Dundalk FC manager says "It’s an honour to manage this great club"

Reflecting on a triumphant 2024 that saw him lead Athlone Town to an historic first-ever Women’s National League title, Ciaran Kilduff exudes enthusiasm as he begins to embrace his next challenge: taking the helm at Oriel Park as the manager of Dundalk FC.

October’s league triumph was not Kilduff’s first managerial success. Just a year earlier, in his debut season, he led Athlone to a dramatic FAI Cup final victory at Tallaght Stadium, clinching the trophy in a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out against Shelbourne.

In 2024, the Westmeath side recorded wins in 15 of their 20 fixtures, edging out Shels by just two points to claim the league championship.

However, their quest for the double fell short at the last hurdle, as they succumbed to the Dublin outfit in the FAI Cup final.

The past two seasons mark a striking feat for a club that joined the league in 2020; and for a manager who only embarked on his managerial journey less than 18 months ago.

Kilduff’s achievements were recognised at the recent PFAI awards ceremony, where he was crowned Women’s Premier Division Manager of the Year.

Yet, the modest 36-year-old doesn’t appear drawn on individual accolades, even if it was his first in management.

“It’s testament to the people I had around me, my family, the staff and the players,” he says in an interview with The Democrat. “It’s been a pretty tough year.

“I don’t think there’s any jobs in football, especially in this country, that are easy. It was a really rewarding, tough year and it was great to finish with an individual honour, but it’s all about the collective.

“Winning the league, qualifying for the Champions League and getting to the Cup final, you could ask for no more.

“Thankfully, I was lucky enough to be with a group and we won it all,” he adds. “We won the FAI Cup in 2023, we won the league and the President’s Cup in 2024 and then we lost an FAI Cup final in 2024, so I’ve had the full experience. I’m so proud of that period. I’ve learned so much as a manager and a coach.”

Kildare-native Kilduff tendered his resignation from Athlone just hours after the conclusion of the recent FAI Cup final. It didn’t take long, however, for his name to emerge as one of the leading contenders to succeed Jon Daly in the Oriel dugout.

“The decision (to leave) was made personally with me and my family long before the season ended,” he confirms. “As I said, I’d experienced it all, won it all and was ready to move on for a fresh challenge.

“I’d been previously offered managers jobs in the men’s game and I turned them down. I took a women’s job because I knew I could do a good job there. I just knew, though, it was probably coming to the end of its timescale for me.

“I knew I was going to move on, but it all ended amicably in Athlone and I wish them well. They’re very happy with the job I’ve done and I’m very happy with the support I got down there, but moving on at the end of the season was always the plan, to be honest.”

Kilduff is no unfamiliar face in Dundalk. He joined the club as a player midway through the 2015 season under the stewardship of Stephen Kenny, who recognised the ex-Kildare County, UCD, Cork City, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic forward’s talent.

Indeed, he netted on his Lilywhites debut, coming off the substitutes’ bench in place of David McMillan to score in a 1-0 win versus Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.

Dundalk went on to secure both the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title and FAI Cup that season.

However, it was the following year in which Kilduff etched his name into Oriel folklore, helping in the delivery of another Premier title, as well as scoring two of the most lucrative goals in the club’s history during the Europa League group phase.

He first struck with a dramatic late header against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, salvaging a vital Europa League point for The Lilywhites – a feat that is yet to be replicated by another League of Ireland club.

Then, on the night of his 28th birthday, he followed up with a stunning cameo off the bench versus Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv, scoring the decisive goal in an historic 1-0 victory in Tallaght.

Less than a decade on, Dundalk faces a starkly different reality. A fixture in the League of Ireland’s top division for 16 seasons, they recently suffered relegation to the second tier.

Moreover, a combined operating loss of €2,852,634 over a six-year period, spanning from 2018 to 2023, brought the club perilously close to liquidation – a fate narrowly averted when local barrister John Temple assumed ownership in September of this year.

Kilduff was named manager in November, yet Dundalk’s future in the League of Ireland hung in the balance until the club secured the requisite licence the following month.

He was approached for the role almost immediately after concluding his final match in the Women’s game, underscoring the urgency and confidence behind the appointment.

“Within about three or four days after the Cup final,” he replies after being asked when Dundalk first made contact. “They were waiting to see how the Cup final ended and what my position was.

“They rang me a few times and I actually missed the calls because I was a bit disillusioned after the Cup final with football and needed a few days.

“It’s Dundalk Football Club,” he swiftly enthuses. “It’s a massive club, a club that I care a lot about personally. I had great days with supporters who I still know and talk to every time I’m up there.

“Of course, when they came knocking, and speaking to John and stuff like that, it was a very, very productive and exciting opportunity for me.

“Dundalk are in the trenches right now,” he admits. “I’m probably looking at this from an opportunity point of view. I won’t be the reason they got relegated, but I might have a role to play in getting them back to where they belong.

“That’s the ‘glass half full’ approach, there’s a lot of upside here. It’s an honour to manage and coach this great club. I’ve got a great opportunity and that’s the way I’m looking at it.”

After leaving Dundalk in 2017, Kilduff finished out his playing days with Jacksonville Armada in the USA before returning home to Shelbourne, where he retired in 2020.

He thereafter took his first steps into the world of coaching as assistant manager of non-league Maynooth University Town, who impressively reached the quarter-final stage of the FAI Cup in 2021. He later managed their Women’s side prior to his spell in Athlone.

“I never treated it any different from a men and women’s team,” says Kilduff. “I approach my philosophies, everything, the way we work, the intensity, the demands, it’s the exact same as what I’ll be doing in Dundalk. Hopefully it’ll bear fruit as well because I’ve got a big job ahead of me there too.

“I’ve been in football dressing rooms for 20 years. It’s transferable, it’s football at the end of the day. I was managing against really good coaches in the Women’s League.

“It transfers over, it doesn’t just work one way, but that’s something that fuels me too. This is football for me.

“As I said, turning down men’s roles to take a women’s role is purely down to the testament that I didn’t really mind.

“It was a footballing decision to take Dundalk. It was nothing to do with a men’s role being better than a women’s one. A footballing decision has led me back to Oriel and I’m really excited to be in the position I’m in.”

With the fixtures for next year released on Tuesday, December 17th, Dundalk will soon embark on a campaign they hope will mark an immediate return to the Premier Division.

As preparations continue, Kilduff, who believes that now is the ideal moment to take charge, recently unveiled his first signings as manager – welcoming Enda Minogue, Gbemi Arubi, Conor O’Keeffe, Dean Ebbe, and Harry Groome to the squad last weekend.

“I’ve come at the best time, only because I know that the fans are understanding of the situation we’re in,” says Kilduff.

“I’ve taken over a relegated team who have now got to restructure and regain the faith of the fans. I’m a young manager, but this is not something that I’m in awe of or anything like that. I have confidence from all the roles I’ve done.

“I’ve played at the club and will really give this my best. To be honest, that’s all I will do. It’s about getting young, hungry players in the building and people who are going to roll up their sleeves and accept where we are right now.

“We won’t be here forever, I guarantee you that. I’m hoping I’ll be one of, if not the one who gets us back to where we belong.”