Dundalk Football Club ( ) is a professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club that competes in the
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...
. It was founded in 1903 as Dundalk G.N.R., the
works-team of the
Great Northern Railway. It is based in
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 ...
,
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
and its home ground is
Oriel Park
Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...
. The club crest is three
martlet
A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expr ...
s on a shield, which was adopted from the town's
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
. The team's traditional kit colours are white shirts, black shorts, and white or black socks.
Dundalk were a junior club until they were invited to join the
Leinster Senior League in 1922–23. After playing at that level for four seasons, they were elected to the
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 ...
for the
1926–27 season.
Six seasons later, they became the first club from outside
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 ...
to win the league title. As of 2024, they have won 47 trophies at national level, including 14 League titles and 12
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 ...
s (with four League and Cup '
Doubles'). They are the only club to have won a league title or an FAI Cup in every decade since the 1930s.
They made their
European debut in the
1963–64 European Cup
The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...
and that season became the first Irish side to win an away match in Europe. Their best performance in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
was in
1979–80, when they reached the last 16, and they reached the last 16 of the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
in
1981–82. They are the only Irish club to have qualified more than once for 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 ...
group stage and, in
2016–17, they became the first team from Ireland to both win points and win a match at that level of European competition. They remain the only Irish team to have won points in the Europa League group stage as of the 2024–25 European season.
History
Dundalk G.N.R. (1903–1930)

The Dundalk Great Northern Railway (G.N.R.) Football Club was established during the 1883–84 season as a
rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league.
Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...
club. They played their final rugby match in February 1903, and in September 1903 the club switched codes to
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
setting in motion their journey to become the modern-day Dundalk F.C. The new club, known locally as "the Railwaymen", adopted the Dundalk Athletic Grounds (a facility near the town centre shared by several sporting codes) as its home ground. They played challenge matches at first, then became founder members of the first Dundalk and District League (DDL), formed in 1906. There are no records of the club being active between 1907–08 and 1912–13, but they re-joined the local league in 1913–14 for what was the final season before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
The local league was dormant during the war, but the G.N.R. club entered both the Irish Junior Cup and Leinster Junior Cup competitions during the war years. After exiting the Irish Junior Cup in January 1917, the club was inactive again for the following two seasons. It re-formed for 1919–20, affiliated with the
Leinster Football Association
The Leinster Football Association (LFA) is the governing body for association football in the Irish province of Leinster. It is responsible for organizing the Leinster Senior Cup and the Leinster Senior League as well as numerous other leagues ...
, and joined both the Newry and District League and the revived DDL. The G.N.R. club spent three seasons in the DDL, winning it twice, and represented the district in both Junior Cup competitions those seasons. They reached the Leinster Junior Cup final in 1920 (the club's first cup final), which they lost to Avonmore after two replays.
Their junior record led to them being elected to the Leinster Senior League for 1922–23, to replace sides that had been promoted to the nascent Free State League. They spent four seasons at that level, before being elected to the
Free State League on 15 June 1926 to replace Dublin club
Pioneers as the national league looked to spread to the provinces.
On 21 August 1926, they travelled to
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
to face
Fordsons for their league debut, eventually finishing eighth in the
1926–27 season. The team represented the G.N.R. works in name only by this stage, and the club's management committee decided to make it independent of the company. New colours of white shirts and blue shorts with a crest of the town's coat of arms were adopted in December 1927.
They contested their first cup final as a senior club in April 1929, the Leinster Senior Cup final, which they lost after a replay. It was the last time that the club was billed to appear as 'Dundalk G.N.R.', and the name of the club was formally changed to 'Dundalk A.F.C.' in the summer of 1930.
The works teams
When Dundalk G.N.R. joined the
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 ...
in 1926, it was one of four
works-teams in the 10-team league—the others being
Jacobs
Jacobs may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
*Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK
* Jacobs (coffee), a German brand of coffee
* Jacobs Solutions, an American international technical professi ...
,
St. James's Gate
St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, Dublin, James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrima ...
and
Fordsons. Another railway works-team—
Midland Athletic of the
Midland Great Western Railway
The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the had a network of , making it Ireland's ...
—had competed for two seasons but had resigned when the company went through a
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
. By
1944–45, Dundalk were the only club with works-team roots remaining. Another works-team,
Transport
Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
(sponsored by
CIÉ
, or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic of Ireland and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Hold ...
), joined in
1948–49 but were not re-elected for
1962–63, leaving Dundalk again as the only surviving club with works-team roots. The works themselves became ''Dundalk Engineering Works Ltd'' with the demise of the G.N.R.(I) company in 1958.
First successes (1930–1949)
With a new manager,
Steve Wright, Dundalk finished as runners-up in both the League and the
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 ...
in
1930–31. Proof that they could compete at a national level gave the management committee the confidence to form a membership-based limited company, 'Dundalk A.F.C. Limited', in January 1932.
In the
1932–33 season, they became the first team from outside Dublin to win a league title, sealing it in
Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...
with their first victory over
Bohemians.
In becoming champions, they also became the first team from outside Dublin or Belfast to win a league title in Ireland since the inception of the original
Irish League in 1890. Hoping to improve revenue, the club decided to move from the Athletic Grounds. In 1936, the committee secured land on the Carrick Road owned by P.J. Casey (a former committee member) on a long-term lease, and named it '
Oriel Park
Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...
'.
After winning the league title, they were runners-up eight times across the five main competitions (League,
Shield
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
, FAI Cup,
Dublin City Cup and
Leinster Senior Cup), before winning the 1937–38 City Cup, which was their first cup final victory.
They won their first FAI Cup (in their fourth appearance in the fina) with victory over
Cork United in
Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...
in
1942
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...
.
Five weeks later, they won the inaugural
Dublin and Belfast Inter-City Cup to become (unofficially) 'Champions of All Ireland'.
The following September, in the new season, the City Cup was won for a second time.
