Nathan Mullins (born 1989/90) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who plays for St Vincents and also, formerly, the Donegal county team.

Early life

Nathan Mullins is the youngest of three sons fathered by former

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 ...

midfielder

Brian Mullins Brian Mullins (27 September 1954 – 30 September 2022) was an Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and player. He played football with his local club St Vincents GAA, St Vincent's and was a senior member of the Dublin county ...

. When Mullins Snr was made principal of

Carndonagh Community School Carndonagh Community School ( ga, Pobalscoil Charn Domhnaigh) is a secondary school located in Carndonagh, County Donegal, Ireland. History Carndonagh Community School was formed in 1972 by the merger of Carndonagh College (a local boys' schoo ...

in 1991, the family moved to

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfor ...

, where they lived for a decade. They then returned to Dublin, though one of Mullins Jnr's brothers later moved to

Clonmany Clonmany () is a village in north-west Inishowen, in County Donegal, Ireland. The area has a number of local beauty spots, while the nearby village of Ballyliffin is known for its golf course. The Urris valley to the west of Clonmany village was ...

and Mullins Jnr maintained links with his adopted county.

Playing career

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and Manager (Gaelic games), manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal ...

was aware of this and persuaded Mullins to move north-west in 2011. Mullins played for the Donegal under-21 team. He sustained numerous injuries early in his career, including

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

issues and breaking both legs, so did not make much progress with his club St Vincents until he was aged 26. He made a substitute appearance in the last seconds of the 2013–14 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final. Three years later he was awarded the title of Dublin club footballer of the year. The newly appointed Donegal manager

Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team for tw ...

expressed interest in his services ahead of the 2018 season. Mullins scored a first-half goal on his debut against Queen's in the

2018 Dr McKenna Cup The 2018 Dr McKenna Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup, was a Gaelic football competition in the province of Ulster for county and university teams. It is normally held at the beginning of the GAA season. T ...

. Mullins became seen as potentially advantageous, in that

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

could be moved further forward during games. In the opening fixture of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

away to

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

, Mullins started alongside Hugh McFadden in midfield; his league debut lasted twenty minutes before he was shown a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

. In his second league start for Donegal Mullins was sent onto the pitch to mark

Brian Fenton Brian Fenton (born 2 March 1994) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Raheny club and for the Dublin county team. He was the 2018 and 2020 All Stars Footballer of the Year. Education and family His father (Brian senior), is from Spa, out ...

(whom he was familiar with from playing against

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint Anne ...

with St Vincents) in a game against

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

; Mullins was substituted after 26 minutes. He appeared as a late substitute for

Niall O'Donnell Niall O'Donnell (born 1998) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for St Eunan's and the Donegal county team. The ''Irish Independents Colm Keys named O'Donnell among his "18 for 08: The brightest young talents" in Gaelic football, descri ...

against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

and was also a second-half substitute for

Leo McLoone Leo McLoone (born 1989) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Naomh Conaill and also, formerly, the Donegal county team. A versatile player, often employed as a forward, he has been an important source of goals for club and county. McL ...

in the away match against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

. Mullins did not feature at all on the field of play during the

2018 Ulster Senior Football Championship The 2018 Ulster Senior Football Championship was the 130th instalment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship organised by Ulster GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. T ...

, which Donegal won. However, he received a medal. Shortly after Donegal's season ended, Mullins sustained two broken ribs in a club game. He linked up again with Donegal ahead of the 2019 season. Bonner suggested he return to his club to rediscover his form. Mullins left. Mullins has since expressed the wish to play for Donegal again.

Personal life

He lives in the coastal suburban settlement of

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

. Mullins Senior was displeased that Mullins Jnr chose to represent Donegal over Dublin. Mullins Jnr said: "People thought I lived in Donegal a few years and that I was using the county for a chance to play county football, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. Although the accent, and I'm living, working, playing down here n Dublin I'd be in Donegal as much as possible".

Honours

;Donegal *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

;St Vincent's *

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Kilcoo of ...

: 2013–14 * * ;Individual *Dublin club footballer of the year: ?

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Nathan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers St Vincents (Dublin) Gaelic footballers