Jay Donnelly

Jay Donnelly (born 10 April 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays for Glentoran in the NIFL Premiership. He previously played for Cliftonville and had a short spell at Belfast Celtic.

Jay Donnelly
Donnelly with Glentoran in 2021
Personal information
Full name Jay Donnelly
Date of birth (1995-04-10) 10 April 1995
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Glentoran
Number 9
Youth career
-2014 Cliftonville
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2019 Cliftonville 113 (87)
2020 Belfast Celtic 6 (14)
2020– Glentoran 114 (60)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2023

Club career

Cliftonville

Donnelly netted 15 goals over his first two seasons playing for the first team squad, and was part of the sides that won the League Cup during the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.[1] He became a prolific goalscorer for the Reds, and scored 20 goals in the NIFL Premiership during the 2017–18 season. His brother Rory was his teammate.

Prison sentence

In January 2019, Donnelly was given a four-month prison sentence for sharing an indecent image of a child. He initially sent the photo in 2016 of him having consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl to a friend and Cliftonville teammates on a WhatsApp group, but the photo began to spread around the internet. The girl was subjected to taunts due to the image, and relationships with friends were affected.[2] He had admitted to the charge in November 2018 and was dropped by Cliftonville before their match against Dungannon Swifts the same week.[3] On 9 April 2019, Donnelly's sentence was reduced to three months.[4]

Cliftonville announced the termination of Donnelly's contract on 11 April 2019.[5]

Stint with Belfast Celtic and return to Irish League

In January 2020, after becoming eligible to play again, Donnelly signed for Ballymena Intermediate League side Belfast Celtic (not to be confused with the original Belfast Celtic).[6] Belfast Celtic's joint managers defended the decision to sign Donnelly, stating that they "believe in second chances".[7] He scored nine goals in six games.[8]

In September 2020, NIFL Premiership side Glentoran controversially announced the signing of Donnelly. Glentoran defended their decision to sign Donnelly on their website in the transfer announcement, stating that "Glentoran Football club believes that everyone deserves a chance to put mistakes behind them and Jay Donnelly is no different. The club acknowledges that he has both paid and atoned for his past mistakes and deserves the opportunity to rebuild his life and football career. We look forward to him making a positive contribution to the club, and to giving our supporters further reason to see the coming season as one of great opportunity for Glentoran."[9] Former NI international and Premier League footballer Gareth McAuley criticised the move, and compared it to the case of Adam Johnson.[10]

He scored 17 goals in his first season back in the Irish Premiership. He finished top scorer in the 2021–22 season, with 26 goals.[11] His brother Rory also plays for Glentoran.

Career statistics
As of match played 13 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[12]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cliftonville 2014–15 Premiership 18510211[lower-alpha 1]0226
2015–16 Premiership 34122343—4018
2016–17 Premiership 291000104[lower-alpha 2]23412
2017–18 Premiership 39204033—4623
2018–19 Premiership 15400101[lower-alpha 2]0174
Total 13351731176215763
Belfast Celtic 2019–20 Ballymena & Provincial Football League 61400——614
Glentoran 2020–21 Premiership 33172000—3517
2021–22 Premiership 372721210[lower-alpha 3]04129
2022–23 Premiership 36133221—4116
2023–24 Premiership 10500002[lower-alpha 3]0125
Total 1166273422012967
Career Total 25512714615982292144
  1. Appearance in the Charity Shield
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Cliftonville

References
  1. "Northern Ireland – J. Donnelly – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. "Footballer Donnelly jailed for four months". BBC News. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. "Cliftonville drop Jay Donnelly after image conviction". BBC News. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  4. Erwin, Alan (9 April 2019). "Cliftonville footballer Jay Donnelly jailed for three months after sharing indecent image of child". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  5. "Football club confirms sacking of striker jailed over sex photo of teenage girl". Belfast Telegraph. 11 April 2019. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  6. "Donnelly signs for Belfast Celtic". BBC Sport. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  7. "Belfast Celtic defend Donnelly signing". BBC Sport. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  8. @BelfastCeltic1 (21 April 2020). "Jay Donnelly Striker" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. "Jay Donnelly". Glentoran F.C. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  10. McAuley, Gareth (20 September 2020). "Disgraced Jay Donnelly should be shunned by Irish League clubs like jobless Adam Johnson was in England". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. "Irish Premiership Top Scorers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  12. "J. DONNELLY". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 May 2023.


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