Nathan Mullins (born 1989/90) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

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 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 ...

midfielder

Brian Mullins Brian Mullins (27 September 1954 – 30 September 2022) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He played football with his local club St Vincent's and was a senior member of the Dublin county team from 1974 until 1985. Mullins late ...

. When Mullins Snr was made principal of

Carndonagh Community School Carndonagh Community School () 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' school), The Convent of Mercy Second ...

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 and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in north-west Inishowen, in County Donegal, Ireland. The Urris valley to the west of Clonmany village was the last outpost of the Irish language in Inishowen. In the 19th centur ...

and Mullins Jnr maintained links with his adopted county.

Playing career

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is a Gaelic football coach, and former player, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a player with, and later manager of, the Donegal county team. Since 2023, he has been manager, for ...

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 A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

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 The 2013–14 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship was the 44th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1970–71. The competition began on 20 October 2 ...

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 title in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team ...

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. Mullins became seen as potentially advantageous, in that Michael Murphy could be moved further forward during games. In the opening fixture of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

away to Kerry, 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 di ...

. 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 previously for the Dublin county team. He was the 2018 and 2020 GAA/GPA Footballer of the Year. Education and family His father (Brian senior), is from ...

(whom he was familiar with from playing against

Raheny Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD (Mervyn Archdall (Irish antiquary), Mervyn Archdall). The district ...

with St Vincents) in a game against

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

; 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 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

and was also a second-half substitute for Leo McLoone 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), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

. 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 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

. 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 town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...

. 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 Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

;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 Cuala of D ...

: 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