Promotion the aim as Shels duo join Drogheda

Drogheda United have increased their confirmed number of players in their squad to ten with the signings of Cian Kavanagh and James Brown from Shelbourne.

Kavanagh joins after a year with Shelbourne, in what was his second spell with the club, having previously had a loan spell at Tolka Park for the 2016 season. 

He made 21 appearances in the league that season for Shelbourne, as they finished sixth in the First Division. 

Between his stints at Shelbourne, Kavanagh played with UCD for a season, and scored in a 2-0 win over Drogheda in the Leinster Senior Cup early that season.

Prior to his loan move at Shels', Kavanagh had played with Shamrock Rovers, first with their B team in the 2014 First Division before making some appearances in the Premier Division and Europa League the following season.

Speaking to extratime.ie, Kavanagh explained that playing under Drogheda United assistant manager and then Shelbourne manager, Kevin Doherty, and playing alongside current Drogheda United manager Tim Clancy, at Shamrock Rovers, had played a part in his decision to join the Boynesiders.

“Kev (Kevin Doherty) signed me for Shels in 2016 and I started off really well under him and I played with Tim at Rovers previously,” said Kavanagh. “So Kev got in contact and asked would I be interested in coming up.

Kavanagh admitted he wouldn’t have joined the club had he not believed Drogheda are capable of gaining promotion back to the top flight. 

“My goals for the year would to be play as many games as possible and get promoted.

“I wouldn’t have come to the club if I didn’t think we have a chance of going up,” Kavanagh said.



The 22-year-old praised Tim Clancy, who rejected an approach from Shelbourne in order to remain at the helm with Drogheda United for the 2019 season, for the style of play the Trim native likes his Drogheda side to play.

“I like the way Tim plays his football. He’s a young manager but has brilliant knowledge of the game,” Kavanagh said.

Drogheda have also announced the signing of 20-year-old centre-back James Brown, who also previously played under Kevin Doherty at Shelbourne. 

Brown had been part of Shels' U19 side before Doherty first promoted him to the first team in 2016. 

Last year, Brown made 19 appearances for Shelbourne, scoring once in a 3-0 victory away to Cobh Ramblers in May, after a brace from James English had given Shels' a 2-0 lead.

Drogheda’s squad now stands at ten as Kavanagh and Browne join Paul Skinner, Kevin Farragher, Conor Kane, Luke Gallagher, Sean Brennan, Jake Hyland, Mark Doyle and Chris Lyons in so far committing to the club .



    About Gerard Grimes

    Final year journalism student who joined Extratime.ie in May 2016 as a teenager. Mainly found in United Park covering Drogheda United games, but have also covered international matches and domestic cup finals in the Aviva … View Full Profile