Mason Melia (born 22 September 2007) 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

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 ...

for

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 ...

Early life

A native of Newtownmountkennedy,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, Melia attended the Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, captaining the school's under-15 side to the 2022 Leinster U15s Shield, getting a goal and an assist in the 3–0 final victory.

Club career

Youth career

Initially in the academies of Newtown Juniors, St Joseph's Boys and

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 ...

, Melia moved to

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 ...

side

in the summer of 2022.

St Patrick's Athletic

2023 season

His performances for the youth team of St Patrick's Athletic earned him a call up to the senior squad in January 2023, and he made his debut in a Leinster Senior Cup, coming off the bench to score in a 3–1 loss to

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

. In doing so, he became St Patrick's Athletic's youngest ever player and youngest ever goal-scorer. In May 2023, with

Eoin Doyle Eoin Doyle (born 12 March 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic. Doyle has previously played for Chesterfield, Cardiff, Preston North End, Portsmou ...

suspended and Tommy Lonergan ill, Melia was again drafted into the senior squad, and made his league debut as a substitute for Conor Carty in an eventual 3–0 win against

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 ...

in the LOI Premier Division. He became the club's youngest league debutant, and the third youngest in league history - behind

Sam Curtis Sam Curtis (born 1 December 2005) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic. He is the youngest ever player to play in the League of Ireland. Club career Yout ...

Evan Ferguson Evan Joe Ferguson (born 19 October 2004) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Republic of Ireland national team. Club career Early life A native of Bettystown, Count ...

. After the game, manager

Jon Daly Jon Daly, sometimes credited as Jonathan C. Daly, Jon C. Daly or Jonathan Barney Daly, is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer best known for his sketch comedy work on the Comedy Central series ''Kroll Show''. In 2013 he starred as H ...

lauded Melia as an "exceptional" player. Following his performances for St Patrick's Athletic, he was linked with a move to English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in March 2023. On 30 June 2023, Melia came off the bench to score his first senior league goal in a 7–0 win over UCD at Richmond Park, with the goal making him the youngest ever goalscorer in the

at 15 years and 281 days old. In August 2023, he spent time on trial at

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 ...

. On 20 August 2023, Melia scored the winning penalty in a 4–3 shootout 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 ...

in the second round of 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 ...

after a 0–0 draw 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 22 September 2023, on his 16th birthday, Melia came off the bench in the 83rd minute against

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 ...

, before going on to win a penalty in injury time which he took himself and scored to secure a 3–1 win. On 9 November 2023, it was announced that Melia had signed his first professional contract with the club, signing a 3-year contract to keep him with the club until the end of the 2026 season. On 12 November 2023, Melia came off the bench in the 57th minute of the

2023 FAI Cup Final The 2023 FAI Cup Final, known as the 2023 Sports Direct FAI Cup Final for sponsorship reasons, was the final match of the 2023 FAI Cup, the national association football cup of the Republic of Ireland. The match took place on Sunday 12 November ...

, making him the youngest ever player to play in an

Final, as his side beat

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 ...

3–1 at the Aviva Stadium in front of a record breaking FAI Cup Final crowd of 43,881.

2024 season

His first goal of the 2024 season came on 22 January in a Leinster Senior Cup game away to Usher Celtic. Melia scored his first league goal of the season on 1 August 2024, coming off the bench in the 77th minute at home to

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 ...

and finding the bottom corner 9 minutes later from 25 yards to help his side to a 3–0 victory. On 10 May 2024, Melia scored the final goal of the game in a Dublin derby 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 ...

in a 2–2 draw at Tallaght Stadium. On 31 May 2024, Melia scored a backpost header to open the scoring in a 2–1 win over

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 ...

to help his side to their first league win under new manager Stephen Kenny. On 25 July 2024, Melia made his first European appearance of his career, starting up front in a 3–1 win over

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

in the UEFA Conference League.

Personal life

Melia is the nephew of former

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 ...

international footballer and sports agent

Clive Clarke Clive Richard Luke Clarke (born 14 January 1980) is an Irish former footballer. He played primarily as a left back, but also as centre back, left midfielder or centre midfielder, notably for Stoke City and twice for the Ireland international t ...

International career

Melia has represented the Republic of Ireland from under-15 to under-17 level. He was part of the Irish under-16 side to win the 2022 Victory Shield, scoring in a 4–1 win in the final against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He scored a hat-trick for the Republic of Ireland U17 side in a 3–0 against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, helping them qualify for the

2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2023) is the 20th UEFA European Under-17 Championship (39th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organised ...

, for which he was also called up. At those championships he scored two goals in Ireland's final group game, against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, in a 4–2 win which put his side through to the quarter-finals. On 11 October 2023, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Armenia U17 in a 2024 UEFA U-17 Euro qualification fixture in Fermoy. In November 2023, he received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland U19 side, for their

2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification The 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition is a men's under-19 football competition to determine the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Northern Ireland in the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship f ...

games against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Career statistics

Honours

;St Patrick's Athletic *

(1):

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melia, Mason 2007 births Living people Association footballers from County Wicklow Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards League of Ireland players Bray Wanderers F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players