Ciaron "Jackie" Harkin (born 15 January 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers. He previously played for Derry City (over 2 spells), Institute and Coleraine.
Derry man Harkin grew up supporting Derry City and joined the club's under-19's as a 17 year old from local club Trojans in 2014.[1]
On 31 May 2015, Harkin made his senior debut for Derry City in a 3–0 win away to Edenderry Town in the FAI Cup.[2] He made his league debut on 5 June 2015 in a 3–0 defeat at home to St Patrick's Athletic.[3]
In July 2015, Harkin joined NIFL Championship club Institute, where he played for a season and a half.[4]
On 8 January 2017, Harkin signed for NIFL Premiership club Coleraine on a two-and-a-half-year contract.[5][6][7] On 4 October 2017, he signed a new contract with the club running to the summer of 2020.[8] On 5 May 2018, he was part of the side that won the 2017–18 Irish Cup by beating Cliftonville 3–1 at Windsor Park.[9]
On 30 December 2018, it was announced that Harkin had returned to Derry City on a 2 year contract, as part of a swap deal that saw Ben Doherty moving in the opposite direction.[10] On 14 September 2019, he featured in the 2019 League of Ireland Cup final as his side were beaten in a penalty shootout by Dundalk, despite scoring his penalty in the shootout.[11] On 29 March 2024, he made his first appearance in nearly 2 years in a 1–0 defeat at home to Galway United, having recovered from his 2 separate Anterior cruciate ligament injuries.[12][13] On 29 July 2024, Harkin returned to former club Coleraine on loan until January 2025.[14]
On 29 July 2025, it was announced that Harkin had signed for fellow League of Ireland Premier Division club Sligo Rovers until the end of the season, with the option of an additional 12 month contract.[15]
He was called up to the Northern Ireland U21 team in March 2018, remaining an unused substitute on 26 March 2018 in a 0–0 draw at home to Iceland U21.[16]
Harkin is nicknamed "Jackie" since childhood, after martial artist Jackie Chan, as he was told he was a good fighter as a child.[17]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Derry City | 2015 | LOI Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| Institute | 2015–16 | NIFL Championship | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2[c] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | – | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Coleraine | 2016–17 | NIFL Premiership | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 44 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | 23 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 87 | 4 | ||
| Derry City | 2019 | LOI Premier Division | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 5 | ||
| 2020 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 1[d] | 0 | – | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2021 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 35 | 1 | |||||
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[g] | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[g] | 0 | 0[h] | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[i] | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 97 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 7 | ||
| Coleraine (loan) | 2024–25 | NIFL Premiership | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 0 | ||
| Sligo Rovers | 2025 | LOI Premier Division | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 192 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 228 | 11 | ||
