Aidan Charles Patrick Connolly (born 15 August 1995) is a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a winger for

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

in the

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

. Connolly began his career with Queen's Park before joining

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in 2013, and also played for

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

. He was released by Dundee United in January 2016, joining

shortly after. He spent two seasons with

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

from 2016 to 2018, and one year with

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

. He has represented Scotland at under-16 and under-19 level.

Early life

Connolly was born in Dundee on 15 August 1995, when his father

Paddy Connolly Patrick Connolly (born 25 June 1970 in Glasgow) is a Scottish football player and coach. In a twenty-year playing career, he made over 100 appearances for both Dundee United and St Johnstone; he also played for Airdrieonians, Greenock Morton, ...

was playing for

. He attended

Williamwood High School Williamwood High School is a non-denominational comprehensive secondary school in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, with a roll of around 1700 pupils. It was originally opened in the 1930s as Eastwood Senior Secondary School, located on Se ...

in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire.

Club career

Connolly started his career at Queen's Park, progressing through the club's youth system. He made his first-team debut in November 2012 whilst still at school. He was voted Scottish Football League Young Player of the Month for December 2012 after scoring three times since his first appearance. Together with Queen's Park teammate

Andrew Robertson Andrew Henry Robertson (born 11 March 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Liverpool and captains the Scotland national team. Robertson began his senior career with Queen's Park in 2012 before joini ...

, Connolly signed for

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

club Dundee United in June 2013. He was sent out on a one-month

in September 2013. After returning from Brechin, Connolly made his Dundee United debut as a late substitute in a 3–1 victory over Motherwell. At the start of the following season he signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2016. Connolly made his first start and scored his first goal for Dundee United against Hibernian in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

on 29 October 2014. Retaining his place in the next match against St Mirren, he contributed to all three of United's goals on his first Premiership start. After making only one starting appearance during the 2015–16 season, Connolly was released from his Dundee United contract by mutual consent on 21 January 2016. The following day, he joined Scottish Championship club

on a contract until the end of 2015–16. On 28 June 2016, Connolly joined newly relegated

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club

on a two-year contract, having previously played under manager Jackie McNamara at Dundee United. On 21 May 2017, he came on as a 69th-minute substitute as York beat

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

3–2 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in the 2017 FA Trophy Final, scoring the winning goal in the 86th minute after forcing

Jon Parkin Jonathan Parkin (born 30 December 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. While never making a Premier League appearance, Parkin played extensively in all Football League divisions, and (excluding loan spe ...

's shot over the line from centimetres out. Connolly was released by York at the end of 2017–18. Connolly signed for

club

on 20 June 2018 on a one-year contract. He left the club at the end of his contract and signed for

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

club Falkirk under his former Raith manager, Ray McKinnon.

International career

Connolly made one appearance for the Scotland under-16 team, against Jersey in 2010, and one for the under-19 team, against Latvia in 2013.

Career statistics

Honours

York City * FA Trophy: 2016–17 Individual * Scottish Football League Young Player of the Month: December 2012

References

External links

Profile
at the Dunfermline Athletic F.C. website
Profile
at the Scottish Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Aidan 1995 births Living people Footballers from Dundee Scottish footballers Scotland youth international footballers Association football wingers Queen's Park F.C. players Dundee United F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players York City F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players People educated at Williamwood High School Falkirk F.C. players