During the mid-1940s, the management committee relied on player sales to English clubs to bankroll the club, as gate receipts alone did not meet its running costs. After missing out in both the League and the City Cup by a point in
1947–48, the committee decided to invest the surplus from its transfer dealings on several professional players from Scotland and a player-coach,
Ned Weir. The investment paid off when the City Cup was won for a third time at the start of the new season by topping its new league format unbeaten, while the club's second FAI Cup was won with victory over Shelbourne in the
1949 final. But the new team fell short in both the Shield and the League and, despite the cup double and improved gate receipts, the additional income was not enough to cover the increase in costs.
Struggles and recovery (1950–1964)
The attempt to maintain a full-time squad had not paid off and the 1949 cup-winning team was broken up. A surplus from transfer dealings prevented a more serious financial crisis arising,
and despite the turnover in players, Dundalk won the Leinster Senior Cup for the first time in 1950–51. The cutbacks started to have an impact, and they finished second from bottom in the league table the
following season. They went on a memorable FAI Cup run, however, coming from 3–1 down against Waterford in a semi-final replay to win 6–4 in extra time; then defeated
Cork Athletic in the
1952 FAI Cup final (also in a replay), to win the Cup for a third time.
Midway through the
1952–53 season, Club Secretary
Sam Prole left to take over at
Drumcondra.
Prole, a Great Northern Railway employee, had played for Dundalk G.N.R. in junior football, and had been Secretary for 25 years. He had been responsible for the club's transfer activities, and player sales tailed off after his departure. The subsequent drop in income obliged the club to cut costs, and they finished bottom of the league in the two seasons after he left. They continued to struggle for the rest of the decade but, in contrast to their league form, they won their fourth FAI Cup with a 1–0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in the
1958 final.
Having not challenged for the League or Shield during the 1950s, they ended the decade at the top of the league table, with new signing
Jimmy Hasty, the 'one-armed wonder', starring for the side. Although they subsequently fell short of winning the title, the club was competitive again. A second Leinster Senior Cup was won in 1960–61, and a first league title in 30 years followed in
1962–63. That success meant that Dundalk entered European competition for the first time, where they became the first Irish side to win an away leg of a European tie by beating
FC Zurich
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
, 2–1 (in a 4–2 aggregate defeat), in the
1963–64 European Cup
The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...
.
They could not manage to retain the title
that season, finishing as runners-up, and they were also runners-up in the Shield. But they did win the season-end
Top Four Cup for the first time.
Takeover, rise and fall (1964–1974)
A poor 1964–65 followed, and the club's management committee decided that it was time to hire a modern-style
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, who would have sole responsibility for recruitment and player selection. They appointed
Gerry Doyle, who had spent most of his career as both a player and a coach with Shelbourne. The new season saw little improvement, however, and with financial losses growing and investment in Oriel Park needed, it became clear early in the 1965–66 season that the membership-based ownership model could not provide the financial support required to take the club forward. A new
public limited company
A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a limited liability co ...
took over in January 1966, after the voluntary liquidation of the old company.
The new board invested heavily in both Oriel Park and the squad ahead of the
1966–67 season, and signed a new
player-coach
A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
,
Alan Fox, from
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander.
The club was founded in 1903 and ...
. The pay-off was immediate. Dundalk finally won their first
League of Ireland Shield, then charged to the league title, winning it by seven points, to seal the club's only League and Shield Double. They then won that season's Top Four Cup to complete the club's first 'treble' of trophies in one season.
The
following season, Oriel Park hosted
European football
UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...
for the first time, under newly installed floodlights, with the visit of
Vasas SC
Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest.
Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...
of Hungary.
But Fox fell out with the club's board during the trip to Budapest for the return leg, and he was released the following March, despite his side being set to retain the title. The Dublin City Cup of 1967–68 was his final success at the club. Dundalk subsequently finished as runners-up in the League, qualifying for the
1968–69 Fairs Cup, where they won a European tie for the first time with victory over
DOS Utrecht.
But fourth-place in the League
that season, and another City Cup, was all that the remnants of Fox's team could achieve.
Future Ireland manager
Liam Tuohy took over in the summer of 1969 and also joined the board, and as a result of his managerial experience, Dundalk entered the new decade at the top of the league table. But Tuohy was obliged to thin the squad and cut the wage bill because of the scale of the debts still hanging over the club from the redevelopment of Oriel Park,
and he could not build a side able to sustain a title challenge. The
1971–72 Shield success would be the high point of his reign,
and he quit at the end of that season, criticising a lack of local support in the process. His only other trophy at the club was the 1970–71 Leinster Senior Cup.
Dundalk had to sell or release several players to survive after Tuohy left,
and they slid down the table with a young, inexperienced team finishing second from bottom in
1972–73. To recover the situation, a new board took over the running of the club, and hired
John Smith from
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
as player-manager. After renegotiating the club's debts, they were able to provide Smith with funds to sign several players. Smith delivered a Leinster Senior Cup in his first season, but they subsequently fell away in the league after a good start, and Smith quit two matches into his second season for a job outside football.
A trophy-laden era (1975–1995)
The club then appointed
Jim McLaughlin as player-manager in November 1974,
and it was under McLaughlin that they recovered and reached a new level of success. With the remnants of Smith's squad, and players unwanted elsewhere, he won his first league title (the club's fourth) in
1975–76, losing one match in the process. The title brought European football back to the town for the first time since 1969 and in the
following season's European Cup, they met
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
and were deemed unlucky not to win the first leg at home.
That match started an unbeaten run in Europe in Oriel Park of eight matches over the following five seasons. They ended the 1976–77 season by winning the Leinster Senior Cup, and a week later won the club's first FAI Cup since
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
when they defeated
Limerick United in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
.
League form had been mixed in the two seasons following the league title and, despite winning their
first League Cup and retaining the Leinster Senior Cup, a poor end to the
1977–78 league season led to rumours that McLaughlin would be let go. The club supported the "reorganisation" he demanded, however, and it used the funds from the sale of three players to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
to invest in the squad and make ground improvements at Oriel. McLaughlin's second league title followed in
1978–79, and they went on to defeat Waterford in the
Cup final to complete the club's first League and Cup
Double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
. The Double winning side's
1979–80 European Cup
The 1979–80 European Cup was the 25th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won by holders Nottingham Forest in the final against Hamburg. The winning goal was scored by John Robertson, who d ...
run the following season, where they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals (losing 3–2 on aggregate to
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
),
was the club's best European performance until
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 ...
