Opinion: Daryl Horgan's time in the UK has been a success despite move to League 2

Daryl Horgan during his time with Dundalk Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)

Daryl Horgan was in the news this week as he joined League Two side Stevenage on loan from Wycombe Wanders until the end of the season. It was in 2017 that Horgan completed his much-anticipated move from Dundalk to Championship side Preston North End on a two and a half year deal, alongside teammate Andy Boyle. Six years and now four clubs later, we examine how the former Sligo Rovers and Cork City player’s career has progressed across channel.

Things started well for Horgan, impressing off the bench in a late cameo on his debut against Premiership giants Arsenal, in a televised third round FA Cup tie at Deepdale. The Preston side that night included Irish internationals Greg Cunningham, Aiden McGeady and Callum Robinson, with Alan Browne joining Horgan off the bench in the second half.

Over the remainder of the season, the Galway native cemented his place in Preston manager Alex Neil’s plans, finishing the campaign with 18 further appearances as well as chipping in with a couple of goals and assists. So far so good.

The following season, Horgan’s first full season in English football, was not as productive however as the winger struggled for game time, making only a handful of starts as North End again missed out on the play-offs.

His time at the club seemed to be coming to an end and it was no surprise that the player, who started his career at Salthill Devon, departed early the following season, signing for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian for an undisclosed fee.

At Easter Road, under the guidance of former Norther Ireland and Celtic legend Neil Lennon, Horgan found first team football easier to come by, and was a regular fixture in a team that finished a respectable fifth at the end of the season. This was despite Lennon departing the club in January. His exit didn’t seem to affect Horgan however, with perhaps his finest hour in British football to date coming in April when he scored both goals in a historic 2-1 victory over bitter rivals Hearts at Tynecastle.

Horgan, who’s brothers Colm, Kevin and Christopher have all played League of Ireland football, remained a regular over the following season as Hibs finished in seventh position.

At the start of the 2020-21 season, newly promoted English Championship side Wycombe Wanderers came calling and Horgan exited Easter Road after 67 league appearances and six goals in just over two years. Jack Ross, then Hibernian manager, commented at the time that he was disappointed to lose the Irish international.

Despite not scoring in 40 league appearances during his first season at the club, Horgan featured regularly for Gareth Ainsworth’s unfashionable Chairboys as, despite a valiant late season surge, they were relegated back to League 1 after only one season, with the club unable to recover after losing their opening seven fixtures.

Horgan remained a regular fixture over the following season, either as a starter or off the bench, as Wanderers went close to an instant return to the second tier, losing 2-0 in the League One Play-Off final to Sunderland at Wembley. Indeed, Wycombe’s late season surge that saw them make the play-offs, coincided with Horgan’s return to the team, with the former PFAI Players’ Player of the Year providing a particularly vital assist in the crucial home victory over fellow promotion contenders Sheffield Wednesday in April. His late season form saw Horgan rewarded with a start in that Wembley showpiece.



This season has been a different story however as Horgan fell down the pecking order, even being omitted from match day squads on occasion, as Wycombe searched to find some consistency. Having again failed to make the match-day squad for Wycombe’s last game against Peterborough United, a move to League Two high flyers Stevenage seems like a good move for all parties.

A return of one goal and seven assists in 85 league appearance over the last 2-and-a-half years for Wycombe sounds like a paltry return for a player who once terrorised League of Ireland defences with such regularity. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story as Horgan has sparingly been used in his favoured wing position and his selfless work for the team has often earned the praise of manager Gareth Ainsworth.

During his heyday at Cork City and Dundalk, many of Horgan’s best displays came from a position on the left, cutting onto his preferred right foot, scoring and assisting regularly in the process. However, at Wycombe in particular, we have rarely seen Horgan in this position, with Ainsworth often preferring to use him behind the striker.

It should also be noted that Wycombe’s style of play, often earning comparisons to that of the famous Wimbledon team of the nineties, surely didn’t play to the strengths of Horgan, with the Adams Park outfit being renowned for their direct style and often uncompromising approach. Hopefully under the stewardship of the colourful former Leeds United boss Steve Evans at Stevenage, Horgan will find a system that better suits him and he can recapture some of his best form.

Judging how successful Horgan’s career across channel has been overall, I guess it depends on who you talk to. Some will say that a return of ten league goals over six years is underwhelming for a player who twice contributed nine league goals in a season for Dundalk. Others will say that a record of 192 league appearances since leaving Oriel Park, contributing 19 assists in the process, represents huge success for a League of Ireland export, especially when it is considered how former Dundalk teammates such as Boyle, Stephen O’ Donnell, Patrick McEleney, Michael Duffy, Pat Hoban, Dave McMillan, Dan Cleary and Jordan Flores have struggled for longevity abroad.

Richie Towell, Jamie McGrath, Sean Maguire and Dylan Connolly are possible exceptions to this trend, however it would possibly be stretching it to say that any of these players has enjoyed more success than Horgan. Georgie Kelly is another who would surely be pleased to have as many appearances as Horgan is a few years’ time.



For the majority of the last six years, Horgan has been operating at either Championship or SPL level and has held his own on those stages. While his time at Wycombe has undoubtedly not gone to plan, it is not reflective of his overall career to date in Britain, with his spell at Hibernian being particularly profitable.

Horgan was also a regular fixture in the Republic of Ireland set-up during the early stages of Stephen Kenny’s reign, notably scoring in the manager’s long awaited first victory, a 4-1 win away to Andorra in June 2021. However, he seemed to fall out of favour after a poor performance off the bench in the home draw with Azerbaijan and has struggled for game time since.

Not since Oxford United’s Callum O’Dowda was selected for a friendly with Belarus at Turners Cross in 2016 has a League Two player gained international recognition. While that may be far from his thought process right now, if he can hit the ground running at the Lamex Stadium, then Horgan may yet have a few more chapters to write on his cross-channel odyssey.

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