Mark O'Brien (born 13 May 1984) is an Irish former 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 lea ...

who played as a

central 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 ...

. O'Brien comes from a footballing background as his father Derek played for Shamrock Rovers from 1981 to 1983 and his uncles Fran and

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

both played for Ireland. His younger brother Colin played alongside him at Shelbourne.

Career

Early years

O'Brien was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. He played for

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco * Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

at youth level and made several appearances at under-age level for Ireland. He began his senior career at

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 ...

making his debut on 7 May 2003 in a

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

tie against

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club 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 ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

. He impressed enough to win the Young Player of the Year at the club in 2004.

Bohemians

O'Brien then signed for bitter rivals

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

for the 2005 season and he made his debut for Bohs against his former club Shamrock Rovers on 18 March 2005 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. He never showed the same form at Bohemians and midway through the 2006 season, he returned to Shamrock Rovers on loan where he helped the Hoops to the First Division title. After his loan spell finished at the end of the 2006 season, he returned to Bohemians but had failed to appear for the first team during the 2007 season only making under-21 appearances.

Shelbourne

In need to restart his flagging career, O'Brien departed Bohemians to sign on loan for nearby rivals Shelbourne in July 2007. Mark made his Shelbourne debut on 6 July 2007 against Wexford Youths at

Tolka Park Tolka Park () is an Ireland, Irish association football ground located in the Northside Dublin, north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Irelan ...

in a 1–0 win for Shels and he scored his first Shels goal during a 4–1 victory over

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...

at Lissywoollen on 12 October 2007. O'Brien permanently joined Shelbourne on 29 November 2007. He finished as a First Division runner-up with Shelbourne in both 2008 and 2009 as Shelbourne narrowly missed out on promotion during both seasons. O'Brien was released by Shelbourne following the conclusion of the 2009 season. In his 3 seasons at Shelbourne he made 85 league and cup appearances scoring 5 goals.

Bray Wanderers

In March 2010 O'Brien returned to football signing for

. He scored twice on his Bray debut in the EA Sports Cup against Drogheda United but failed to hold down a first team place after this. O'Brien parted company with Bray Wanderers in July 2010 after making five appearances for the club. On 27 August 2010, O'Brien returned to Shelbourne after training with the club for a number of weeks.Damien Brennan & Mark O'Brien Return
www.shelbournefc.com

Drogheda United

Prior to the start of the

2011 League of Ireland The 2011 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 27th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The league was also known as the Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons. The division featured 10 teams. Shamrock Rovers were champions ...

season, O'Brien joined Drogheda United. His first goal for the Drogs was the winner in a 2–1 win over

Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...

on 26 May 2011, their first win of the season. After nailing down a starting place in Mick Cooke's midfield, O'Brien signed a new one-year contract for the Drogs, keeping him at United Park until the end of the 2012 season.

Dundalk

He joined Dundalk on the final day of the 2012 July transfer window. His father had played for the Lilywhites in the 1970s.

Honours

Shamrock Rovers *

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Individual * Shamrock Rovers Young Player of the Year: 2004

References

External links

*
Mark O'Brien's profile at www.shelbournefc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Mark 1984 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from County Dublin Men's association football midfielders Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers League of Ireland players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Shelbourne F.C. players Bray Wanderers F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Belvedere F.C. players 21st-century Irish sportsmen