.
They finished as runners-up in the league for the next two seasons, and achieved their only domestic cup double in 1980–81—winning both the
League Cup and the
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 ...
. McLaughlin's third and final league title at the club arrived in
1981–82, after an early season 10-point gap to Bohemians was overhauled. A trophy-less
1982–83 season, which saw them miss out on Europe, signalled that the team was entering a transition period. McLaughlin resigned in May 1983, saying he needed a change.
After two seasons that ended in mid-table, former player
Turlough O'Connor was appointed ahead of the League's split into two divisions in
1985–86. O'Connor quickly built a squad capable of challenging for honours and his sides consistently finished in the top four for the following eight seasons. They won the
1987 League Cup, and finished as runners-up in both the League and the FAI Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in five years. The
following season started with a visit from Cup Winners' Cup holders
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
, and ended with the club's second League and Cup
Double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
—with the title being won on the last day of the season, and the
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 ...
being won with victory over
Derry City.
O'Connor won his second League Cup in
1989–90, and another league title followed in
1990–91 in an end of season, winner takes all match in
Turners Cross against
Cork City
Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
. But Dundalk spurned an opportunity to progress in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
, when a 1–1 draw away to
Honved was followed by a 0–2 home defeat. Attendances started to drop noticeably during
1992–93, as the new English
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
broadcast live on
BSkyB
Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers ...
was growing in popularity. By the end of the season, the board was facing financial issues that threatened the club's survival—a "healthy" surplus in 1989,
had become a serious deficit, with income falling due to some of the lowest gate receipts in memory. The
1993–94 season started with mixed results, with away victories being followed by defeats at home and, after a home defeat to
Monaghan United, O'Connor resigned.
O'Connor was replaced by
Dermot Keely
Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession.
Family
Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne., h ...
, who had captained the club under Jim McLaughlin. The older players were released, and a thin squad struggled—missing out on the 'Top Six'
round-robin that decided the title. They played out the final third of the season in a meaningless 'bottom six' round-robin in front of tiny crowds, which contributed to the worsening financial position. Early the
following season, the financial issues came to a head, and several local businessmen formed a new interim company to take the club over, saving it from bankruptcy.
Despite the financial problems, Keely led his team to the club's ninth league title on a dramatic final day. Starting the day in third place in the table, they needed to win their match at home to
Galway United and for both Shelbourne and Derry City to fail to win their games. They won their match and news eventually filtered through that both of their challengers had failed to win, confirming Dundalk as champions.
Decline (1995–2012)
The 1994–95 title did not halt the club's decline, and Keely did not see out the title defence, quitting midway through the
1995–96 season—reportedly frustrated at being unable to strengthen his squad. Dundalk sank down the table and had to survive a promotion/relegation play-off in
1996–97. The board turned to Jim McLaughlin to try to turn things around, but early in the
1998–99 season it was revealed that the club was in serious financial trouble again and the whole squad had been transfer-listed.
An end-of-season collapse saw the club drop from the top-tier for the first time, with relegation confirmed 20 years to the day after they had won their first Double.
The club was taken over by a supporters'
co-op
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
in 2000,
and initial expectations were of an immediate return to the top-flight. But Dundalk became embroiled in a losing battle with the league's hierarchy and
Kilkenny City over the latter playing an improperly registered player, which reached the
High Court. The following season, the co-op invested heavily in the playing squad and, under new manager
Martin Murray, they were promoted as
2000–01 First Division Champions. Although seemingly well-placed for the return to the top-flight, they were relegated again the
following season, with the league being reduced from 12 teams to 10.
Despite this setback, Murray's side won the club's ninth FAI Cup a week later, with victory over Bohemians in
the final.
After being relegated again, Dundalk were stuck in the lower reaches of the First Division for the next four seasons. With no sign of promotion, the co-op members agreed to the club being taken back into private ownership by its CEO, Gerry Matthews. They finished second under new manager John Gill in
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, securing a play-off tie against Waterford United. Even though they won the play-off, they were still denied a place in the
2007 Premier Division, with
Galway United (who had finished third in that season's First Division) selected by the
FAI's 2006 IAG Report to be promoted ahead of both Dundalk and Waterford. In 2008, they won promotion back to the
Premier Division, pipping Shelbourne to the top spot on the final night of the season. Gill was replaced by
Ian Foster for the return to the top flight, despite winning the First Division title.
At first, Dundalk stabilised their position back in the Premier Division—qualifying for the
2010–11 Europa League, leading the league table midway through the 2010 season, and reaching the
2011 Setanta Sports Cup final. But results subsequently deteriorated and, with financial losses mounting as the
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
season drew to a close, Matthews decided to let Foster's contract expire and relinquish control of the club.
With the club in danger of insolvency during a disastrous
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, it was taken over by local businessmen Andy Connolly and Paul Brown (owners of the team's official sponsors, Fastfix), and Dundalk subsequently managed to remain in the top-flight by defeating Waterford United in the play-off.
Revival and dominance (2013–2020)
Having saved the club, the new owners turned to
Stephen Kenny to become the new manager. They mounted an unexpected title challenge in his
first season, eventually finishing as runners-up. Kenny kept the nucleus of the new side together for the
following season, and went on to guide the club to its first league title since
1994–95. They also won that season's
League Cup, the club's first League and League Cup Double. The
2015 season saw them dominate, winning the club's third League and FAI Cup
Double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
—with the title being won by 11-points and the Cup with victory over Cork City in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
. They also won the Leinster Senior Cup—the club's first 'treble' of trophies since
1966–67. A third successive league title was sealed with two games to spare in
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 ...
.
2016 also saw the club qualify for the
Champions League play-off round, after they first defeated
FH of Iceland, then came from a goal down in the tie to defeat
BATE Borisov 3–1 on aggregate.
