Ian Lawlor

Manchester City

Development side

In Lawlor's first season he suffered a dislocated shoulder, ruling him out for most of the season. Lawlor was a regular for Manchester City's development side, initially taking the number one spot following Eirik Johansen's loan to Scunthorpe United. He went on the club's first team tour of Austria in the pre-season of 2012–13 and continued his battle for the under-21 goalkeeping spot against Johansen and Angus Gunn. In the 2013–14 season, Lawlor was involved with the first team on the nights of some Champions League matches. He also played both legs as the development side lost the Under-21 Premier League Cup final to Reading. Lawlor was included in the squad for a 2014–15 pre-season friendly against Sporting Kansas City.

2015–16 season

Lawlor received his first experience of playing senior football following an emergency loan move Barnet on 13 December 2015, necessitated by injuries to Graham Stack and Jamie Stephens. He went straight into goal for a match against Yeovil Town. Lawlor made a total of five appearances, keeping one clean sheet. His displays at Barnet and youth level then earned him a loan move to Bury for the rest of the season on 7 January 2016, a side who had monitored him for some time. He made his debut two days later in an FA Cup match against Bradford City, in which he kept a clean sheet. He made his league debut for the club on 16 January 2016 in a 3–2 loss to Walsall. In the FA Cup…

Despite being a regular squad player for the Republic of Ireland's youth teams, it was not until he reached under-19 level that he established himself. He made a total of six appearances as an under-19 and made his under-21 debut against Qatar. In May 2014, he was called up to the senior squad due to Rob Elliot's unavailability, appearing on the bench for friendlies against Italy, Costa Rica and Portugal. In October 2016, Lawlor was called into the senior squad again for World Cup qualifying following an injury to Keiren Westwood. In May 2018, Lawlor was one of six goalkeepers called up to a provisional squad for matches against Celtic, France and United States.

According to Doncaster Rovers former manager Darren Ferguson, Lawlor is "quick, he's agile for a big lad....He plays at a good tempo and if he has to kick, he kicks a hell of a way. He's got good accuracy....He's got a lot of potential, he's a good size, good with his feet."

Lawlor's father, John, was a goalkeeper at a junior level and inspired his son, helping him with training beyond that which was scheduled for him. As part of this training, Lawlor would often watch videos of Oliver Kahn. His first youth club was St. Malachy's in Edenmore, from which he moved to the more high-profile Home Farm academy. Here he was spotted by Manchester City scout Mick Collins. Lawlor went to school at Chanel College in Dublin, playing football for his school team.