Delayed homecoming for Dundalk as Oriel Park works continue

Dundalk FC’s return to the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division has been handed an early complication, with delays to ongoing redevelopment works at Oriel Park forcing the club’s opening home fixture to be staged away from home.

The Lilywhites begin their top-flight campaign with a daunting trip to Tallaght Stadium to face reigning champions Shamrock Rovers on Friday, February 6th, and were originally scheduled to welcome last season’s runners-up Derry City to Oriel one week later.

READ NEXT: Youthful Dundalk undone as St Peter’s claim emphatic cup win

However, disruption to the installation of a new artificial playing surface and upgrades to the stadium’s floodlighting — works that commenced last November — has necessitated a change of venue.

Following a formal request from Dundalk to the League of Ireland, and with the agreement of Derry, the fixture has been switched to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

The rearrangement leaves Ciaran Kilduff’s newly promoted side facing consecutive away trips against last season’s top two, although the return meeting between the clubs on April 10th, originally set for Derry, will now take place in Oriel.

Subject to no further delays, Dundalk’s first home outing of the season is now expected to be the Louth derby against Drogheda United on February 20th.

The club has previously reported strong progress on the redevelopment of Oriel, with the €70,000 drawdown required to commence the project met by the Supporters Trust and the remaining costs covered by a Sports Capital Grant awarded in September 2024.

On the field, Dundalk’s pre-season preparations began on Sunday afternoon with a youthful side suffering a 5–2 defeat to St Peter’s in Athlone in their opening PTSB Leinster Senior Cup Group A fixture.

Their campaign continues on Tuesday, January 13th, with a meeting against Shelbourne at the Muirhevnamor Sports Centre (kick-off, 7:45pm), as Oriel remains unavailable.

Further preparations include a friendly away to UCD in Belfield this Friday evening (kick-off, 7:45pm), followed by the final group-stage match of the Leinster Senior Cup against Athlone Town on Saturday, January 24th (kick-off, 3pm).

The traditional Jim Malone Cup clash with Drogheda United is expected to take place in Drogheda on Friday, January 30th, although the date has yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the club’s fortunes were significantly uplifted today by the re-signing of Eoin Kenny, who had been the subject of cross-channel interest from both Blackpool and Lincoln City.

Dundalk remain hopeful of strengthening their squad further, with the possibility of adding up to two more players to their current 23-man panel.

While the club has explored recruitment opportunities across a wider market, two names linked in recent weeks — Jesse Williams and Chrisnovic N’sa — will not be arriving at Oriel, with N’sa having since signed for Maltese side Gzira United following a brief pre-Christmas trial spell.

2026 Dundalk FC Squad (as of January 12th): Enda Minogue, Conor Kearns; Conor O’Keeffe, Mayowa Animasahun, Luke Mulligan, Vinnie Leonard, Sean Spaight, JR Wilson, Harvey Warren, Bobby Burns; Aodh Dervin, Daryl Horgan, Harry Groome, Leo Gaxha, Norman Garbett, Shane Tracey, Declan McDaid, Ronan Teahan, Keith Buckley; Gbemi Arubi, Eoin Kenny, TJ Molloy, Danny Mullen.

Confirmed Departures: Sammy Safaei (Harland & Wolff Welders – loan); Sean McHale (St Patrick’s Athletic – end of loan), Ethen Vaughan (released); Andy Paraschiv (released); Dean Ebbe (Ballymena United), Rohan Vaughan (Queens Park Rangers – end of loan)