They drew
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
for the play-off, with the first leg played in the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...
in Dublin in front of a crowd of 30,417.
They suffered a 2–0 defeat in the home leg, but shocked Legia in the return leg by taking a 1–0 lead. Legia equalised late in the game and won the tie 3–1 on aggregate. As a result, Dundalk qualified for the group stage of 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 ...
. A draw with
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...
in the Netherlands, followed by a victory over
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...
in
Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...
, were the first points earned by an Irish club in the group stage of European competition.
The departure of some key players after the European run, and a slow start to the
new season, meant that they slipped to runners-up spots in both league and FAI Cup although they won their sixth
League Cup. The club's European form had attracted interest from abroad, however, and a consortium of American investors led by
PEAK6 completed a takeover in January 2018.
Kenny's side reasserted itself in
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 ...
, winning another League and Cup Double—the second under Kenny and fourth in the club's history—breaking points-total and goals scored-total records in the process. In the aftermath, Kenny resigned in order to accept the
Republic of Ireland U-21 manager's role.

Hoping to achieve continuity, the new owners replaced Kenny with his assistant manager,
Vinny Perth, as head coach, with John Gill returning as first-team coach. Despite falling 13-points behind early
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 ...
leaders Shamrock Rovers in April, they overhauled the deficit within weeks, and subsequently won the club's 14th league title, with four games to spare. They also won the League Cup by defeating Derry City on penalties in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, to secure a second League and League Cup Double.
They were denied a first domestic
Treble of League, FAI Cup and League Cup, however, when they were beaten in a penalty shoot-out in the
FAI Cup Final. But they ended the season with a comprehensive 7–1 aggregate victory over Northern Irish champions,
Linfield, in the inaugural
Champions Cup.
Early the
following season, a goal scored by
Jordan Flores went
viral and was subsequently nominated for the
FIFA Puskás Award.
Soon after, the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
saw the cessation of football in line with other European countries. The season resumed with a reduced schedule of 18 matches in total and matches being played behind closed doors. Manager Vinny Perth was dismissed following Dundalk's exit from Europe in the first qualifying round of the
2020–21 UEFA Champions League
The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea defea ...
. He was replaced by Italian
Filippo Giovagnoli. Dundalk subsequently qualified for the group stage of the
2020–21 Europa League
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
after victories over
Inter Club d'Escaldes
Inter Club d'Escaldes is an Andorra, Andorran professional association football, football club based in Escaldes-Engordany. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió, where it is a three-time champion.
History
Inter Club d'Escaldes was foun ...
,
Sheriff Tiraspol
Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier o ...
and
KÍ Klaksvik in the qualifying rounds. They were drawn in Group B alongside
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...
, and
Molde
Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...
. They failed to win any points and finished bottom of the group.
In the
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 ...
, they had an 11–0 semi-final victory over
Athlone Town
Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...
—setting a new record for the biggest win in the competition's history, which was also a new club record victory.
They followed that with a 4–2 extra-time victory over Shamrock Rovers, with
David McMillan scoring a hat-trick, to
win the Cup for a twelfth time and qualify for Europe for a 25th time.
Upheaval (2021–present)
The
2021 season
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
saw
Shane Keegan named first-team manager, with Giovagnoli reverting to the position of 'coach' because he did not have a
UEFA Pro Licence
The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...
. The season began with a victory in the
President's Cup, but after a run of defeats at the start of the league campaign, both Keegan and Giovagnoli left the club. Dundalk struggled for the remainder of the domestic season with their lowest league finish since 2012, and they went out to
Vitesse Arnhem
SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...
in the third qualifying round of the inaugural
Europa Conference League. Before the season ended, the club was returned to local ownership when a consortium led by former co-owner Andy Connolly and sports technology firm STATSports agreed a takeover with Peak6.
The new owners then installed former captain
Stephen O'Donnell as the club's new head coach in the close season.
In his first season in charge, O'Donnell steered his new-look side to a third-place finish and qualification for the Europa Conference League. They failed to capitalise in
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, exiting the Conference League in the
second qualifying round
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
and finishing mid-table and outside the European qualification places. The club's finances were quickly deteriorating and there was another change of ownership in the close season, when it was taken over by a US-based Irish businessman, Brian Ainscough.
A poor start to the
2024 season resulted in O'Donnell being let go,
beginning a turbulent month in which he was replaced by
Noel King, whose tenure lasted 25 days before he resigned citing medical issues. Head of Football Operations
Brian Gartland was sacked during that period, following a clash with the owner over King's appointment. Gartland later sued the club for
wrongful dismissal
In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...
and on 29 January 2025, it was ordered by the
Workplace Relations Commission
The Workplace Relations Commission (also known as its abbreviation, the WRC and sometimes referred to as the Commission) is the independent State agency responsible for industrial relations in Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, ...
to pay him a sum of €64,434 in relation to three separate workplace breaches.
The club hired
Jon Daly to replace King and there was a brief improvement in form. However, in September, after several defeats and with seven games left to play, Daly confirmed that players and staff at the club had not been paid. It was subsequently revealed that the club had amassed losses of €1.2 million to the end of 2023 and was in danger of
insolvency
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
before the end of the season. Ainscough passed control of the holding company to a Dundalk-based barrister, John Temple, which avoided a mid-season withdrawal from the league.
The concurrent collapse in form was not halted and relegation was confirmed before the end of the season, with Daly leaving after the final match.
Ciarán Kilduff
Ciarán Kilduff (born 29 September 1988) is an Irish football manager and former professional Association football, footballer, who is the manager of League of Ireland First Division club Dundalk F.C., Dundalk. He has played for seven clubs in ...
, who had played for the club during Stephen Kenny's reign, was named the new manager within days, and the club was belatedly awarded a licence to compete in the 2025
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...
, following Temple's efforts to get the debt situation under control, thus avoiding
examinership
Examinership is a process in Law of the Republic of Ireland, Irish law whereby the protection of the Court is obtained to assist the survival of a company. It allows a company to restructure with the approval of the High Court (Ireland), High ...
