Darragh Markey (born 23 May 1997) is an Irish professional footballer playing for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club,

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

, having previously spent six seasons with

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

, the club he started his professional career with.

Club career

Youth career

Markey played his youth football with Cherry Orchard, winning the Under 17 FAI

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...

Cup with a 5–2 win over Leeds AFC in the final at Turners Cross on 3 May 2014. At the

Ballyfermot Ballyfermot () is a suburb town nw of the city aside Dublin, Ireland. It is located, seven kilometres (5 miles) west of the city centre, south of Phoenix Park, it is bordered on the north by Chapelizod, on the south by Bluebell; on the east b ...

club Markey played alongside future

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

players Max Kouogun, Josh Collins and

Derek Daly Derek Patrick Daly (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former racing driver. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix ...

among others. Markey's form for the Orchard attracted interest from

, 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 and also for the team as they won the Under 19 SSE Airtricity League with a 3–2 win over

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

under 19's in the final at

Maginn Park Maginn Park is a football stadium located in Buncrana, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. It is used by the amateur Inishowen Football League for staging cup finals and other important matches. During the 2017 League of Ireland season, the gro ...

. The team included several players that broke through to the St. Pat's first team and beyond in the

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 Scottish ...

and

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

s, including Jamie McGrath, Rory Feely, Jack Bayly, Fuad Sule and Paul Rooney.

St Patrick's Athletic

2015 season

Ahead of the

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. 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 Tolka Rovers F.C. are an amateur Irish football club based in Glasnevin, Dublin. They play in the Leinster Senior League. They play at Frank Cooke Park and wear red shirts with white sleeves. The club's junior teams play at Johnstown Park. ...

in the Leinster Senior Cup. Markey made late substitute appearances in the

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

away to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

and the first game of the

2015 League of Ireland Premier Division The 2015 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 31st season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. Dundalk were champions and Cork City finished as runners-up. Teams Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Note: Flags indicate n ...

season away to

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

, his first Dublin Derby. Markey went on to make a further 5 appearances in the first team that season.

2016 season

In January 2016, Markey went on trial with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

champions

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, scoring in a trial game vs

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. Nothing came of the move as Markey decided to take up the scholarship offer between St Pat's and

NUI Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It w ...

, taking up a degree in finance at the college. To secure the degree, Markey would have to get the necessary points on his

Leaving Cert A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

, 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.

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 Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. He then made his first league start 4 days later against

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

. His performances in these games stood out and earned him plaudits from fans, pundits and most importantly manager

Liam Buckley Liam Buckley (born 14 April 1960), is an Irish former professional footballer. He made two appearances for the Republic of Ireland national football team. He was most recently the manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rover ...

, who kept him in the starting 11. He was nominated for the

League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month The League of Ireland Player of the Month is awarded monthly to the best player in the League of Ireland. The winners are selected by Soccer Writers' Ireland, commonly known as the SWI (formerly known as Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland). Win ...

for May 2017 but just lost out to Ryan Delaney. 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

Young Player of the Year by the club's fans.

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 A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

role in the 0–0 draw with

. He scored his first senior goal on 15 May 2018 in a 5–2 win over

. 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. The season proved to be a disappointment for his side as they missed out on

European football UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur assoc ...

once again, which saw the departure of

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.

2019 season

Following on from a full season as a regular starter, Markey was given the number 8 shirt for the 2019 season. Markey had to wait until 15 March 2019 for his first appearance of the season under new manager

Harry Kenny Harry Kenny (born 13 April 1962) is an Irish footballer who last managed at St Patrick's Athletic before resigning in August 2019. During his playing career he spent 13 seasons playing for Shamrock Rovers. Harry, or 'H' as his friends nickn ...

, coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 loss away to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. He had to wait a month for his next appearance, making his first start of the season in a 1–1 draw away to

. 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 Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

with a looping header over James Talbot in the 40th minute. Markey saw his first taste of

when he came off the bench away to

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and play their ...

of Sweden in a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

Qualifier, assisting Conor Clifford's goal in a 2–1 loss for Pat's. With the side struggling in front of goal, manager

was replaced by Stephen O'Donnell following a shock cup exit to UCD in late August and in

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

's first match, Markey scored in a 2–1 win away to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

on 6 September 2019. He finished the season with 30 appearances and 2 goals in all competitions.

2020 season

The 2020 season was a difficult one for Markey as the league season was halved due to the

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

which also saw the

and Leinster Senior Cup abandoned. As a result of this, Markey struggled for game time, playing in 11 of the club's 19 league and cup games, starting just 3 of them as his side finished in 6th place, missing out on European football on the final day of the season. Markey left the club at the end of the season, having made 116 appearances and scoring 4 goals for the Saints.

Drogheda United

2021 season

On 29 November 2020, Markey signed for newly promoted

ahead of the 2021 season. He made his debut in the opening game of the season, a 1–0 win at home to

on 19 March 2021. His first goal for the club came on 8 May 2021, opening the scoring in a 7–0 win away to

at the

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

as the home side fielded their under-19 squad due to a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

outbreak in the first team squad. He finished the season with 3 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions as his side finished in a respectable 7th place.

2022 season

On 10 December 2021, Markey signed a new contract with the club for the 2022 season. On 14 March 2022, he sustained a broken foot in a 2–0 defeat to

at the

Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporaril ...

on just his 5th appearance of the season, with the injury requiring surgery. Markey scored his first goal of the season on 29 July 2022 in a 5–1 win over

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

in the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

. He had to wait until the final day of the season for his first league goal of the year, opening the scoring in a 2–0 win over relegated

on 6 November 2022. Markey finished his second season at the club with 2 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions.

2023 season

On 9 December 2022 Markey signed a new deal with Drogheda for the 2023 season despite reported interest from

. On 10 February, he scored a brace against

which saw Drogheda advance to the quarter finals of the Leinster Senior Cup.

International career

Markey played for the Republic of Ireland U17 and Republic of Ireland U18 team 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 Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

. He was nominated for the FAI School's International Player of the Year in March 2016 but lost out to Connor Ellis.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

St Patrick's Athletic *

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

(2):

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* Leinster Senior Cup (1):

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Markey, Darragh 1997 births Living people People from County Dublin Association footballers from County Dublin Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Cherry Orchard F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players League of Ireland players Association football midfielders Republic of Ireland youth international footballers