James Clarke (born 21 January 2001) is an Irish

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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

club Bohemians.

Career

Early career

A native of Ballivor,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, Clarke began his schoolboy playing career with Belvedere and Cherry Orchard before moving up to play at Under 19 level for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

and Drogheda United.

Drogheda United

On 1 July 2019, Clarke signed his first professional contract with Drogheda United, graduating from the Under 19 set up. The midfielder would nail down a starting place under boss Tim Clancy and later Kevin Doherty.

Bohemians

In July 2022, Clarke joined Bohemians for an undisclosed fee. He made his full league debut against

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, 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 have been in ...

at The Showgrounds. Clarke would net his first goal for Bohs in September against UCD.

Personal life

Clarke holds a degree in law from

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

Career statistics

Honours

Individual *

Player of the Month: August 2023 * PFAI Team of the Year: 2023

References

External links

2001 births Living people Alumni of Maynooth University Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football midfielders Bohemian F.C. players League of Ireland players 21st-century Irish sportsmen {{Ireland-footy-bio-stub