Jamie Terence McGrath (born 30 September 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian, and the Republic of Ireland national team. He started his career with St Patrick's Athletic and has since played for Dundalk, St Mirren, Wigan Athletic, Dundee United and Aberdeen.
Club career Early career A native of Athboy, County Meath, McGrath played youth football for his local club Athboy Celtic before joining top Dublin youth side Cherry Orchard. He played for UCD under 19's before joining St Patrick's Athletic under 19 side on their scholarship scheme with NUI Maynooth. He played for Pats under 19's for two seasons, including a league winning campaign in which McGrath scored two goals against Derry City under 19's in the final. He progressed into the first team in 2014 whilst still playing for the club's under 19 side.
St Patrick's Athletic 2014 season McGrath made his senior debut with the first team on 9 September 2014 as he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win over Longford Town in the 2014 Leinster Senior Cup Final at City Calling Stadium. McGrath impressed Saints fans with his display, including an excellent through ball to set up Jack Bayly's winning goal in the 64th minute. His League of Ireland debut came on 17 October 2014 when he started against Athlone Town in a 2–0 loss at Richmond Park.
2015 season He was named as a first team player ahead of the 2015 season, with number 19 being assigned to McGrath as his squad number. Mid season when first choice striker Christy Fagan picked up a knee injury, McGrath had an extended run in the starting 11 as a striker and scored his first goals away to Drogheda United and Sligo Rovers in consecutive away games to secure 2–0 and 3–0 wins respectively. McGrath made his first appearances in UEFA competition when he came on from the bench both away and at home against Latvian side Skonto Riga in the Europa League. McGrath came on at the start of extra time in the 2015 League of Ireland Cup Final as Pats drew 0–0 with Galway United before winning 4–3 on penalties to win the League Cup at Eamonn Deacy Park. McGrath received rave reviews from fans, pundits and the media alike for his breakthrough season, coming in a second behind Lee Desmond in the club's Young Player of the Year awards.
2016 season Although he struggled with shin splints that kept him out of games at the beginning of the 2016 season, his importance to the team increased in a season where the team struggled to deal with the midfield losses of Chris Forrester, Greg Bolger, Killian Brennan and James Chambers. Those losses however, created an opportunity for McGrath to play a lot of games in the role of attacking midfielder throughout the season. His first goal of the season was an 89th-minute strike to rescue a point at home to relegation fighting Longford Town live on Eir Sport. His only appearance in Europe for the season came against Dinamo Minsk of Belarus as Pats lost 1–0 at home and were knocked out of the Europa League in the second qualifying round. McGrath played a huge part in the Saints retaining their League Cup trophy as he played in every game, scoring away from home against Bray Wanderers in the quarter-finals, Shamrock Rovers in the semi's and Limerick in the Final. Following a good season for McGrath, he was voted St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Season by the club's supporters.
Dundalk McGrath moved from St Patrick's Athletic to Dundalk for an undisclosed transfer fee on 15 January 2017.
St Mirren After winning back-to-back League of Ireland Premier Division titles with Dundalk, McGrath signed a -year deal with Scottish Premiership side St Mirren on 7 January 2020. He was named as the club's Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season by the club's supporters after scoring and impressive 17 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions from midfield.
Wigan Athletic On 31 January 2022, transfer deadline day, McGrath signed for EFL League One club Wigan Athletic on a two-and-a-half-year contract. After making four appearances for the club, he spent the 2022–23 season on loan at Dundee United, before on 26 July 2023, making the decision to terminate his contract due to repeated contractual breaches by the previous owners of Wigan, despite the club's efforts to retain him.
Dundee United loan On 3 August 2022, he joined Dundee United on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season. He made his debut the following day, providing the assist for Glenn Middleton's goal in a 1–0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa Conference League. McGrath made 32 appearances in all competitions over the course of the season, scoring 7 goals, but this was not enough to help his side avoid relegation to the Scottish Championship as they finished bottom of the table.
Aberdeen After leaving Wigan, McGrath returned to the Scottish Premiership by signing a two-year contract with Aberdeen on 22 August 2023. He made his debut two days later, coming off the bench in the 70th minute away to BK Häcken in the UEFA Europa League, helping his side to comeback from two goals down to earn a 2–2 draw. On 30 September 2023, McGrath scored in a 3–1 win over Rangers at Ibrox Stadium on his 27th birthday. On 9 November 2023, he scored his first career European goal when he found the bottom corner with a 30 yard free kick away to PAOK to level the scores at 2–2 in his sides UEFA Europa Conference League draw at the Toumba Stadium. In January 2025, he sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery, with the intensive rehabilitation period keeping him out of action for several months. McGrath signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibernian in February 2025.
Hibernian McGrath joined Hibernian in June 2025, having agreed a four-year contract with the club earlier that year. On 24 July 2025, he scored within seven minutes of his debut against Danish side FC Midtjylland in the first leg of the second round of the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League qualifying. McGrath scored 9 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions in an impressive debut season with Hibs that saw him voted the club's Men's Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year awards.
International career McGrath's first taste of under-19's international football came when he was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-19s by Paul Doolin for their November 2014 games against Malta and Gibraltar. His first appearance came against Malta in a 1–0 win in Waterford. He went on to make a total of six appearances for the 19's, scoring twice vs Azerbaijan at Tallaght Stadium. McGrath was called up to the Republic of Ireland under-21 squad for the first time by manager Noel King on 8 November 2016, for their games against Czech Republic and Slovakia in La Manga Club, Spain.
On 24 May 2021, McGrath received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad by his former Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny for the summer friendlies against Andorra and Hungary, making his full international debut in the away fixture in Andorra on 3 June 2021. His first senior start for Ireland came in a 2–1 loss in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Portugal on 1 September 2021 at the Estádio Algarve in Faro, in which he provided the assist for John Egan's opening goal.
After 18 months out of the squad, McGrath was recalled in May 2026 for end-of-season friendlies against Qatar and Canada.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSt Patrick's Athletic2014LOI Premier Division1000000010202015LOI Premier Division232204020213332016 LOI Premier Division23231431000316Total47451833031669Dundalk2017LOI Premier Division286304110203872018 LOI Premier Division302213140104042019 LOI Premier Division26240206021403Total841091921105111814St Mirren2019–20Scottish Premiership7040———1102020–21Scottish Premiership35103374——45172021–22Scottish Premiership1820041——223Total601273115——7820Wigan Athletic2021–22League One2010——10402022–23Championship000000——00Total201000—1040Dundee United (loan)2022–23Scottish Premiership328112020—379Aberdeen2023–24Scottish Premiership349313081—48112024–25Scottish Premiership2541071——335Total59134110181—8116Hibernian2025–26Scottish Premiership348101051—4192026–27Scottish Premiership10001020—40Total358102071—459Career total3195528742113129242977
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRepublic of Ireland202160202210202350202410202500202620Total150
Honours St Patrick's Athletic FAI Cup: 2014 League of Ireland Cup: 2015, 2016 Leinster Senior Cup: 2014
Dundalk League of Ireland Premier Division: 2018, 2019 FAI Cup: 2018 League of Ireland Cup: 2017, 2019 President of Ireland's Cup: 2019 Champions Cup: 2019
Wigan Athletic EFL League One: 2021–22
Aberdeen Scottish Cup: 2024–25
Individual St Patrick's Athletic Young Player of the Season: 2016 PFAI Young Player of the Year: 2018 St Mirren Player of the Year: 2020–21 Hibernian Men's Player of the Year: 2025–26 Hibernian Player's Player of the Year: 2025–26
References
External links