Patrick Joseph McLaughlin (born 14 January 1991) is a Northern 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 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 club

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. He has played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for the club. McLaughlin previously played for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, Harrogate Town,

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

and

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. He has represented Northern Ireland at levels up to under-21.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

, County Antrim, McLaughlin began his career at

in July 2007. He signed a professional contract a year later but he never played a match at

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

. In June 2011, McLaughlin was released by Newcastle after four years at the club. McLaughlin signed for

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

club

on 30 June 2011 on a two-year contract. McLaughlin said "I thought York was the best club for me. The gaffer has given me the chance to come down here and play some football." He made his debut for York on the opening day of the 2011–12 season in a 2–1 away win against

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

. McLaughlin started in the York team that beat Newport County 2–0 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in the 2012 FA Trophy Final. Eight days later, he came on as an 86th-minute substitute in the 2–1 win over

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in the

2012 Conference Premier play-off final The 2012 Conference Premier play-off final, known as the 2012 Blue Square Bet Premier play-off final for sponsorship purposes, was a association football, football match between Luton Town F.C., Luton Town and York City F.C., York City on 20 May ...

at Wembley Stadium, seeing the club win promotion to League Two after an eight-year absence from

. He finished the season with 55 appearances and scored 13 goals. After making 33 appearances and scoring four goals for York in 2012–13, he was released by the club.

Grimsby Town and Gateshead

McLaughlin signed for Conference Premier club

on 28 June 2013 on a two-year contract. Following 2013–14, in which he was a regular in the team that was defeated in the semi-final of both the Conference Premier play-offs and the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

, McLaughlin found himself less involved with the first team during 2014–15. This prompted him to join

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

club Harrogate Town on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

in March 2015. He was released by Grimsby at the end of the season. McLaughlin signed for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

on 10 July 2015 on a one-year contract. After scoring 4 goals in 41 appearances during 2015–16, McLaughlin signed a new two-year contract with Gateshead in May 2016.

Hartlepool United and York City return

McLaughlin signed for Gateshead's National League rivals

on 26 June 2018 on a contract of undisclosed length. He rejoined York City on 23 January 2019 on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season, with the club now in the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. He signed for the club permanently on 30 April 2019 on a two-year contract. On 14 November 2022, McLaughlin signed for

on a month's loan.

International career

McLaughlin has represented Northern Ireland at various youth levels, up to under-21 level. He earned 10

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the under-21 team from 2010 to 2012.

Career statistics

Honours

York City *

: 2011–12 *

play-offs:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

Profile
at the York City F.C. website
Profile
at the Irish Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Paddy 1991 births Living people Association footballers from Larne Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Men's association football midfielders Newcastle United F.C. players York City F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Northern Ireland men's youth international footballers Northern Ireland men's under-21 international footballers