Declan Oliver Perkins (born 17 October 1975) is a former

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 le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationally at youth level.

Club career

Perkins began his career at

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

, after playing for the club's academy. During his time at Southend, Perkins made six

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 Engla ...

appearances, as well as going out on loan to

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

and

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

. Following his spell at Southend, Perkins played football in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

for Happy Valley and Sing Tao. Following his spell in Hong Kong, Perkins joined South African club Hellenic, before signing for

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lond ...

. In October 1999, Perkins joined

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

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 ...

. Perkins only featured in one match day squad for Finn Harps on 23 October 1999 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 ...

, before being released. In late 1999, Perkins returned to England, signing for

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

. In 2000, Perkins signed for

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

, staying with the club for three years. Perkins subsequently played for Ford United and

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

, before signing for St Albans City in April 2004, where he made seven appearances, scoring once. Perkins joined Barking & East Ham United for the 2004–05 season, making 22 appearances, scoring 8 times in all competitions. Perkins' career finished with spells at Ilford and Redbridge.

International career

Perkins represented the Republic of Ireland under-18 and under-21 levels. On 10 June 1995, Perkins scored twice for Ireland's U21's against Austria U21.

Outside football

Perkins held acting roles in ''

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

'' and '' Mike Bassett: England Manager''. In June 2015, Perkins was named vice chairman of

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...

, helping sponsor the club whilst working as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lican in the area.

Personal life

Perkins' sister is the actress

Louise Lombard Louise Lombard (born Louise Marie Perkins; 13 September 1970) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Evangeline Eliott in the BBC drama series ''The House of Eliott'' (1991–94) and Sofia Curtis in the CBS drama series ''CSI: Cri ...

. Perkins' son, Sonny, currently plays for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

References

1975 births Living people Men's association football forwards Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers English men's footballers English people of Irish descent Footballers from Ilford Southend United F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Happy Valley AA players Sing Tao SC players Hellenic F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Redbridge F.C. players Waltham Forest F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Barking & East Ham United F.C. players Ilford F.C. players English Football League players Hong Kong First Division League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong English expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland British male film actors 21st-century British male actors Publicans {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub