Dundalk continue rebuild for Premier return as Kilduff eyes player deals

Dundalk FC manager Ciaran Kilduff is eager to secure a number of key players on new contracts in the coming weeks as preparations intensify for the club’s return to the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division next season.

To date, only Aodh Dervin—named The 1903 Supporters Club Player of the Year on Saturday—along with Daryl Horgan and Leo Gaxha, have been confirmed for the 2026 campaign.

READ NEXT: Leonard’s double Dundalk honour prepares him for U17 World Cup stage

Kilduff, however, hopes to see that list expand sooner rather than later, while acknowledging that negotiations will ultimately depend on the club’s budget and a decision on whether Dundalk will operate on a part-time or full-time basis next term.

“We just need a bit of time now, for the club, for the individuals, to take stock, to get a breather, to literally just reassess,” the Dundalk boss told The Democrat.

“We don’t want to jump to ‘we’re not taking you’ or ‘we are taking you,’ or ‘we are going full-time, we’re not going full-time.’ There are bigger discussions that need to be had. I suppose, as of this exact moment, no, but I can imagine in the next coming days, in the next week or two, of course, decisions will be made.

“Me and John (Temple) have had a great relationship since day one,” he added when asked about the prospect of future outside investment. “I look after the football; he looks after the club. He was actually brilliant for me to work for, in the sense that he never interfered in football.

“I never really go into those discussions either; he takes care of that, I take care of this. In fairness to us, I think if you were to zoom out on that league season, you wouldn’t change much.”

The 2025 season has seen the rise of local talent at Dundalk, with Sean Spaight from Blackrock, TJ Molloy from Castlebellingham, and Shane Tracey from the Avenue Road joining established homegrown players Mayowa Animasahun and Eoin Kenny, who previously lined out for Glenmuir United and Rock Celtic respectively, giving the squad a distinctly local feel.

Adding to that connection, Quay Celtic graduates Calum Woods and Shay Casey both made their senior debuts in Friday night’s 2–1 First Division win over Cobh Ramblers, coming off the bench for the final half-hour, with Casey even providing the assist for the winning goal.

“It’s amazing, and they deserve it,” said Kilduff. “They are local lads, they care about the club, they’ve given a lot of service, they put their bodies on the line.

“It’s an amazing achievement, and it’s testament to the senior players that we were able to give those opportunities tonight. If we were coming down here and we had to try and win the league, you mightn’t get that opportunity, even though we’ve wanted to for a while. That’s a big night for those players, and I think, as a club, we should be very proud.”

With the date for the PTSB Leinster Senior Cup final against St Patrick’s Athletic still to be confirmed, Dundalk’s league campaign has concluded.

The club will now look ahead to celebrating its centenary as a League of Ireland side in 2026—fittingly in the Premier Division, a remarkable revival from less than a year ago when financial turmoil cast doubt on their very licence to compete.

“We lost 18 players,” reflected Kilduff. “Then we were pulling players in that even the most committed Dundalk supporter probably was unsure who these boys were—the two Vaughan brothers, Andy Paraschiv from the Leinster Senior League, lads who were on the fringes of teams, First Division players. We had to hope that it gelled together.

“There’s no one moment, but I think our good start to the season—albeit we weren’t winning 4-0, 5-0, 6-0; we were winning 1-0, but we were winning.

“We’ve literally led from the start; no one has been ahead of us on points from game one to game 36, and I think our start to the season is probably the watershed where belief grew.

“There were so many standout moments, but to be honest, if I was to script the way we would win the league, it would’ve been the way we won it—that’s the truth—to win it at home, come down here with that team, and still find a way to win.

“Something we touch on as a group and as a club as a whole—something that I’ve probably patented in the dressing room—is we find a way. The club found a way back.

“We found ways to win games at times. We found a way to win the title. We took strength, and I think we’ve taken confidence in that from day dot.”