Dundalk FC manager calls for optimism amongst supporters

Newly-appointed manager Ciaran Kilduff has urged Dundalk FC supporters to get behind The Lilywhites ahead of next season’s SSE Airtricity League First Division.

While relegation from the Premier Division was confirmed in October, that followed a major brush with death in September, with then owner Brian Ainscough threatening to enter the club into liquidation before handing over to local barrister John Temple.

Temple has since appointed Kilduff as Jon Daly’s successor on a two-year deal, and also looks set to secure a licence for Dundalk to compete in what would be their 100th season of League of Ireland football.

“There should be (optimism) because when you get to a point where you’re going to close the doors at five o’clock, everything after that feels like a bonus,” Kilduff said when speaking with The Democrat. “That’s the way we have to feel, myself included. I care deeply about the club.

“When the club were going through that period, they weren’t looking for a manager or anything like that. It was me looking on as an old fan about friends I had in the dressing room, about supporters I know very well and a club that I love.

“It’s Dundalk Football Club – I have to keep saying that line to you because that’s what it is. It’s a massive institutional club, it’s a footballing town.

“The thoughts of having no football would have knock-on effects for so many families, kids coming in who go to watch the games at the weekend. This is just a special place.”

He added: “We all want to be successful quickly, straight away, but that’s for me to worry about. I’ll take that role, but I think the fans should really get behind the team this season and really appreciate what we have right now. What we have is a club who are on the rise again, the rising from the ashes kind of feeling from it again.

“We have to come back. You see Shelbourne doing it and other teams have done it themselves over recent years. It takes a bit of luck, a lot of the right people, a lot of hard work, and we’re on the road. We’re hopefully on the rise, fingers crossed.”

Dundalk’s fixtures for 2025 will be released on Tuesday, December 17th, with season tickets now available for purchase or renewal through dundalkfc.com, or by emailing office@dundalkfc.com, or through phoning the main office at Oriel on 042-9335894.

The club have also introduced a new membership scheme, Club 500, which is available to all Dundalk supporters. Included in the package is a 2025 season ticket, 18 match programmes, food before and during each home match, along with 20% off in the club shop, on gym membership and the indoor pitches inside the Youth Development Centre.

Kilduff, along with a player and a coach, will hold an open Q&A with supporters on Monday, December 16th in the Lilywhite Lounge, with the event due to start at 8pm.