Mark Timlin (born 17 November 1994) is an Irish former professional footballer that played for

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 ...

clubs

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Early career

Timlin started his career with his local club Buncrana Hearts and at

Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana is a co-educational voluntary Catholic secondary school, located in Buncrana in County Donegal, Ireland. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1933 and continues to have a Catholic ethos under the trusteeship of ...

before going on trial with English club

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

in July 2011, and impressed enough to secure a contract offer from the Tractor Boys.

Derry City

After 3 seasons with Ipswich reserves scoring 10 goals in 35 games, Timlin's contract came to an end and he made the move back home and went on trial with

side

. He impressed Derry boss

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1962), is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the end of his ...

enough that he was signed within the week, just prior to the

2014 League of Ireland Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrel ...

season. He missed the start of the season through injury but fought his way into the starting eleven following his comeback from injury and kept his place for the majority of the season, even under new manager Peter Hutton as

was sacked not long into the season. He started 18 league games over the season, scoring once, in a 4–2 win over

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 ...

. Timlin featured in all four of Derry's

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 ...

games, scoring in a 4–0 home win over Welsh side

Aberystwyth Town Aberystwyth Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-Droed Tref Aberystwyth) is a Welsh semi-professional Association football, football team, currently playing in the Cymru Premier, the top tier of football in Wales. They are the only top flight men ...

in the first qualifying round as his side advanced to face Shakhtyor Soligorsk of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

who knocked them out of the competition. He remained an unused substitute in the 2014 FAI Cup Final as Derry lost 2–0 to

. Timlin became one of City's main men in the

2015 League of Ireland 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 na ...

season as they had a poor season, finishing seventh in the league after bad form saw them sack manager Peter Hutton and replace him with his assistant

Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and the ...

, as they were dragged into a relegation battle in the last third of the season. He scored many important goals in their relegation fight and finished the season as Derry's top goalscorer with 10 goals in the league from 28 appearances as well as one goal 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 ...

vs Edenderry Town and one 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 ...

against

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

. He was also sent off twice against Sligo in the league. After his impressive from for Derry, Timlin attracted many clubs, including rivals

and

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 ...

. New Derry manager

Kenny Shiels Kenny Shiels (born 27 April 1956 in Magherafelt)Marshall Gillespie, ''The Northern Ireland Football Yearbook 1996/97'', UTV Books, 1996, p. 59 is a former Northern Irish football player and manager, who is currently the manager of the Northern Ir ...

was also trying his utmost to keep Timlin at the club but was admitted it looked unlikely as he was looking to move onto the next step of his career.

St Patrick's Athletic

Timlin signed for

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

club

on 21 November 2015 for the upcoming 2016 season. He made his debut for Pats on the opening day of the

2016 League of Ireland The 2016 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 32nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league began on 4 March 2016 and concluded on 28 October 2016; the relegation play-offs followed on 31 October and 4 November 2016. Th ...

season, soling off the bench as Pats we're shocked by a surprise 3–1 defeat to

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

. Timlin's first goal for the Saints came in a 3–0 win over

rivals

when he headed in an

Ian Bermingham Ian Bermingham (born 6 June 1989 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer that played 13 seasons with League of Ireland Premier Division club, St Patricks Athletic, where he was club captain and is the all-time appearance record ...

cross to open the scoring after 5 minutes at

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 ...

. Timlin finished up the season with 10 goals in 37 games in all competitions, earning his first senior medal by winning the

2016 League of Ireland Cup The 2016 League of Ireland Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 EA Sports Cup, was the 43rd season of the League of Ireland's secondary knockout competition. The EA Sports Cup features teams from the SSE Airtricity League Premier and F ...

after a 4–1 win over

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. He also appeared in all four of the Saints

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 ...

games as they beat

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

side

Jeunesse Esch Jeunesse Esch (full name ''Association Sportive la Jeunesse d'Esch/Alzette'') is a football club, based in Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western Luxembourg. The side play in the National Division, the highest league in the country, and have won th ...

before being knocked out by Dinamo Minsk of

Return to Derry

On 30 November 2016, Timlin returned to

under manager

on a one-year contract with the option of a second year.

Finn Harps

Timlin signed for

on 28 July 2017 and in no time became Finn Harps solution which led them back to the first division after a 1-year absence and a return to Donegal again. On 17 January 2023, Timlin announced his retirement from football citing persistent injuries as a deciding factor.

International career

Timlin was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for a friendly with the Republic of Ireland Amateur squad on 21 February 2015.

Honours

; 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 ...

(1):

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 ...

Career statistics

''Professional appearances – correct as of 17 January 2023.''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timlin, Mark 1994 births Living people Association footballers from County Donegal Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Derry City F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players League of Ireland players Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Sportspeople from Buncrana