Dane Massey (born 17 April 1988) is an Irish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

clubs

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''Bray Wanderers A.F.C.'' It was elect ...

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

and

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

, as well as for the

Republic of Ireland national futsal team The Republic of Ireland national futsal team has represented the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Futsal Championship. The Republic of Ireland has, to date, never qualified for the final stages of a major tournament. It has, however, taken part i ...

. Massey has made all 14 of his appearances in European competition for Dundalk and was part of their team that became the first Irish side to reach the play-off round of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

in August 2016.

Early life

Massey grew up in the

Knocklyon Knocklyon () is a suburb of the city of Dublin, located in South Dublin, Ireland. Unlike many Dublin suburbs, Knocklyon was not developed around a village; rather it largely consists of modern housing, with a number of old cottages and farmhous ...

suburb of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and played youth football for Cherry Orchard in the same team as

Simon Madden Simon Madden (born 30 December 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer who played his entire 19-season career with the Essendon Football Club from 1974 until 1992. Madden is one of the most decorated players in the club's history and wi ...

Adam Rooney Adam Christopher David Rooney (born 21 April 1988) is an Irish semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Hereford, where he is also assistant manager. He previously played for Stoke City, spent spells on loan at Yeovil Tow ...

and

Stephen Gleeson Stephen Michael Gleeson (born 3 August 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Hitchin Town. Gleeson played youth football in his native Dublin before coming to England at the age of 15 to join Wolverhampt ...

. His first visit to watch a

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

side play was with his father in 2004 when Shelbourne drew 0−0 with Deportivo La Coruna in a Champions League 3rd qualifying round tie at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

Professional career

Bray Wanderers

Massey came through the underage ranks at

and made the breakthrough to the senior team in 2008. He made his professional debut in a

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

tie against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in May 2008 and went on to play five times that season for the club. In 2009, Massey made 34 appearances and scored his first senior goal against Shamrock Rovers, before going on to score three more goals that season. Massey played 31 times for Bray in the 2010 season and was also named the Supporters' Club Player of the Month for April of that year. He appeared 26 times and scored one goal for Bray in 2011, and added another 27 league appearances in 2012.

Dundalk

Massey left Bray in December 2012 and, despite interest from Bohemians, he signed for Stephen Kenny at

. He cited Kenny's pledge to utilise him in an attacking full-back role, as opposed to the more defensive game he played at Bray, as being one of the deciding factors for the move. Massey made his debut for the club against Shamrock Rovers on the opening night of the 2013 season. He went on to score four times in 30 league appearances as Dundalk finished second in the league to champions

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club, commonly known as Pat's or The Athletic, is a professional List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the League ...

. Massey stayed with Dundalk for the 2014 season and was part of a defence that kept sixteen clean sheets in the league. He also formed an effective partnership down the left-hand side with Daryl Horgan. In July 2014, Massey made his European debut in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

against

Jeunesse Esch Jeunesse Esch (full name ''Association Sportive la Jeunesse d'Esch/Alzette'') is a professional football club based in Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western Luxembourg. The side play in the National Division, the highest league in the country, and ...

. He was named the

League of Ireland Premier Division Player of the Month The League of Ireland Player of the Month is awarded monthly to the best player in the League of Ireland. The winners are selected by Soccer Writers' Ireland, commonly known as the SWI (formerly known as Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland). Wi ...

for September 2014 after his brace of goals helped Dundalk to beat Shamrock Rovers in the League Cup final that month. Those two goals came a week after scoring a free kick in a 5−0 rout of Derry City in the league. He played in all 33 league games, scoring two further goals in wins over Sligo Rovers and UCD, as Dundalk won the Premier Division title. Massey then signed a new contract with the club to extend his stay until the end of 2015.

