A youth with his native Monaghan United and later Wolverhampton Wanderers, Mark joined Bolton at age 17 in the summer of 2009 for a £1,000,000 fee. His first taste of professional football came in Scotland while on loan at St Johnstone, making his debut in March 2010. By 2011, Mark had represented Ireland at U17, U19 and U21 level. He became captain of Bolton Wanderers's reserve side during the 2011-12 season before going on loan to Macclesfield for a short spell. This would be his final season with Wanderers, before leaving to join Crawley Town on a two-year deal.
During his two seasons with Crawley he became a first team regular and was beginning to attract attention from Championship clubs, quickly becoming a favourite amongst supporters for his "head on the line" defensive style. As a free agent in 2014, he opted to join Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock despite offers from the higher divisions in England. In his first season at Rugby Park he held down a place as a regular before a broken collarbone unfortunately ended his season. Following a recovery, Mark was named as Kilmarnock's new captain for the 2015-16 campaign. Injury curtailed his opportunities however and at the end of the season his contract was cancelled.
In the summer of 2016, Mark returned to recently relegated Crawley Town where he played a further two full seasons, this time in League Two. Midway through the 2018-19 campaign, he handed in a transfer request and later left to sign for United on a two and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee. Making his debut against Morton at Tannadice a few days later, he formed an impressive partnership with Mark Reynolds.
One of the leadership group at the Club, Mark is as vital off the park as on the park with his professional attitude and desire for success.
Player Background
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Date of Birth
16/12/1991
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Nationality
Irish
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Height
1,85m
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Previous Clubs
Bolton Wanderers, St Johnstone (loan), Macclesfield Town (loan), Crawley Town, Kilmarnock, Crawley Town
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Date Signed
31/01/2019
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Debut
2.2.19 v Morton
Player Sponsorship
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Home Kit Sponsor
Tayside Machinery Limited
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Away Kit Sponsor
Angus & Perthshire Bearings Ltd
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Boots Sponsor
e-mail commercial@dundeeunitedfc.co.uk to enquire about this sponsorship
The First Team
-
Kevin
McDonald
Midfielder
6 -
Benjamin
Siegrist
Goalkeeper
1 -
Liam
Smith
Defender
2 -
Adrián
Spörle
Defender
3 -
Charlie
Mulgrew
Defender
4 -
On Loan
Mark
Connolly
Defender
5 -
Ilmari
Niskanen
Midfielder
7 -
Peter
Pawlett
Midfielder
8 -
Loanee Player
Marc
McNulty
Forward
9 -
Nicky
Clark
Forward
10 -
On Loan
Logan
Chalmers
Forward
11 -
Ryan
Edwards
Defender
12 -
Carljohan
Eriksson
Goalkeeper
13 -
Florent
Hoti
Midfielder
14 -
On Loan
Trevor
Carson
Goalkeeper
16 -
Archie
Meekison
Midfielder
17 -
Calum
Butcher
Midfielder
18 -
Loanee Player
Dylan
Levitt
Midfielder
19 -
Lewis
Neilson
Defender
20 -
On Loan
Declan
Glass
Midfielder
21 -
Kieran
Freeman
Defender
22 -
Ian
Harkes
Midfielder
23 -
On Loan
Kai
Fotheringham
Forward
25 -
Chris
Mochrie
Midfielder
26 -
Ross
Graham
Defender
29 -
On Loan
Darren
Watson
Forward
30 -
Jack
Newman
Goalkeeper
31 -
Tony
Watt
Forward
32 -
Scott
McMann
Defender
33 -
On Loan
Nathan
Cooney
Defender
34 -
On Loan
Rhys
Caves
Midfielder
36 -
On Loan
Adam
Hutchinson
Defender
37 -
On Loan
Flynn
Duffy
Defender
40