Darragh Markey

Darragh Markey (born 23 May 1997) is an Irish professional footballer playing for League of Ireland Premier Division club, St Patrick's Athletic, the club he started his professional career with.

Darragh Markey
Personal information
Full name Darragh Markey
Date of birth (1997-05-23) 23 May 1997
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position(s)
  • Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 St Patrick's Athletic
Number 8
Youth career
Cherry Orchard
2014–2016 St Patrick's Athletic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– St Patrick's Athletic 88 (3)
National team
Republic of Ireland U17
Republic of Ireland U18
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:30, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Youth career

Markey played his youth football with Cherry Orchard, winning the Under 17 FAI Umbro Cup with a 5–2 win over Leeds AFC in the final at Turners Cross on 3 May 2014.[1] At the Ballyfermot club Markey played alongside future League of Ireland players Max Kouogun, Josh Collins and Derek Daly among others. Markey's form for the Orchard attracted interest from St Patrick's Athletic, who signed him for their under 19's side ahead of the 2014–15 season. This turned out to be a terrific season for both Markey as he won the league's Player of the Season award[2] and also for the team as they won the Under 19 SSE Airtricity League with a 3–2 win over Derry City under 19's in the final at Maginn Park.[3][4] The team included several players that broke through to the St. Pat's first team and beyond in the League of Ireland and English Football Leagues, including Jamie McGrath, Rory Feely, Jack Bayly, Fuad Sule and Paul Rooney.

St Patrick's Athletic

2015 season

Ahead of the St Patrick's Athletic senior team's 2015 season, Markey was called up to the first team for the season, given the number 21 shirt, he would also remain with the under 19's while still eligible.[5] He made his first team debut on 9 February 2015, aged just 17 years old, when he came off the bench in a 7–0 win at home to Tolka Rovers in the Leinster Senior Cup.[6] Markey made late substitute appearances in the President's Cup away to Dundalk and the first game of the 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division season away to Shamrock Rovers, his first Dublin Derby.[7][8] Markey went on to make a further 5 appearances in the first team that season.[9]

2016 season

In January 2016, Markey went on trial with Scottish Premier League champions Celtic, scoring in a trial game vs Kilmarnock.[10][11] Nothing came of the move as Markey decided to take up the scholarship offer between St Pat's and NUI Maynooth, taking up a degree in finance at the college.[12] To secure the degree, Markey would have to get the necessary points on his Leaving Cert, which he sat in June 2016. With the importance of his studies having to come before his football, the first half of 2016 turned out to be less productive for Markey as he made 7 league appearances and two league cup appearances that season (all 9 coming on from the substitutes bench) as Pat's won the 2016 League Cup.[13]

2017 season

Markey changed squad number to the number 14 ahead of the 2017 season. On 17 April Markey made his first start for the first team in a win over Bray Wanderers in the League Cup.[14] He then made his first league start 4 days later against Cork City at Richmond Park.[15] His performances in these games stood out and earned him plaudits from fans, pundits and most importantly manager Liam Buckley, who kept him in the starting 11. He was nominated for the League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month for May 2017 but just lost out to Ryan Delaney.[16] He went on to make a total of 18 league appearances, 22 in all competitions and his form in those games saw him voted as St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Year by the club's fans.[17]

2018 season

Markey's shirt number changed again to number 15 ahead of the 2018 season. He started the season out of the starting 11, having to come off the bench in the first few games but regained his spot in the Attacking midfielder role in the 0–0 draw with Dundalk.[18] He scored his first senior goal on 15 May 2018 in a 5–2 win over Derry City at Richmond Park.[19] His next goal came on 10 August when he opened the scoring in a 5–0 win over Inchicore Athletic in the FAI Cup First Round.[20] The season proved to be a disappointment for his side as they missed out on European football once again, which saw the departure of Liam Buckley as manager. On a personal level for Markey however, the season was another big step in his development, making 36 appearances and scoring 2 goals.[9]

