UCD recruit Waterford keeper Dara Kavanagh as Willie O’Connor hails arrival of Ronan Finn

Ronan Finn (right) will be a big signing for UCD

Ronan Finn (right) will be a big signing for UCD Credit: Martin Doherty (left) and Peter Fitzpatrick (right)

UCD first-team manager Willie O’Connor confirmed that the Students have recruited goalkeeper Dara Kavanagh from Waterford ahead of the 2024 season.

Kavanagh, 18, has spent the last number of years climbing through the ranks at the RSC but has since moved to the capital and combines football with his studies.

He comes into the UCD first-team set-up following the departure of Lorcan Healy to Shelbourne last month.

But he is not the only new arrival at the UCD Bowl, with Ronan Finn, Mikey McCullough and Niall Holohan all coming in from Shamrock Rovers, Galway United and Sligo Rovers respectively.

Other than that, the UCD squad will remain as it was for the most part for 2024 after they were relegated from the top-flight last term.

Although, Jack Keaney (Drogheda United), Evan Osam (Bray Wanderers), Dara Keane (Dundalk), Healy (Shelbourne), Michael Gallagher and Jesse Dempsey (Lecce) have all left.

“We nearly have the same squad as we had last year bar the four or five lads that left us,” O’Connor told extratime.com. 

“It’s very much the same squad as what we had and we added a few so hopefully that will be a plus for us.”

And on Finn’s return to Belfield, the Buncrana native hailed the midfielder’s quality that will prove invaluable in a young dressing room.

“Ronan is a brilliant signing for us,” O’Connor added. “What he brings as a player is there for all to see. 



“He’ll bring a lot to the dressing room and training. He’ll help all the younger players develop by talking to them. 

“He’s a brilliant fella and he's been in there now for a while. He is really good around the place and working with the boys. 

“It'll be a massive help to those young lads going on in their career when they finish with us because over the last few years, we've probably lacked that senior pro who is a bit older than the rest. 

“Adding that to it is a big help to us as a team but it's also a big help to the players in terms of their own development. Seeing a player of Ronan’s stature in the team and playing with him will be a big help.”

Meanwhile, O’Connor has also revealed that former UCD under-17 boss Shane Fox - who helped the Students’ young guns qualify for the Uefa Youth League - will join his coaching staff alongside Dylan Hennessy.

He will also be aided by long-serving backroom team members Ger Barron and Cormac Henry.



About Andrew Dempsey

View Full Profile