SENAN MAKES HIS FIRST-TEAM DEBUT

Senan Mullen made his competitive first-team debut for the club when he came off the bench in Monday night’s 5-0 win over Cork City at Oriel Park.

The Cootehill native, who turned 18 in February, appeared as a 77th-minute substitute for Darren Brownlie and marked his debut by completing all eight of his passes – and picking up a booking for good measure!

Senan moved to Oriel Park in 2019 and has progressed through the academy ranks, playing at U15, U17 and U19 level.

He has represented the Republic of Ireland at U17 and U18 and was nominated for the Republic of Ireland U18 Schools Player of the Year award at this year’s FAI International Awards.

“It was great to see Senan make his debut,” said Lilywhites head coach Stephen O’Donnell. “He has been in training with us over the last couple of weeks and he has all the raw attributes and the tools you need. You can see what a specimen and an athlete he is and he’s improving all the time.

“We were delighted to give him some minutes. It wasn’t a token gesture. I said to him before the game to stay tuned in because he wasn’t there to just make up the numbers. He was there because he deserves it and warranted it.”