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Michael Francis O'Halloran (born 6 January 1991) is a Scottish
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 for
Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
Born in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, he began his professional career with English club
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
, but made only made two appearances in three seasons. While at Bolton he had loan spells with
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
,
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
and
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. After two years with
St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
, he moved to Rangers in January 2016. O'Halloran returned to St Johnstone on loan in July 2017. After a short spell with Australian club Melbourne City, he returned to St Johnstone for a third spell in January 2019. O'Halloran represented Scotland at various youth levels, up to and including the under-21 level.


Club career


Bolton Wanderers

O'Halloran started his professional career at
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
, regularly playing in the reserve side. A product of the youth system, he made his début 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 ...
tie at home to
Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...
on 24 August 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute for
Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger. Club career Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with CS ...
. His form in the reserves prompted Bolton to offer both O'Halloran and Joe Riley new three and a half-year contracts, committing them to the club until the summer of 2015. In March 2012, O'Halloran joined
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on loan until the end of the season, and made his début for the Blades on as an 81st-minute substitute against
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 ...
in a 4–1 victory at
Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
. O'Halloran was in and out of the side for the remainder of his spell, with his final appearance for the Blades coming at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
for the League One play-off final in which he came on as a substitute in extra time. O'Halloran scored in the game's penalty shoot out but United slipped to defeat. In August 2012, O'Halloran joined
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
on a month's loan. However, after playing just one game, a substitute appearance against
MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
, O'Halloran opted to return to Bolton, his loan only lasting 12 days. O'Halloran then joined
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
on loan on in November of the same year. O'Halloran scored the first professional goal of his career on 8 December as he scored in a 2–2 draw against
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 ...
, O'Halloran loan was extended by a further month on 7 January 2013, and then again until the end of the season on January deadline day.


St Johnstone

After appearing in just two cup matches in three years at Bolton, O'Halloran made the move back to his native Scotland with
St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
in January 2014, signing an 18-month contract with the club. O'Halloran made his debut, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 win over
Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
. Then on 8 February 2014, O'Halloran scored his first goal in the fifth round of Scottish Cup, in a 4–0 win over
Forfar Athletic Forfar Athletic Football Club are a Scottish semi-professional football club from the town of Forfar, Angus. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two. They play their home games a ...
. He scored again in Saints' final home game of the season, to conclude a 3–3 draw with former club
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 ...
. O'Halloran won the Scottish Premiership player of the month award for November 2015. St Johnstone rejected two bids from Rangers for O'Halloran in January 2016. Manager Tommy Wright then left O'Halloran out of their following league game, saying that O'Halloran was not "mentally ready" to play. O'Halloran made his final appearance for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Hibernian in the
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
semi final at Tynecastle.


Rangers

On 1 February 2016, after much speculation, O'Halloran signed a four and a half-year deal with the then
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 (, ...
club Rangers for a fee reported to be £500,000. He made his debut for the Ibrox club as a substitute in a 1–0 victory against
Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...
at
Stark's Park Stark's Park is a football stadium in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. It is the home ground of Raith Rovers, who have played there since 1891. The ground has an all-seated capacity of 9000 History Raith started using the ground in 1891 and it seats ...
on 2 February 2016. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with
Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...
on 13 February 2016. He picked up a winners' medal in the 2016 Scottish Challenge Cup Final at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
after defeating
Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
4–0 on 10 April 2016 and helped Rangers win promotion to the
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 ...
. O'Halloran fell out of favour during the 2016–17 season, playing mainly as a substitute. He returned to
St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
on loan in July 2017. On his first appearance back at the club, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory away to
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
. After scoring four goals in his first five appearances back at the club, O'Halloran won the Scottish Premiership Player of the month award for August.


Melbourne City

O'Halloran signed a two-year contract with Australian club Melbourne City in June 2018. O'Halloran had played in the same youth team as Australian international
Aaron Mooy Aaron Frank Mooy (; ; born 15 September 1990) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Australia national team. Born in Sydney, Mooy played youth football for the N ...
, who recommended the move to him. He stayed at the club for only six months, being released by the club on 8 January 2019 on compassionate grounds.


St Johnstone (second spell)

O'Halloran returned to Scotland in January 2019, re-signing for St Johnstone for a second time.


Cove Rangers (loan)

On 24 February 2023, O'Halloran joined
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 (, ...
club Cove Rangers on loan until the end of the season.


Dunfermline Athletic

Following his release from St Johnstone, O'Halloran signed for
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
side
Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...
on a two year deal.


International career

O'Halloran represented Scotland at various age levels up to the under-21 team. He made his Scotland under-21 debut on 29 February 2012, appearing as a substitute in a 0–0 draw with the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.


Personal life

O'Halloran's father, Michael senior, is a youth coach at
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
rivals
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 ...
. Although he never coached his son.


Career statistics


Honours


Club

St Johnstone *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2013–14,
2020–21 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 ...
*
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
:
2020–21 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 ...
Rangers *
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 (, ...
: 2015–16 *