failed to appear for the first team during the 2007 season only making under-21 appearances.

Shelbourne

In need to restart his flagging career, O'Brien departed Bohemians to sign on loan for nearby rivals Shelbourne in July 2007. [6] Mark made his Shelbourne debut on 6 July 2007 against Wexford Youths at Tolka Park in a 1–0 win for Shels [7] and he scored his first Shels goal during a 4–1 victory over Athlone Town at Lissywoollen on 12 October 2007. [8]

O'Brien permanently joined Shelbourne on 29 November 2007. [9] He finished as a First Division runner-up with Shelbourne in both 2008 and 2009 as Shelbourne narrowly missed out on promotion during both seasons. O'Brien was released by Shelbourne following the conclusion of the 2009 season. In his 3 seasons at Shelbourne he made 85 league and cup appearances scoring 5 goals.

Bray Wanderers

In March 2010 O'Brien returned to football signing for Bray Wanderers. He scored twice on his Bray debut in the EA Sports Cup against Drogheda United [10] but failed to hold down a first team place after this. O'Brien parted company with Bray Wanderers in July 2010 after making five appearances for the club. On 27 August 2010, O'Brien returned to Shelbourne after training with the club for a number of weeks. [11]

Drogheda United

Prior to the start of the 2011 League of Ireland season, O'Brien joined Drogheda United. His first goal for the Drogs was the winner in a 2–1 win over Galway United on 26 May 2011, their first win of the season. After nailing down a starting place in Mick Cooke's midfield, O'Brien signed a new one-year contract for the Drogs, keeping him at United Park until the end of the 2012 season.

Dundalk

He joined Dundalk on the final day of the 2012 July transfer window. His father had played for the Lilywhites in the 1970s.

Honours

Shamrock Rovers

Individual

Related Research Articles

Richie Baker is an Irish former footballer. Besides the Republic of Ireland, he has played in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drogheda United F.C.</span> Irish association football club

Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Weavers Park.

Alan Mathews is a former Irish football player and manager. He is currently technical director at St Patrick's Athletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Byrne (footballer)</span> Irish footballer (born 1978)

Jason Byrne is an Irish retired footballer who played as a forward. He is the second highest ever goal scorer in the history of the League of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph N'Do</span> Cameroonian footballer (born 1976)

Joseph Cyrille N'Do is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He made 21 appearances for the Cameroon national team, scoring twice.

Anthony "Bisto" Flood is a retired Irish footballer who played as a striker.

Steven David Williams is a Welsh coach and former association football player who has served as goalkeeping coach at association football club Dundalk and Gaelic football county teams Louth and Monaghan. He represented his country at Under-15, Under-16, Under-18 and Under-21 level in association football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Chambers (Irish footballer)</span> Irish footballer

James Chambers is an Irish coach and former professional footballer who is the head coach of USL Championship club Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny O'Connor (footballer)</span> Irish footballer

Danny O'Connor is an Irish footballer who retired in June 2014 as Club Captain of Bray Wanderers. O'Connor primarily played as a central defender or in central midfield. His brothers James O'Connor and Kevin O'Connor also had extensive footballing careers.

James Keddy is an Irish football coach and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Leech</span> Irish footballer

Mark Leech, is an Irish footballer who played for various clubs in the League of Ireland including St Patrick's Athletic, Drogheda and Shamrock Rovers and is the son of former Shamrock Rovers and Republic of Ireland international Mick Leech.

Anthony Gerard Whelan is an Irish former soccer player who played during the 1970s and 1980s.

Mick Clarke is an Irish footballer who is currently unattached. Clarke is a defender and plays as a right-back.

The 2011 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2011 FAI Ford Cup, is the 91st season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition will earn spots in both the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League and the 2012 Setanta Sports Cup.

In 2012 Shelbourne F.C. competed in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne finished the season in 8th position and reached the semi-finals of the 2012 FAI Cup. The 2012 season marked the first time Shelbourne competed in the Premier Division since 2006, when as champions, they were demoted due to financial issues. Shelbourne gained promotion by finishing 2nd in the 2011 League of Ireland First Division.

In 2013 Shelbourne F.C. competed in the League of Ireland Premier Division.

The 2016 League of Ireland Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 EA Sports Cup, was the 43rd season of the League of Ireland's secondary knockout competition. The EA Sports Cup features teams from the SSE Airtricity League Premier and First Divisions, as well as some intermediate level teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Shelbourne F.C. season</span> Football season

The 2022 Shelbourne F.C. season is the club's 127th season in existence and their first back in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the League of Ireland First Division in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Shelbourne F.C. season</span> Shelbourne 2023 football season

The 2023 Shelbourne F.C. season is the club's 128th season in existence and their second back in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the League of Ireland First Division in 2021.

The 2024 FAI Cup, known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 104th edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. It featured teams from the League of Ireland Premier Division and the First Division, as well as teams from the regional leagues of the Republic of Ireland football league system.

References

  1. ↑ "International Roll of Honour". belvederefc.com. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Bray Wanderers 0 Shamrock Rovers 3 [ permanent dead link ] → www.shamrockrovers.ie
  3. ↑ Bohs sign O'Brien from Rovers Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.irishfootballonline.com
  4. ↑ Rovers gifted a draw Archived 13 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.irishfootballonline.com
  5. ↑ Rovers confirm signings Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine www.irishfootballonline.com
  6. ↑ Summer Signing!!! Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine www.shelbournefc.com
  7. ↑ Shelbourne 1–0 Wexford Youths Archived 9 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine www.rte.ie
  8. ↑ Athlone Town 1–4 Shelbourne Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine www.rte.ie
  9. ↑ NEWSFLASH www.shelbournefc.com
  10. ↑ Drogheda 1–3 Bray Wanderers www.braywanderers.com
  11. ↑ Damien Brennan & Mark O'Brien Return www.shelbournefc.com
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.