Ian John Lawlor (born 27 October 1994) is an Irish 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 le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Doncaster Rovers. Lawlor was born in Dublin and played youth football with Home Farm and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

before starting his professional career with an emergency loan to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. After spending time on loan at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, Lawlor moved to Doncaster Rovers. He would join Oldham Athletic on a season-long loan in 2020. Lawlor then joined

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

for two seasons, winning 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 Scotland (, ...

with them. Lawlor has played for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

at youth level and received call-ups to the first team.

Early life

Lawlor's father, John, was a goalkeeper at a junior level and inspired his son, helping him with training beyond that which was scheduled for him. As part of this training, Lawlor would often watch videos of Oliver Kahn. His first youth club was St. Malachy's in

Edenmore Edenmore () is a locality and townland within Raheny on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, with several housing developments and a mid-size municipal park. It lies within the Dublin 5 postal district. History Edenmore was developed by Dublin ...

, from which he moved to the more high-profile Home Farm academy. Here he was spotted by

scout Mick Collins. Lawlor went to school at Chanel College in Dublin, playing football for his school team.

Playing career

Club

Manchester City

= Development side

= In Lawlor's first season he suffered a dislocated shoulder, ruling him out for most of the season. Lawlor was a regular for Manchester City's development side, initially taking the number one spot following Eirik Johansen's loan to

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

. He went on the club's first team tour of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the pre-season of

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and continued his battle for the under-21 goalkeeping spot against

Johansen Johansen is a Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning ''"son of Johan (given name), Johan"''. It is most common in Denmark and Norway. The Sweden, Swedish variant is Johansson, while the most common spelling in the US is Johanson. There are still ...

and

Angus Gunn Angus Fraser James Gunn (born 22 January 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Norwich City and the Scotland national team. Gunn began his career at his hometown club Norwich City, before joini ...

. In the 2013–14 season, Lawlor was involved with the first team on the nights of some Champions League matches. He also played both legs as the development side lost the Under-21 Premier League Cup final to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Lawlor was included in the squad for a 2014–15 pre-season friendly against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

= 2015–16 season

= Lawlor received his first experience of playing senior football following an emergency loan move

on 13 December 2015, necessitated by injuries to Graham Stack and

Jamie Stephens James Edward Stephens (born 25 August 1993) is an English football goalkeeper. Career Stephens started his career in the youth set up at Forest Green Rovers but moved to Swindon Town where his impressive showings brought him to the attention ...

. He went straight into goal for a match against

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. Lawlor made a total of 5 appearances, keeping one clean sheet. His displays at Barnet and youth level then earned him a loan move

for the rest of the season on 7 January 2016, a side who had monitored him for some time. He made his debut 2 days later in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

, in which he kept a clean sheet. He made his league debut for the club on 16 January 2016 in a 3–2 loss to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. In the FA Cup replay against

, Lawlor saved two penalties as a 10-man

emerged victorious from the shootout. In the next round Lawlor conceded a Chuba Akpom hat-trick as Bury went out of the cup to Hull City in the fourth round. Lawlor went on to make 12 league appearances, keeping five clean-sheets, and three FA Cup appearances for the Shakers.

=2016–17 season

= Lawlor joined the Manchester City first team again in pre-season for a match against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, alongside

Willy Caballero Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Southampton. He spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and Málaga and competing in La Liga w ...

and fellow youth teamers

and Billy O'Brien. Lawlor was assigned the number 45 for the upcoming season. Going into the January transfer window Lawlor was linked with a move to League One with

and

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

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 ...

with Doncaster Rovers and

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 ...

Doncaster Rovers

= 2016–17 season

= Lawlor was signed by

leaders Doncaster Rovers on 13 January 2017 to compete with first team goalkeepers

Marko Maroši Marko Maroši (born 23 October 1993) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Shrewsbury Town. He is a former Slovakia U21 international. Early life Maroši is a former student of Burnley College, where he studied for an ...

and

Ross Etheridge Ross Daniel Etheridge (born 14 September 1994) is an English footballer who most recently played as a goalkeeper for Nuneaton Town. Playing career Etheridge began his career at Derby County, but never played for the club. He had loan spells at ...

. He made his debut for the club a day later against former loan club

, conceding once in a 3–1 away win to solidify Rovers position at the top of the table. Lawlor made his home debut a week later, again conceding once in a 3–1 win over Crewe Alexandra, a match in which he made a string of high-quality first half saves. A week later Lawlor kept his first clean sheet for Doncaster in a 3–0 away win against

. Lawlor suffered a minor groin injury against Leyton Orient on 18 March 2017 which resulted in him being substituted at half time. However, he was passed fit for the next match against top of the table rivals

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. Promotion was confirmed as Lawlor kept a clean sheet against

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, 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 ...

on 8 April. He missed 2 matches in mid-April due to a chest injury but reclaimed the starting spot on his return. Due to Marko Maroši's injury issues and Ross Etheridge's poor form, and subsequent loan spell with Lincoln City, Lawlor established himself as first choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, starting a total of 19 league matches from a possible 21 and keeping clean sheets in 5 of those matches. The season ended with promotion, although a poor run of form towards the end of the season saw the club finish third.

=2017–18 season

= Lawlor started his first full season with Doncaster Rovers as the first choice goalkeeper, keeping a clean sheet in the season opener against Gillingham. He played his first cup match for the club in an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

tie against

on 8 August 2017.

Dundee

On 19 July 2021, Lawlor signed a two-year deal with

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 ...

side

. Lawlor made a debut of sorts for the team in the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Dumbarton. Lawlor would make his league debut for Dundee in February 2022, in an away victory against Heart of Midlothian. Lawlor kept a clean sheet in his first game of the 2022–23 season, in a league game against

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...

. He would remain Dundee's starting keeper until suffering a concussion during Dundee's

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

. Lawlor would win the

with Dundee at the end of the season.

Doncaster Rovers (2nd spell)

On 22 May 2023 following the end of his contract with Dundee, Lawlor would return to Doncaster Rovers on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 5 August in the league against

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

International

Despite being a regular squad player for the Republic of Ireland's youth teams, it was not until he reached under-19 level that he established himself. He made a total of six appearances as an under-19 and made his under-21 debut against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. In May 2014, he was called up to the senior squad due to Rob Elliot's unavailability, appearing on the bench for friendlies against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. In October 2016, Lawlor was called into the senior squad again for World Cup qualifying following an injury to

Keiren Westwood Keiren Westwood (born 23 October 1984) is a professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Queens Park Rangers. Born in England, he played international football for the Republic of Ireland. Club career Manchester City Westwood was ...

. In May 2018, Lawlor was one of six goalkeepers called up to a provisional squad for matches against

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Style of play

According to Doncaster Rovers former manager Darren Ferguson, Lawlor is "quick, he's agile for a big lad....He plays at a good tempo and if he has to kick, he kicks a hell of a way. He's got good accuracy....He's got a lot of potential, he's a good size, good with his feet."

Personal life

Lawlor struck up a good relationship with fellow Irish goalkeeper Shay Given during their time together at

, often receiving advice from him. He has also developed a good working relationship with Joe Hart.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Dundee *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Ian 1994 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football goalkeepers Home Farm F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Bury F.C. players English Football League players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Dundee F.C. players People educated at Chanel College, Dublin