.
Crest and colours
Crest history

After outgrowing its links with the Great Northern Railway, the football club adopted the then coat of arms of the town of Dundalk (three gold
martlet
A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expr ...
s on an azure field) in December 1927, and incorporated the crest on the club's new white playing shirts.
This coat of arms had represented the town since 1673, when it was granted a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
under
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
. It appears as the 'Corporation Seal' in a town plan dated 1675. The crest disappeared from the playing shirts in 1930, however, after the urban district council proposed to remove the "three black crows" from the seal of the town. A modified crest was reintroduced to the shirt for the
1952 FAI Cup Final, consisting of three black martlets on a white shield bearing the club name. After some minor redesigns in the following years, the white shield became a red shield with white martlets in 1997, and in 2015 this crest was modified to incorporate
a gold star, to commemorate Dundalk's tenth League of Ireland title.
Kit history
Dundalk's colours have been white shirts with black shorts and black or white socks since the start of the 1940–41 season. It is known that the Dundalk G.N.R. club wore blue shirts when it started in 1903. and were reported to be wearing "yellow and black" in 1906, but there is no further evidence of defined club colours in the pre-World War I years. When the club was revived for the 1919–20 season, the colours adopted were black and amber-striped shirts with white shorts. In advance of dropping the 'G.N.R.' moniker and becoming 'Dundalk A.F.C.', the club changed to a strip of white shirts with the town crest as its badge, and blue shorts matching the azure shield of the crest. The new colours were first worn on St Stephen's Day 1927 in the opening match of the 1927–28 League of Ireland Shield.
This combination was worn until 1939 but came to be seen as unlucky due to the number of cup final defeats Dundalk had during the 1930s.
Hoping a change would bring luck, the club introduced a sky blue and maroon quartered shirt with white shorts and maroon socks in
1939–40, but they promptly lost to non-league opposition in the first round of that season's FAI Cup, and went back to wearing white shirts for the
following season, this time paired with black shorts. Possibly by coincidence, when the clubs of the town amalgamated to form the first Dundalk Association Football Club in 1904, the colours chosen were "white shirt, bearing the Dundalk coat of arms, and black pants". The 'home' colours have remained essentially unchanged with red trims being incorporated since the 1990s. An all-white kit was introduced for the first time in the
1965–66 season, and was also the combination used in
1973–74 and
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
. All-white kits are still worn occasionally when required to avoid kit clashes.
;Away colours
The earliest photographic record of the team in 'away' colours comes from the
1928–29 season. For their first visit to play
Fordsons after adopting white shirts, Dundalk were obliged to wear borrowed shirts with their own blue shorts and black socks, as the home side also wore white shirts. For the next two seasons, they wore their old black and amber-striped shirts when travelling to face teams wearing white.
The club did not have an official away kit until 1977–78. In the interim, red shirts were worn if change colours were needed. An all-red kit was produced for the
Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
tie away to
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
in 1977 and this became the away kit for domestic games that season. An all-red away kit was worn against
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
in 1981 but otherwise official away colours were not required again until the
1990–91 season, when all-red was again adopted. Since then, away kits have usually been based on red or black. The club has twice introduced away colours that pay homage to its G.N.R. roots—in 2016 and again in 2021.

Prior to
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 ...
,
ad hoc
''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...
third colours had been worn by the team only when both home and away kits clashed with an opponent's colours. An official commercially available third kit was introduced that season for the first time—an all-lilac strip with white and black trim. It was designed by then kit supplier CX+ Sport, as part of a fundraising partnership between the club and
Temple Street Children's University Hospital. The logo of the charity replaced that of the official sponsor
Fyffes
Fyffes plc ( ) is a fruit and fresh produce company. The Fyffes brand is most closely associated with the banana industry, although it is applied to a wide range of fruits and fresh produce, including the Fyffes Gold Pineapples, and Fyffes me ...
on the chest of the shirt. This kit was worn in all rounds of the successful
2019 League Cup campaign, and in the early rounds of that season's FAI Cup.
The next season that the club released third colours was in 2023.
Kit suppliers
The club's kit supplier is Playr-Fit, who signed a three-year deal beginning with the
2023 season. They replaced
Umbro
Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...
, who had been the supplier between 2007 and
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 ...
, and between
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 ...
and
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
. Previous suppliers include Dundalk-based companies CX+ Sport (
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 ...
–
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 ...
) and Eros Sportswear (1985–1988).
O’Neills (1976–1984; 1990–2004) have also been a long-term supplier.
Erreà
Erreà () is a sports equipment supplier from Italy. Erreà was the first Italian sportswear company to be accredited with the Oeko-tex standard certification, which assures that garments textiles are free from harmful chemicals.
Background
Es ...
(2005) and
Diadora
Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...
(2006) have each been suppliers for one season while
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
Teamwear was used temporarily during 1982–83. A
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
-based company, Union Sport, supplied kits for two seasons (1988–89 and 1989–90). Their products were notable in that the company used a
Confederate flag
The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...
(the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia) as its logo, which featured prominently on team shirts and other apparel.
Home grounds
Athletic Grounds
Between 1903 and 1936, Dundalk mostly played at the Athletic Grounds near the town centre (land which was eventually sold in 1959 for a factory development). The Athletic Grounds were owned by the Dundalk Young Ireland's Athletic Grounds Company and made available for all local team sports. Dundalk's matches were usually played on Sundays, enabling a large Northern Irish contingent of spectators (inconvenienced by
Sunday Observance laws) to attend games. When matches had to be moved to Saturdays, the club suffered financially from lower gate receipts. If the Athletic Grounds were unavailable altogether, then matches were played at the grounds of the Dundalk Educational Institution (now
Dundalk Grammar School), the grounds at St Mary's College, or the
Carroll's
P. J. Carroll & Company Limited, often called Carroll's, is an Irish manufacturing company of tobacco. Having been established in 1824, P.J. Carroll is the oldest tobacco manufacturer in the country, and currently a subsidiary of British Amer ...
