Jason Gavin (footballer)

Jason Joseph Gavin (born 14 March 1980) is an Irish professional former footballer, who played as a defender from 1996 to 2012.
Gavin notably played Premier League football in England for Middlesbrough, before playing for Hartlepool United, Grimsby Town, Huddersfield Town and Bradford City. He later returned to his native country of Ireland where he played for Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United and St Patrick's Athletic. In 2010 he emigrated to Australia and played for the Stirling Lions.

Career

Born in Dublin, Gavin played as a junior with Crumin United, before he started his professional career with English side Middlesbrough. He moved to Bradford City, following loan spells at Hartlepool United, Grimsby Town and Huddersfield Town, where he scored once against Port Vale.

As a member of the Irish Under-19 team, he won the European Under-18 Championships in 1998 in Cyprus under Brian Kerr. He also played at the FIFA World Youth Championship finals in Nigeria in 1999 as well as at U17 level.

Gavin signed for Shamrock Rovers at the start of the 2005 season and made his league debut on the opening day of the season on 18 March 2005. He made 19 appearances before his mid-season transfer to Drogheda United.

Gavin signed for Drogheda United in the summer of 2005 where he played for three years. In July 2008 he signed a pre-contract with St Patrick's Athletic.

He was then dropped by Paul Doolin and on 23 July 2008 he signed a contract with St Patrick's Athletic. He scored the first European goal of his career in a 2–1 win over IF Elfsborg which helped St Patrick's through to the next round. Gavin finished his career whilst playing for Australian side Stirling Lions.