2019 season

Following on from a full season as a regular starter, Markey was given the number 8 shirt for the 2019 season.[21] Markey had to wait until 15 March 2019 for his first appearance of the season under new manager Harry Kenny, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss away to Waterford.[22] He had to wait a month for his next appearance, making his first start of the season in a 1–1 draw away to Cork City.[23] From then on he remained a mainstay in the team and on 17 May he scored his first goal of the season, opening the scoring in the Dublin derby against Bohemians with a looping header over James Talbot in the 40th minute.[24] Markey saw his first taste of European football when he came off the bench away to IFK Norrköping of Sweden in a UEFA Europa League Qualifier, assisting Conor Clifford's goal in a 2–1 loss for Pat's.[25] With the side struggling in front of goal, manager Harry Kenny was replaced by Stephen O'Donnell following a shock cup exit to UCD in late August and in O'Donnell's first match, Markey scored in a 2–1 win away to Finn Harps on 6 September 2019.[26] He finished the season with 30 appearances and 2 goals in all competitions.[9]

International career

Markey played for the Republic of Ireland U17 and Republic of Ireland U18 team[27] as well as the Republic of Ireland schools team, which he was called up to for his performances for his school, Coláiste Phádraig in Lucan.[28][29] He was nominated for the FAI School's International Player of the Year in March 2016 but lost out to Connor Ellis.[30]

Career statistics

Professional appearances – correct as of 15 August 2020.[31]

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
St Patrick's Athletic 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division 400010003[lower-alpha 1]080
2016 700020000090
2017 1800020–2[lower-alpha 2]0220
2018 3011110–4[lower-alpha 2]0362
2019 25220101[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 2]0302
2020 4010–––50
Career Total 8834170101001104
  1. 2 appearances in Leinster Senior Cup, 1 appearance in the President's Cup
  2. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
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References
  1. "Cherry Orchard lift FAI Umbro U17 Cup for eighth time – Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
  2. loi19.com (28 April 2015). "loi19.com Under-19 PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2014/15 – Darragh Markey (@dmarkey111) of @stpatsfc #loi19pic.twitter.com/mc823J6eU2".
  3. "St Patrick's Athletic Win Sse Airtricity U19 League". stpatsfc.com.
  4. "Heartbreak as Derry City lose out in dramatic U19 Elite League Final". derryjournal.com.
  5. "2015 Squad No's Announced". stpatsfc.com.
  6. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2015 Leinster Senior Cup Fourth Round – St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Tolka Rovers". extratime.ie.
  7. "Dundalk (2) – St Patrick's Athletic (1)". stpatsfc.com.
  8. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division – Shamrock Rovers -v- St. Patrick's Athletic". extratime.ie.
  9. "Republic of Ireland – D. Markey – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway.
  10. "St Pat's teen Darragh Markey (18) scores on Celtic trial". The Irish Independent.
  11. Kelly, Ryan. "St Patrick's Athletic youth Darragh Markey impresses in Celtic trial". goal.com.
  12. Fennessy, Paul. "One of Irish football's most promising youngsters on studying finance and trials with Celtic". The42.
  13. "St Pat's retain EA SPORTS Cup after thrilling final – Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
  14. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2017 League Cup Second Round – St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Bray Wanderers". extratime.ie.
  15. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division – St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Cork City". extratime.ie.
  16. Gallagher, Aaron. "The nominees for May's League of Ireland Player of the Month have been announced". The42.
  17. "2017 Awards Night Winners". stpatsfc.com.
  18. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division – St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Dundalk". extratime.ie.
  19. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division – St. Patrick's Athletic -v- Derry City". extratime.com.
  20. "Extratime.ie – Live Updates – 2018 FAI Cup First Round – Inchicore Athletic -v- St. Patrick's Athletic". extratime.com.
  21. "Squad Numbers Unveiled". stpatsfc.com.
  22. "Waterford vs. St Patrick's Athletic – 15 March 2019". Soccerway.
  23. "Cork City vs. St Patrick's Athletic – 12 April 2019". Soccerway.
  24. https://www.sseairtricityleague.ie/match/st-patricks-athletic-vs-bohemians/id-025K469U30000000VUM100GLVVH56HPG
  25. "Norrköping-St Patrick's | Line-ups | UEFA Europa League". UEFA.
  26. https://www.sseairtricityleague.ie/match/finn-harps-fc-vs-st-patricks-athletic/id-025K46ADNK000000VUM100GLVVH56HPG
  27. "Darragh Markey". stpatsfc.com.
  28. "Darragh MARKEY – FAI Schools". faischools.ie.
  29. "Irish Schools draw with Australia in Whitehall – Football Association of Ireland". fai.ie.
  30. O'Keeffe, Simon (20 March 2016). "The FAI International Player Of The Year Has Been Named".
  31. "Republic of Ireland – D.Markey". Soccerway. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
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