Recreation Ground.
Oriel Park
In 1936, the club moved permanently to land on the Carrick Road made available by former committee member P.J. Casey on a long-term land lease and named the new ground "
Oriel Park
Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...
".
Almost 10 years to the day after Dundalk G.N.R. played their first
Free State League match away to Fordsons, the same club (as
Cork F.C.) were the first visitors to Oriel Park, with the home team winning 2–1. Oriel's attendance record is an estimated 18,000, set in 1982 for Dundalk's
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
second round tie against
Tottenham Hotpsur On occasions when Oriel has been unavailable due to works, matches have been moved to either United Park in
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
or Gortakeegan in
Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony.
The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
. The ground has had an artificial playing surface since 2005.
;Home grounds for European matches
Dundalk played their first home European match, against
F.C. Zurich in the
1963–64 European Cup
The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...
, in
Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...
in Dublin—as Oriel Park did not have floodlights. Floodlighting was installed in 1967 to allow matches to be played there—the first being the visit of
Vasas SC
Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest.
Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...
of Hungary in the
1967–68 European Cup
The 1967–68 European Cup was the 13th European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Manchester United, who beat Benfica 4–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. The European Cup title marked the tent ...
.
The
1995–96 UEFA Cup tie against
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
was moved to
United Park
Sullivan and Lambe Park, also known as United Park, and formerly O2 Park, Hunky Dorys Park, Head In The Game Park and Weavers Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Drogheda, Ireland. The ground has been home to League of Irel ...
in Drogheda as the Oriel pitch was being re-laid that summer, and the
2002–03 UEFA Cup tie against
Varteks was moved to
Tolka Park
Tolka Park () is an Ireland, Irish association football ground located in the Northside Dublin, north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Irelan ...
in Dublin because Oriel did not meet UEFA's upgraded standards for football stadiums at that time.
Oriel has since been upgraded to a
Category 2 Stadium, able to accommodate 3,100 seated spectators for European matches. Matches requiring a ground to have Category 3 status have been played in
Tallaght Stadium
Tallaght Stadium () is an List of association football stadiums in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers F.C., Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of ...
and matches requiring a ground meeting Category 4 status have been played at the
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...
.
Supporters
The Supporters Club is called 'The 1903', in honour of the football club's year of formation. There is also a Ladies Supporters Club, the 'Lilywhite Ladies'. The Dundalk G.N.R. club's members formed its first Supporters Club during the 1928–29 season. The Supporters Clubs have raised vital funds in support of the club through the decades, money that was often required to keep the club viable.
Dundalk fans have nicknamed the team 'the Lilywhites' and supporters also use 'the Town' as shorthand for the club. Both nicknames have been in use since at least the 1950s.
The hashtag ''#CmonTheTown'' is used by fans on social media. From when the club was first formed until its change of colours in 1927–28, the team's nickname was 'the Railwaymen'.
Later, the team was known as 'the Northerners", or 'the Bordermen' (due to the town's location close to the border with
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
).
The current generation of fans—who followed the club out of the First Division, through the ownership crisis of 2012, and into the subsequent successful period—style themselves the 'Shedside Army'. They are responsible for Oriel's '
tifo
''Tifo'' () is the phenomenon whereby ''tifosi'' of a sports team make a visual display of any choreographed flag, sign or banner in the stands of a stadium, mostly as part of an association football match.
''Tifo'' are most commonly seen in ...
' displays. One such display—the flying of Palestinian flags in Oriel Park during a Europa League tie—resulted in a
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 ...
fine for Dundalk of €18,000. Supporters have two mottoes: "''We See Things They'll Never See''" owing to the roller-coaster of highs and lows the club has experienced; and "''Dundalk Will Never Die But You Will''", a riff on a
Mogwai
Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...
album title that references the club's many financial crises. The club anthem has become ''
Three Little Birds'' by
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...
(both because of the club crest and because of the sentiments expressed in the lyrics).
Support base and attendances

The club's support base is the
Dundalk Municipal District
Louth County Council () is the local authority of County Louth, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and d ...
, the adjacent
Carrickmacross
Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...
–
Castleblayney Municipal District of
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...
, and south
County Armagh
County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...
.
The average Friday night home league attendance is approximately 2,700, with attendances at 'bigger' matches of approximately 3,500.
Rivalries
The
Louth Derby is contested between Dundalk 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 ...
, who entered the League of Ireland in 1963. The clubs played an annual friendly from 1966 to 1984—the Donegan Cup, presented by former Louth
TD Paddy Donegan
Patrick Sarsfield Donegan (29 October 1923 – 26 November 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a government of Ireland, government minister from 1973 to 1977. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1954 to 1957 and 1961 to 1981 ...
. Apart from one attempt to revive the contest in 1990, it was dropped as the two clubs could not find suitable dates for it during the season after the split of the League of Ireland into two divisions. The friendly was reintroduced as a pre-season match in 1997 with a new trophy—the Jim Malone Cup, in honour of three-time chairman of the board, the late Jim Malone.
The two clubs have rarely competed for honours simultaneously, although they did meet in the final of the 1971–72
League of Ireland Shield, with Dundalk winning 5–0.
Many of Dundalk's most successful periods have corresponded with Drogheda being at the lower end of the league table or in the First Division, while Drogheda's most
successful period (between 2004 and 2008) occurred while Dundalk were in the lower tier. The derby has been fractious on occasion, particularly during cup ties between the sides, and there have been clashes between fans after matches. In addition to the Louth Derby, Dundalk fans would see Shamrock Rovers as their main rivals, as Rovers hold the records for both the most league titles and the most FAI Cups, with Dundalk next in the honours list for both competitions.
Ownership and finances
Dundalk-based barrister John Temple has been the majority shareholder since 17 September 2024.
Ownership history
As an association football club for the employees of the Great Northern Railway works in the town, it was 'owned' by the company and run by a management committee elected by its members. The club was converted to a membership-based limited company, 'Dundalk Association Football Club Limited', on 25 January 1932.
