*Jack Dunleavy.
ENNIS’ Jack Dunleavy has signed a two-year deal with Macclesfield FC as he makes the move across the water.
Jack moved to Chesire in the last fornight and officially put pen to paper on a two-year contract with The Silkmen over the weekend. He joins from Athlone Town Utd where he had been for the past six months.
In his first interview since joining Macclesfield FC, Jack told The Clare Echo, “When I started playing football I’ve always wanted to go to England because that is where all the opportunities are for someone of a young age trying to make it in football, England is the place to go and do it. It has been a target of mine since as long as I can remember”.
He will be part of the academy initially as part of the U23 squad “to get the bulk of my minutes but I will be training with the seniors and be around the senior squad so hopefully I will get my breakthrough if I’m playing well”.
Year one has already been pinpointed by the twenty year old as the time to make that step-up with his new club. “The goal is always to get the professional contract with the first team as soon as I can, this first year with Macclesfield is going to be a massive year for me, I’m hungry, ambitious and I want to get into that first team as soon as I can”. Manchester based SLM Sports Management have played their part in getting the deal over the line.
Across his two weeks in Chesire, he can see the pathway there for young players to get their foot in the door. “They talk about it every day, every time we go into training we’re told we’re here to get into the first team, to get a professional contract, that is drilled into us from the second we arrive in the morning. It is great to know they have faith in us to make it in but also that the pathway is there, it helps with trying to be hungry going in every day knowing there is an end goal of where you want to get to”.
More familiar in the midfield setting, Jack is set to transition to a full-back role with his new club. “I feel like right back is where I’m primarily going to be playing, in terms of sharpness and fitness I’ve improved on that over the last year so I’ve got a lot quicker which allows me to get up and down the line, if you asked me a year ago I would have said centre midfield so now I’m looking at right back or left back which is something new for me but I’ll definitely look forward to that change and learning a new position. The coaches are brilliant here, they have worked with me already after two weeks and talking to me every day about my position, that could be where they are looking at putting me into”.
Debts of over £500,000 led to a High Court ruling to wind-up Macclesfield Town FC in September 2020, a month later Macclesfield FC was founded. In January, the club completed one of the biggest shocks in the history of the FA Cup when defeating then holders Crystal Palace in the fourth round and becoming the first sixth-tier team to beat a top-tier team.
According to Jack, this has demonstrated the aspirations of the club. “Any club that can go into the FA Cup and knock out the holders is doing something right, it is great, the first team manager is John Rooney who is doing some great things. Being around the club for the last week or two, seeing how the staff are and the emphasis on the pathway into the first team and the quality of sessions you can tell it is a club on the up, it is great to have that FA Cup run behind them and it has definitely put the Macclesfield name out there within English football”.
Part of the Avenue Utd side that won the Maloney Hardware Premier Division in May 2025, he departed the Roslevan squad to join the Treaty Utd U20s. “I did a season with Treaty, then I went to Athlone because I wanted to try get some first team minutes and I managed to get a senior appearance straight away against Shelbourne in the Leinster Senior Cup which was brilliant, that has been my recent playing history”.
His career started in Roslevan and the Rice College past pupil is grateful to all those who helped along the way. “I started with Avenue from when I was young, I managed to move to Limerick FC when I was twelve into the League of Ireland system, I played two years there which definitely stood to me a lot but I felt physically I could improve so I went to Galway to play in the Galway Premier Division with Colga FC and started playing men’s football from sixteen which was a massive help. I went to Avenue then and played a season there when I was seventeen and eighteen, then it was back to Treaty and up to Athlone, now I’m here. Between playing League of Ireland and men’s football that has been huge for me, it is a good balance between the technical side of League of Ireland and the physical side of men’s football, between the two of them they have definitely helped me a lot”.
He added, “Avenue Utd have been a huge help to me, I started there when I was very young with John O’Malley and Noelie Purtill, they started me off teaching me how to pass a ball, they have been brilliant. More recently, Adrian Walsh and David Russell were dealing with me when I was eighteen and incorporating me into men’s football, helping me learn the men’s games, even little things. Walla is very good for training sessions, he has all the little details that you wouldn’t think about, he thought me a lot about the game and helped me a lot getting into Treaty so I think Avenue has been such a great help to me and my development, they’ve been a huge part in me getting over here”.
Constant supporters have been his parents Micky and Rachel-Ann along with his younger sister Sarah. “I say it to them all the time, I wouldn’t be anywhere unless I had them supporting me, a lot of lads who play sport from a young age know that you wouldn’t be able to take more steps unless you have the parents willing to drive you everywhere, who are going to fund different things and I know I’m very lucky to have them”.
Life in England is different, Jack admitted, “I’m living on my own now which I’ve never done before, I’m fending for myself but it is good. I’m training every day so I’m enjoying that part of it, we’re in the gym together, we get individual plans in terms of what we should be doing when we’re not doing team training so there’s lots of things to keep me busy but overall it is what I expected, you are living on your own and it is up to you to fend for yourself”.
This new lifestyle also includes “a lot more training than when I was back home in Ireland playing in the League of Ireland, so there’s more training days and more contact hours with coaches and players which is brilliant and that will help my development. It is different but it is something I’ve always wanted, I’ve always wanted to be in a full-time set-up, it is a change but a good change”.
Outside of training, he is picking up a few new skills. “We have free access to the gym which is a two minute walk away from me which is brilliant, we’re living with our teammates, whether it be double partner sessions or going to the gym myself, heading to the swimming pool or picking up new skills like learning how to cook because the mother can’t do it for me anymore, I’m learning that side of things and becoming more independent and keeping a good outside of training schedule to make sure I’m staying fit and ready for games”.
Along with making a breakthrough, Jack is hopeful his move could serve as inspiration for students in his alma mater. “GAA is so big in Rice College, a lot of them have been very successful whether that be playing Clare U20s or minors at girls and boys level. Soccer has never really been something you look at pursuing so I’m delighted to do that and add another type of journey to Rice College rather than just GAA”.