2015 season

In 2015, Massey went on to make 32 league appearances for the club, scoring four goals in the process, as Dundalk once more won the Premier Division title. In April 2015, his form led to calls in the media for his inclusion in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

national team and manager

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

indicated that he would be following Massey's performances closely. He also appeared in both Champions League Second Qualifying Round matches, as Dundalk were eliminated by

BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov (, ''FK BATE Borisov'' ; , ''BATE Barysaw,'' ), commonly referred to as BATE or BATE Borisov, is a Belarusian professional football team from the city of Barysaw. The club competes in the Belarusian Premier League, of which the ...

. In the first leg in the

Borisov Arena Borisov Arena (, ''Barysaw-Arena''; ) is a football-specific stadium in Barysaw, Belarus and is the home stadium of FC BATE Borisov and the Belarus national football team. The stadium's official capacity is 13,126. History The first official ga ...

, Massey was involved in an altercation with Vitali Rodionov after BATE's second goal, with video footage later revealing Massey had been headbutted. Despite this,

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

imposed no sanction following a public apology from Rodionov. In November 2015, Massey appeared in the FAI Cup Final, in which Dundalk beat Cork City 1–0 after extra-time. He was named in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year at the end of the season.

2016 season

In 2016, Massey played every minute of all 6 of Dundalk's UEFA Champions League qualifier games as they became the first ever Irish side to reach the

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. This included providing an assist for David McMillan to score his second goal in a 3−0 victory over BATE Borisov in the second Qualifying Round. Massey received significant exposure due to this achievement, appearing on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

Saturday Night with Miriam ''Saturday Night with Miriam'' was an Irish talk show first broadcast on RTÉ One in the summer of 2005. The show runs for six weeks as a summer filler, and is overseen by Miriam O'Callaghan, a co-presenter of ''Prime Time''. Format ''Saturda ...

in August 2016.

2017 season

2017 was a less climatic season for Dundalk. They beat rivals Shamrock Rovers 3-0 in the EA Sports Cup to retain their crown, but lost out on both the FAI Cup and the league title to Cork City. Massey scored in a 3-1 away loss to Derry City, and a 2-0 home win against Galway United. He started all 5 of Dundalk's European matches, although their campaign ended prematurely when they were beaten twice over 2 legs by Rosenborg in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. He made 37 appearances in all competitions

2018 season

Massey was named as club captain ahead of the 2018 season, and wore the armband for all of Dundalk's opening 11 league matches. The Lilywhites went all the way in every domestic competition. Massey scored an equaliser in the 119th minute of their EA Sports Cup second round fixture against Saint Pat's. The game ended 4-4 and Dundalk won the subsequent competition. His goal in a 5-2 thrashing of rivals Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium also proved crucial when Dundalk sealed the league title once again. They beat Cork City in the FAI Cup final, but were denied the chance of a domestic treble when they were defeated by Cobh Ramblers in their League Cup semi final. Massey was awarded for his efforts when the Stephen Kenny offered him a new 2 year contract, which he signed on 28 November 2018.

2019 season

At the start of the 2019 season, assistant manager Vinny Perth took over the club as Stephen Kenny took the position of Ireland U21 manager. Massey scored Dundalk's first goal of his tenure when he netted a header in the President's Cup against Cork City in February. During the season, he opened the scoring away to Sligo Rovers and at home to Saint Patrick's Athletic; Dundalk won both matches. Dundalk won a league and cup double for the second year running, but were beaten on penalties by Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup final. Massey played a total of 34 games in all competitions

2020 season

Dane Massey's final season at Dundalk was hindered by injury. He struggled to find his place in the team under new manager Filippo Giavagnoli. He started the season well, scoring Dundalk's first goal of the campaign with a 79th minute winner against Derry City at Oriel Park. His only other goal came against Cobh Ramblers in the FAI Cup. Unfortunately for him, he managed just 9 appearances all season. His injury meant he missed Dundalk's entire Europa League group campaign, and the FAI Cup final which they won. Massey announced on 7 January 2021 that his 8 year spell at Dundalk had come to an end and his contract would not be renewed. He described his time there as "the ride of a lifetime".