This brought it under the ownership of its supporters, who elected a management committee every two years. This ownership structure survived until the end of 1965 when it was voluntarily liquidated by the members and taken over by a public limited company, 'Dundalk Football Club Limited', in January 1966.
The financial issues that occurred in late 1994, which saw the club become effectively insolvent, forced the liquidation of the 1966 company. It was taken over by 'Dundalk AFC Interim Limited', a new holding company comprising former and current directors under chairman Enda McGuill.
But the solvency issues that had faced the club through most of the 1990s arose again in 1998,
resulting in relegation that season for the first time in the club's history. It was taken over by the 'Dundalk F.C. Co-operative' in 2000,
returning it to a membership-based, supporter-owned model. But the co-op was unable to make the sort of investment in either the team or in Oriel Park required to bring the club back to the Premier Division.
The co-op decided to sell the training ground, Hiney Park, in order to service debts and pay for work at Oriel. The man who purchased Hiney Park, Gerry Matthews, was subsequently invited to join the board as CEO in 2006.
He then took the club into private ownership as 'Dundalk FC Limited' when it was accepted that the co-op could not continue to support it. It was returned to a solid footing under the ownership of Matthews but his decision to end his financial support in 2012 lead to another threat of insolvency.
With the assistance of the Dundalk FC Supporters Trust, the club was rescued by the owners of its official sponsors, Fastfix—Paul Brown and Andy Connolly. They formed a new trading company 'Dundalk Town FC Limited' and completed a takeover in time for the 2013 season. Brown and Connolly then sold their interest to a consortium of investors led by the American investment firm Peak6 in 2018.
At the end of the 2021 season, the club was returned to local ownership when a group led by the returning Connolly and the owners of sports technology firm STATSports agreed a takeover deal with Peak6.
The club saw another change of ownership at the end of the 2023 season, when
Irish-American
Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry.
Irish immigration to the United States
From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
businessman Brian Ainscough assumed full control of the club.
Ainscough's ownership lasted less than a year. It was revealed in September 2024 that the club had amassed losses of €1.2 million to the end of 2023 and was in danger of
insolvency
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
. Ainscough's shareholding in the club was subsequently acquired by Dundalk-based John Temple.
Sponsorship and income streams
Dundalk's first shirt sponsor was National Aluminium after the introduction of shirt sponsorship in 1980. The company's brand remained on the team's shirts until 1984. From 1987 until 2002, the official sponsor was
Harp Lager
Harp Lager is an Irish lager created in 1960. Since 2013, it has been produced by the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. Prior to this, it was produced at the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk. It is a major lager brand throughout most of Northern Ire ...
(the brand being synonymous with the town). Other long-term sponsors included
Fyffes
Fyffes plc ( ) is a fruit and fresh produce company. The Fyffes brand is most closely associated with the banana industry, although it is applied to a wide range of fruits and fresh produce, including the Fyffes Gold Pineapples, and Fyffes me ...
, who had a deal that ran from 2012 until 2020.
For the
2025 season, the team playing shirt's chest logo is that of official sponsors ZOMA marketing agency. The shirt's sleeve and upper back sponsor is (
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
) Blackstone Motors, and the lower back sponsor is UHY business advisory service. There are several other club partners and academy sponsors.
There are other sponsorship arrangements, such as sponsorship of individual players, and sponsorship of individual home matches. The club's Lotto is managed in partnership with Clubforce.
There is a merchandise shop at Oriel Park and an online store on the official website. In addition to sponsorship, Oriel Park is made available for junior and schools football, and is also available for rent to private groups and clubs in other sporting codes. The ground's public bar, 'The Lilywhite Lounge', is available for social events, as is the members' bar—the 'Enda McGuill Suite'.
Player transfers
Players in the League of Ireland are typically signed on single or two-year contracts, resulting in large numbers of
free agents at the end of each season.
As a result, the transfer-fee inflation seen throughout European club football has not been a feature of the game in Ireland, and Dundalk have not benefited financially from player transfers since the
Bosman ruling
''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...
came into effect. Indeed, the
PFAI Players' Player of the Year for 2015 (
Richie Towell), and 2016 (
Daryl Horgan), both left for
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...
clubs at the end of their respective award-winning seasons on free transfers, due to contract expiry.
Transfer fees both paid and received have generally remained undisclosed. The record transfer fee received (when all clauses were eventually triggered and paid) was approximately £80,000 (equivalent to €200,000 in 2019)
for
Steve Staunton
Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer.
He played as a defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa and Liverpool. He also played in the F ...
, who was signed by
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in August 1986 for an initial fee of £20,000. Dundalk subsequently received a further estimated £70,000 (equivalent to €150,000 in 2019)
when Staunton was transferred by Liverpool to
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
in 1991.
Media
Online
LOITV is a subscription service that makes all League of Ireland matches available to view live worldwide, with clubs being responsible for producing their own live match coverage.
Television and radio
Ireland's State-owned public service broadcaster,
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, ...
, and main commercial broadcaster,
Virgin Media Ireland have broadcast rights for League of Ireland and FAI Cup matches as part of packages from the FAI that include international matches. However, there is little or no income derived from these rights for clubs.
Indeed, RTÉ refused to pay the fee asked to broadcast the home leg of Dundalk's Champions League victory against BATE Borisov in 2016,
a few months after they had been named RTÉ's "Team of the Year" for 2015.
Live commentary of matches is broadcast on Dundalk FM (a community radio station) and
LMFM
LMFM is an independent local radio station based in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In terms of listenership, It is the largest radio station in Ireland outside of Dublin and Cork (city), Cork broadcasting to a population in excess of 30 ...
. The radio broadcasts do not have licensing restrictions and can be accessed online in Ireland and globally from the stations' websites.
Documentaries
Two documentaries centred on the club have been produced. ''Once In a Lifetime'', released in 2015, was a retelling of stories of the club's 1979–80 European Cup campaign.
''One Armed Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Jimmy Hasty'', released in 2023, was produced by
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 ...
