Dundalk FC add five new players to their ranks

Ex-Athlone Town goalkeeper Enda Minogue was the last of five new players to arrive at Oriel Park over the weekend, as Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff continued with the composition of his new squad ahead of the SSE Airtricity League First Division season.

The signing of Minogue followed that of Harry Groome, Dean Ebbe, Conor O’Keeffe and Gbemi Arubi – concluding what has been a very positive week for The Lilywhites.

New Dundalk manager Kilduff confirmed recently that several additions had already agreed to join the club, pending its successful 2025 League of Ireland licence application.

Indeed, confirmation of Dundalk’s licence, as well as an avoidance of the SCARP process, was confirmed by owner John Temple at a press briefing at Oriel on Thursday afternoon.

Dundalk’s interest in Minogue was revealed by The Democrat last month, with the former Bray Wanderers, Bohemians and Athlone stopper’s move confirmed on Sunday.

“I’m delighted to get the deal done and delighted to be here. My first game with Bray at 16 was against Dundalk, so it’s kind of a little bit of a full circle moment,” Minogue told DFCTV.

“It has been a few weeks since the play-offs finished. I was disappointed with the result in the play-offs, so I gave myself a few weeks away from it to see what I wanted to do.

“As soon as I spoke to Ciaran, I had a good idea that this is where I wanted to be. The history of the club is definitely something that I would have known, lads in Knocklyon like Dane Massey and Brian Gartland, they’re two players that I would have really looked up to.

“Coming up here, you see the facilities, with the gym and changing rooms, it is a proper club and I think it is one that we can bring back up.”

Ex-Republic of Ireland U19 international Arubi also put pen to paper at Oriel, with the former Shelbourne and Waterford attacker looking forward to his career’s next chapter.

“I’m very excited,” said the 20-year-old. “It’s a massive club. I’m happy to be here and get started.

“Ciaran messaged me. He used to play with Shels, so I watched a few of his games there when I was a young kid. When he called me, he told me he got the job at Dundalk and I was over the moon. He didn’t have to tell me too much to get me here.

“He told me how it’s a footballing town and all the fans just love the club, so that’s just perfect for me. I’ll come here and give the fans what they want to see, and give them a smile on their face every weekend.

“It’s a big town, having a couple of thousand maybe coming out to support us every game here, we just want to get the result for them. Dundalk have 14 league titles – it’s a massive club, so I’m just happy to be here.”

Right-back O’Keeffe, from Mullingar, is the most experienced of the five new signings, having spent the past four seasons with Galway United following a spell in New Zealand.

“I’m really excited,” said the 31-year-old former Drogheda United and Wexford player. “Just coming here this morning, you can see how big the club is and how much history is there.

“I played against Dundalk last season and over the years at different clubs; over the past 10 years, you can just see how big the club is. It’s a huge fan base and a really good football town, so I’m really excited to be here.”

After scoring 15 league goals for Athlone, 30-year-old Ebbe was the First Division’s top goalscorer in 2024, with the well-travelled striker also having spells with Shamrock Rovers, Longford Town, Cabinteely, as well as in the Irish League with Crusaders.

He also enjoyed a successful spell in the Welsh Premier League with The New Saints and Bala Town – scoring 52 goals in 117 appearances throughout his time in Welsh football.

He also spent time in the Scottish Premiership with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while a stint in Gibraltar with Manchester 62 FC preceded a return home to Athlone last year.

“Dundalk is a massive club,” he said. “Talking to Ciaran and talking to a few ex-players, they were saying that I have to go here. I’m looking forward to it, hopefully it’s a good season.

“Ciaran got in touch with my agent. He was at Athlone last season and watched a lot of the games. I met up with him and he gave me a few ideas of what he wants to do for the coming year. I really liked it, so I came on board.

“He explained it, it’s a clean slate now. All that off-the-field stuff is done now, all we can do is concentrate on football and hopefully get us back to where we belong.

“Some of my friends are ex-players here and said how massive it is, the European nights, you’re talking about playing Arsenal only recently. Big nights here are meant to be special, so I’m looking forward to it.”

After signing from Bray on Saturday, Groome was the first of the new arrivals. The 23-year-old midfielder had also previously represented Wexford in the First Division.

“I’m delighted to be here, I’m really looking forward to the year,” he said. “Working with Ciaran and Ken is going to be very good. It seems like a good group we’re putting together.

“The move came around very quick after the play-off final. It was the next day Ken got in touch with me and it was a quick turnaround. I met a few of the lads today and I know a few of them from playing in the league.

“I’ve been very impressed with the facilities, with the gym and media room. It’s a great setup here.”