Happy 40th to true Cymru Premier legend and Holywell Town assistant-boss Mark Connolly

With 100 top-flight goals, plus Welsh Cup and Cymru Premier winners’ medals among his many achievements, Mark Connolly can feel a very proud man on his 40th birthday.

Born on July 2, 1984, the player popularly known as ‘Conno’ reaches a milestone age today which carries the phrase ‘life begins’.

If that’s the case, then this tremendous talent will have to pull off some pretty amazing feats to match what he crammed into his first 39 years! Whatever happens, his legacy as a North Wales football icon is secure.

Conno is currently assistant-manager to Johnny Haseldin at Cymru North champions Holywell Town, a club he has been part of since 2019-20.

Before that, the Liverpool-born right-winger/midfielder carved out a reputation as one of the finest players to represent a North Wales club in the national Welsh Premier League. Conno featured in 390 WPL matches (336 starts and 54 substitute appearances) and netted 100 goals exactly.

After beginning his senior career in northwest England, a 19-year-old Connolly first joined the League of Wales in 2003/04, signing for Bangor City, and was at Farrar Road for two seasons, signing non-contract for TNS for their Uefa Cup games during that spell.

He put pen to paper for Rhyl before the 2005/06 season and won the Welsh Cup in that campaign.

Conno went on to become a popular Lilywhites regular, being part of the 2008/09 Welsh Premier title-winning squad before in 2009/10 enjoying a prolific spell in front of goal.

Following Rhyl’s demotion at the end of that season on licence grounds, Connolly moved to Chester FC.

A knee injury restricted his chances with the newly-formed club and he signed for Bala Town in 2011, spending seven successful years at Maes Tegid that saw him make 191 (+31) appearances and score 76 goals in total.

The 2013-14 season was a particularly successful one, bringing him 21 goals in 30 league starts.

He was an unused substitute when Bala won the Welsh Cup for the first time in 2016/17.

At the start of 2017/18, Connolly returned to Rhyl and later that season had a stint as player-manager.

In 2018-19, he made a WPL comeback with Llandudno and was a virtual ever-present, but the Seasiders ended the campaign getting relegated.

Nonetheless, towards the end of the season Conno notched his 100th Welsh Premier goal in a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff Met – a stunning curler into the top corner from the edge of the box with his family present to witness the occasion.

Connolly announced his retirement at the end of 2018-19, but was persuaded to make a quick comeback by Haseldin, whose Holywell Town team had been relegated from the Cymru Alliance and were preparing life in the Tier 3 Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier Division.

What a signing Conno proved to be! He was top-scorer with 21 goals that season as the Wellmen won the title and secured an instant return to the Cymru North.

Unfortunately, the 2020-21 season was wiped out by Covid, and Connolly hung up his boots again, but remained at Halkyn Road as assistant to Haseldin.

He has maintained that position ever since, celebrating the club’s first-ever Cymru North title last season, having lifted the NEWFA Challenge Cup in 2022-23.

At 40, he remains a key figure in North Wales football, his experience and expertise proving invaluable to manager Haseldin.

Happy birthday Mark Connolly and many more of them. You’ve been a class act to write about for so many years.