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John Donohue appointed Academy Director

Drogheda United FC is proud to announce the appointment of John Donohue as full-time Academy Director.

Donohue has spent the last five seasons at St. Patrick’s Athletic, working in academy sides from U15 to U19 level.

With the Saints, Donohue was involved with the sides that qualified for the UEFA Youth League and won the 2018/19 Leinster Senior Cup with a side made up of U17 and U19 players.

Prior to his time with St. Patrick’s Athletic, Donohue was manager of our U17 side, while also working as a video and opposition analyst for the first team.

Donohue’s coaching experience also includes spells with Bohemians, McKelvey Celtic, and Mellowes BDS/WTFA where he was instrumental in the merger of both clubs to create Finglas United FC.

John’s passion for nurturing young talent is infectious. He is a skilled leader, a mentor, and a champion for youth development, and we are confident that under his guidance, our academy will be led in the right direction.

Kevin Doherty, Drogheda United FC Manager, commented, “I am delighted to have John on board.  I’ve worked with John before and when I heard his name mentioned for this role I was more than enthusiastic to get it done. I will be working very closely with John and his wealth of knowledge and experience in academy football both at Drogheda previously and St. Pat’s is going to be so valuable to us as a club. It’s another massive step in the right direction for us at Drogheda United.”

Newly appointed Academy Director John Donohue stated, “I’m excited to join Drogheda United and can’t wait to get going. It’s an exciting time for the club and the academy, and I’m looking forward to being involved in the next chapter here.

“The vision that the staff and board have for the club is aligned with my own, and I can’t wait to work with them and everyone else at the club to help achieve our ambitions. We’ve had some very positive conversations over the last few weeks about where they want to take the club and the academy.

“I have managed and coached in the Drogheda United Academy before, so I already know the club and a lot of the staff, coaches, and volunteers. I’ve also coached against Drogheda United numerous times over the last five years during my time at St Pat’s and have a good understanding of a lot of the teams and the players. With the new season just a few weeks away, the hard work is already underway.”

Commenting on John’s appointment, Chairperson Joanna Byrne has marked this as a “Pivotal moment in defining the future of youth and women’s football at Drogheda United FC.”

“I believe the experience John brings will, in time, see Drogheda United develop a more strategic and competitive academy. The appointment of a full-time Academy Director is a testament to Trivela’s commitment to building a long-term sustainable future for this club, aligning with our long-standing vision of developing our youth structures.

“We have a huge catchment area here, and although we have had plenty of success stories emerge from our Academy in recent years, we’ve never had the dedicated resources to focus on building and bettering that. Every underage player that wears our colours is the future of our great club, and it’s great that we are finally in the position to invest in planning and building for the future in this way. It is a great time to be involved in Drogheda United, and John has my full support as he takes on this new role.”