Drogheda United

2021 season

On 8 January 2021, just 24 hours after leaving Dundalk, Dane Massey signed a one-year contract with their local rivals, newly promoted Drogheda United. His new manager, Tim Clancy, had been a former teammate of his at Bray Wanderers. He kept a clean sheet on his competitive debut; a 1-0 win over Waterford on 19 March. His first goals in his new colours came in the reverse fixture, a 7-0 thrashing of Waterford's U19 side who had been fielded due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the senior squad, on 8 May. Just a week later, on 14 May, he scored a beautiful free kick against Saint Patrick's Athletic, and continued his form on 21 May when he scored for the third week in a row, bagging a last minute winner away to Finn Harps. Massey's impressive performances led to him playing 33 games for the club in 2021

2022 season

On 9 December 2022, Massey signed a new contract with Drogheda United for a further year. He was also named club captain by new manager Kevin Doherty. He spent most of the campaign playing as a centre back, but an injury to left back

Evan Weir Evan Robert Weir (born 16 April 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Walsall. Club career Born in Ratoath, Weir spent his early career with UCD and Maynooth University Town, before signing for Drogheda U ...

in late September saw Massey deployed in his former fullback position for the final stretch of the season. He finished the campaign with 33 appearances in all competitions.

Return to Bray Wanderers

On 6 December 2022, Massey re-signed for Bray Wanderers a decade after leaving the club. On 8 February 2023, Massey was named as vice-captain to

Dave Webster David A. Webster Jr. (July 23, 1937 – June 23, 2006) in Atlanta, Texas, was an American professional football player who was a cornerback for two seasons with the American Football League's (AFL) Dallas Texans (1960–1961). He was an All-A ...

for the upcoming season. Massey made his second debut for Bray, captaining the side to a 1–0 win away to

Treaty United Treaty United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Limerick. The club was founded in 2020 following the demise of Limerick F.C. and began playing in the League of Ireland Women's Premier Division in 2020 followed by th ...

on the opening day of the 2023 First Division season. He made a total of 30 league appearances in his second spell with the club, scoring 4 goals.

Retirement

On 15 January 2024, he announced his retirement from football, aged 35.

Futsal

Massey also had a career in Futsal before focusing completely on association football. He credits the game with having a huge influence on his skills as a football player and improving his confidence on the ball. Massey made three appearances in the

2007–08 UEFA Futsal Cup The 2007/08 UEFA Futsal Cup was a European futsal cup supported by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It was held between 11 August 2007 and 27 April 2008.The final was held in Krylatskoye Sports Palace in Moscow, Russia and was ...

for Shamrock Rovers, scoring two goals. His debut in this tournament took place in August 2007 when Rovers faced Politekhnik Yerevan. In 2008, Massey went on to represent the Republic of Ireland U21 Futsal team on 3 occasions, scoring 2 goals. He also made 5 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team in the UEFA Futsal Championship qualifying rounds. His brother, Lloyd, also played Futsal for

and the Republic of Ireland national team. They played alongside each other for the national team at 3 UEFA Futsal tournaments.

Personal life

Massey worked as an electrician in the early part of his career to supplement his income alongside playing part-time football. In 2014, Massey balanced training and matchday commitments at Dundalk with working a few mornings a week as an electrician in the

Jervis Shopping Centre The Jervis Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Dublin, Ireland. Opened in 1996, the centre is located in the area bordered by Jervis Street, Upper Abbey Street, Mary Street, and Liffey Street. The centre has more than 90 retail units ...

in Dublin, however he gave this up at the beginning of 2015 to go full-time.

Honours

Dundalk *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

Individual * PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year: 2015 *

: September 2014

References

External links

FAI Stats Portal Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Dane 1988 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers League of Ireland players Bray Wanderers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Republic of Ireland men's futsal players Cherry Orchard F.C. players Association footballers from County Dublin Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Men's association football defenders Drogheda United F.C. players 21st-century Irish sportsmen