Dion James Donohue (born 26 August 1993) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and
full back who plays for
Caernarfon Town
Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...
, for who he also serves as captain.
A former
Everton trainee, he began his senior career in the lower levels of Welsh football with
Porthmadog
Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...
,
Holyhead Hotspur and
Caernarfon Town
Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...
before switching to
Sutton Coldfield Town of the
Northern Premier League Division One South in 2014. A year later, he turned professional with
Chesterfield in
EFL League One, and spent two years with
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
before joining
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
in 2019, where his contract was terminated for disciplinary reasons within two months of signing. After spells at
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
and
Barrow, he left professional football for family reasons and moved back to Caernarfon.
Career
Early career
Donohue was born in
Bodedern on
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
and played with
Bodedern Athletic before joining
Everton. He spent six years at Everton's academy and was unable to gain a professional contract.
He returned to North Wales and played semi-pro football with
Porthmadog
Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...
,
Holyhead Hotspur and
Caernarfon Town
Caernarfon Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Caernarfon) is a semi-professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The club is nicknamed "the Canaries" because of its yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from ...
.
In 2014, he moved to the English non-league with
Sutton Coldfield Town.
Donohue scored his first goal for Sutton on 27 September 2014, netting the first through a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
in a 2–0 home win against
Kidsgrove Athletic. He made 37 appearances for the club, as his side achieved promotion to
Northern Premier League Premier League through the play-offs.
Chesterfield
Donohue went on trial at
Chesterfield in the summer of 2015 and was able to earn a contract. He made his professional debut on 12 September 2015 in a 3–3 draw against
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
. Donohue signed a contract extension on 10 August 2016, keeping him at the club until 2018.
Donohue scored his first professional goal on 14 March 2017, netting the equalizer in a 3–3 home draw against
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
. In May, he was awarded the Players' Player of the Year.
Portsmouth
On 18 August 2017 Donohue joined fellow League One club
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut eight days later in a 1–1 draw at
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
, being substituted after 53 minutes. On 17 October, he was sent off in a 2–1 loss at
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
for violent conduct towards
Niall Mason, but Portsmouth successfully appealed against his three-game suspension.
Donohue played less frequently in 2018–19. In his first game, away to
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
in the
EFL Trophy on 9 October, he scored the only goal of the game, his first for Pompey. He was released on 17 May 2019.
Mansfield Town
On 9 July 2019, Donohue joined
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
on a two-year deal. He arrived not fully recovered from injury and made his debut in the EFL Cup first round match against
Morecambe on 13 August, being substituted at half time because of his condition as the team lost on penalties after a 2–2 home draw.
On 19 August 2019 Donohue and Mansfield teammate
Jacob Mellis
Jacob Alexander Mellis (born 8 January 1991) is an English professional footballer, currently a free agent.
He transferred from Sheffield United to Chelsea at the age of 16 for a £1 million fee, but made only one substitute appearance before ...
were suspended by the club for "an alleged serious breach of club discipline". Following a club disciplinary investigation his contract was terminated on 2 September.
Swindon Town
On 12 October 2019, Donohue joined
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
on month-by-month contract. He made his debut the same day in a 1–1 home draw with
Plymouth Argyle, and after the game manager
Richie Wellens
Richard Paul Wellens (born 26 March 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently head coach of EFL League Two club Leyton Orient.
Wellens began his career at Manchester United ...
said that the Robins had tried to sign him in the summer. As his second month was not registered in time with the EFL, he was then barred from playing again until 2 January.
Swindon did not negotiate to sign Donohue when January came, with Wellens saying that this was due to the player's injury, rather than his court proceedings.
On 25 September 2020, Donohue rejoined Swindon on a one-year deal. He left on 11 December due to personal reasons. Due to injury, he had asked manager
John Sheridan for leave to spend Christmas with his terminally ill niece, which was refused, prompting Donohue to cancel his contract.
[
]
Barrow
On 28 January 2021, Donohue joined Barrow on a short-term deal until the end of the season. He trained only three days a week due to his family condition.[ He was one of 13 players released at the end of the season.
]
Return to Caernarfon Town
Donohue rejoined Caenarfon Town in the Cymru Premier
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...
in June 2021. He had quit professional football at the age of 27 and moved back to North Wales in order to spend more time with his niece, who was terminally ill with a brain tumour; she died in July 2021 at the age of 5. He was named in the league's 2021–22 Team of the Season.
International career
Donohue played for the representative team of Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
during the 2011 Island Games. He featured in all four of the side's games, against Gotland, the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...
, Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and Alderney.
Donohue was called up for the Wales C team of amateurs to face their English counterparts at his club ground of The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
in Caernarfon
Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...
on 31 March 2022. He played in the 4–0 win.
Personal life
In January 2012, Donohue pleaded guilty at Caernarfon Magistrates Court to a charge of assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Bangor, Gwynedd, the previous 13 November. He was fined £500 and £85 court fees, and sentenced to 120 hours of community service and four weeks of curfew.
In January 2020, Donohue pleaded guilty at Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
Crown Court to charges of assault, affray
In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in french: à l'effroi) of ordinary people. Depending on their act ...
and grievous bodily harm committed in Mansfield the previous 16 August. When sentenced in November, he took a bag of clothes and did not invite any close relatives due to his solicitor's strong advice that he would be sent to prison, but he instead received a suspended sentence.[
Donohue has a son and a daughter, both born in ]Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
during his time at the club. After moving back to North Wales and leaving professional football, he became a plasterer.[
]
Career statistics
Club
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donohue, Dion
1993 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Anglesey
Welsh footballers
Porthmadog F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Caernarfon Town F.C. players
Sutton Coldfield Town F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Mansfield Town F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Barrow A.F.C. players
English Football League players
Northern Premier League players
Association football defenders
Association football midfielders
Welsh people convicted of assault
Cymru Premier players
Holyhead Hotspur F.C. players