TV and told the life story of former Dundalk player
Jimmy Hasty. The documentary won the 'Outstanding Short Documentary' award at the 2024
Sports Emmy Awards
The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...
.
Club publications
The club's official website
dundalkfc.com has been voted 'Website of the Year' by the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland on eight occasions, most recently for 2021.
A matchday programme is produced for all home matches—the "''DFC Magazine''". This programme was voted 'Programme of the Year' for 10 of the 12 seasons between 2008 and 2019 by the Irish Football Programme Club.
In addition, the following books have been published:
* 2003: ''The History of Dundalk F.C. – The First 100 Years'', by Jim Murphy
* 2013: ''C'mon The Town! A Dundalk FC Miscellany'', by Jim Murphy
* 2014: ''CHAMP10NS'', by Gavin McLaughlin
* 2015: ''The Double'', by Gavin McLaughlin
* 2016: ''Making History'', by Gavin McLaughlin
* 2018: ''Taking Back the Throne'', by Gavin McLaughlin
* 2019: ''We See Things They'll Never See'', by Gavin McLaughlin
* 2020: ''Dundalk Football Club: In Black And White'', by Daniel Sexton
Players
First-team squad
''As of 14 June 2025.''
Youth teams
Dundalk maintains an academy with youth teams in the U-14, U-15, U-17, and U-20 age brackets of the '
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
LOI Academy'.
Women's teams
Dundalk do not currently have a women's team in the
League of Ireland Women's Premier Division. Teams are maintained at Under-17 and Under-19 level that compete in the
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
LOI Academy.
Prior to the formation of the Women's National League, a loosely affiliated club,
Dundalk City L.F.C., competed in the
Dublin Women's Soccer League during the 2000–2005 period and won the 2005 Women's FAI Cup Final.
Former players
International players
Club officials
* Owner: Dundalk Town FC Limited
* Majority shareholder and Chairman: John Temple
* Secretary: Padraig McGowan
* Head of Business Operations: Nita Whelan
* Head of Football Operations: Bernard Freeman
Coaching and medical staff
* First-team Manager:
Ciarán Kilduff
Ciarán Kilduff (born 29 September 1988) is an Irish football manager and former professional Association football, footballer, who is the manager of League of Ireland First Division club Dundalk F.C., Dundalk. He has played for seven clubs in ...
* Assistant Manager: Ken Kiernan
* First-team coach:
Liam Burns
* Goalkeeping coach:
Peter Cherrie
* First-team coach and analyst: Gerry Spain
* Head of Women's Football: Bernard Freeman
* Strength & Conditioning Coaches:
Ronan Murray and Matthew Freeman
* Physiotherapist: Patrick Levins
* Doctor: Andrew Barry
Source:
Former managers
Records
The record for the most appearances in all competitions is currently held by
Tommy McConville
Tommy McConville (19 March 1946 – 25 October 2013) was an Irish professional footballer.
Career
McConville was put on the transfer list in September 1974. He earned his first international cap for the Republic of Ireland national football te ...
, who appeared in 580 matches in two stints at the club between 1964 and 1986. Several players have won five league titles—Martin Lawlor being the first to reach the mark.
Patrick Hoban is the club's leading goalscorer in all competitions. Five other players—
Joey Donnelly,
Eddie Carroll,
Joe Martin,
Jimmy Hasty, and
Paddy Turner—have also scored 100 goals or more. Hoban broke Donnelly's club record for league goals during the
2019 season
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* '' Dici ...
and subsequently became the first Dundalk player to score 100 league goals for the club during the
2022 season. He then broke Donnelly's record for goals in all competitions during the
2023 season and finished his Dundalk career in
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
with 150 goals.
Bob Egan became the first Dundalk player to win an international cap on 20 April 1929, when he represented
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in a 4–0 victory over
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. The player who has won the most caps while at the club is
Billy O'Neill, who won 11 caps for Ireland—his international career being cut short at the age of 23 by the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Mick Fairclough was the most recently capped player, earning two caps in May 1982. In 2021,
Raivis Jurkovskis became the first Dundalk player to be capped for a country other than Ireland while at the club.
Dundalk's record win is an 11–0 victory over
Athlone Town
Athlone Town Association Football Club is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play t ...
in the
2020 FAI Cup.
The record league win is 9–0, achieved against
Jacobs
Jacobs may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
*Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK
* Jacobs (coffee), a German brand of coffee
* Jacobs Solutions, an American international technical professi ...
in 1932, and again against Shelbourne in 1980. The biggest victory in a European match is 4–0, achieved with home wins against
Fram Reykjavík in the
1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup was the 22nd season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a club football competition organised by UEFA for the national cup winners from each of its member associations. Spanish club Barcelona won the title for a se ...
,
and
Newtown in the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.
The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Rom ...
.
The record home attendance is 30,417 v
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin for the Champions League play-off round in 2016.
European competition
Dundalk have qualified for European competition 26 times as of the 2024–25 European season. They made their
European debut in the
1963–64 European Cup
The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...
and in that campaign, they became the first Irish side to win an away match in Europe. Their best performance in the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
was in
1979–80, when they reached the last 16, and they reached the last 16 of the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
in
1981–82. They have qualified twice for 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 ...
group stage and they became the first team from Ireland to both win points and win a match at that level of European competition in
2016–17.
They have played against several major names in European football such as
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
,
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
,
FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
,
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
,
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
,
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
,
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
,
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
, and
Zenit St Petersburg. They have faced opponents from
the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
most often, having played ties against PSV, Ajax,
DOS Utrecht,
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...
, and
Vitesse Arnhem
SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...
.
;Overall European record.
''As of 3 August 2023.''
Honours
Source:
References
;Footnotes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
;Citations
External links
*
Dundalk F.C. Who's Who (Historical player database)The 1903 Dundalk F.C. Supporters ClubThe Lilywhite Ladies Supporters Club
{{Authority control
1903 establishments in Ireland
Association football clubs established in 1903
Association football clubs in County Louth
Former Leinster Senior League clubs
League of Ireland Premier Division clubs
Railway association football teams in Ireland
Sport in Dundalk