User:Fredbobhurst/Ciarán Kilduff

Ciarán Kilduff (born 29 September 1988), is a footballer currently playing for League of Ireland club Dundalk.

Early Years
Ciaran "Killer" Kilduff played in the Kildare and District Schoolboys League for Clane Boys and Kilcock Celtic before moving to Maynooth Town in the Brenfer League. From Maynooth Town Ciaran Kilduff signed for Shamrock Rovers at under 16 level.

Shamrock Rovers
Kilduff was highly rated at Shamrock Rovers as a youngster and after a prolific season at under 21 level, where he scored over 20 goals, Kilduff made the breakthrough to the first team making his debut against Derry City in the Brandywell in May 2007. He went on to make a further three appearances for The Hoops.

As well as excelling for the Shamrock Rovers first team, Kilduff was a member of their title winning Futsal side and he travelled to Portugal as part of the Irish under 21 Futsal team where they took on sides from Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and Sporting CP. He also competed in the Dallas Cup.

Kilduff joined Kildare County on loan from Shamrock Rovers in 2007. The 6 ft 3’ striker followed in the footsteps of Shamrock Rovers team mate Padraig Amond who spent the first half of the previous season on loan at Station Road. He finished the season as top scorer for The Thoroughbreds with 11 league and cup goals, including his perfect hat-trick against Fanad United in the 2008 FAI Cup The fans voted him as their Player of the Season 2008.

UCD
He moved to UCD for the 2009 season where he had a blistering start, scoring 5 goals in his opening 4 starts for The Students. Kilduff was UCD's top scorer during the 2009 season with 16 goals in 31 league and cup appearances. His goals helped the students secure the First Division title and an immediate return to the Premier Division.

Return to Shamrock Rovers
In January 2011 Kilduff returned to Shamrock Rovers.

In August 2011 Kilduff played a big role when coming on as substitute at Partizan Belgrade in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-off round win as Rovers became the first Irish side to reach the group stages of either of the top two European competitions.

In August 2012 Kilduff signed a new deal which will see him contracted to Shamrock Rovers until the end of the 2014 season.

In May 2013 he won his second Setanta Sports Cup.

On 2 July 2013, it was announced that Kilduff would be joining goal shy Cork City on loan for the remainder of the season. He went on to score 11 times in 14 games for Cork City including a club record four goals in one game against Shelbourne.

On the back of this form he was awarded the Airtricity/Soccer Writers Association of Ireland Player of the Month for October 2013.

Move to St. Patrick's Athletic
Following a disappointing season back at Rovers, Kilduff signed for city rivals, St Patrick's Athletic on a two-year deal 11 November 2014. He made his debut on 9 February 2015, coming off the bench in the 68th minute to replace goalscorer Christy Fagan and scoring two goals of his own, the Saints fifth and sixth goals, as they beat Tolka Rovers 7–0 at Richmond Park. By mid-season Kilduff had fallen down to third in the pecking order for the one striker spot in the Pats starting 11, behind Christy Fagan and 18 year old Jamie McGrath. After 16 appearances and 5 goals in all competitions, and a generally unhappy spell at St. Patrick's Athletic, Liam Buckley agreed to sell him (under the condition that he couldnt play against St. Patrick's Athletic as the title race heated up.

Dundalk
On 27 July 2015 it was announced that Kilduff had signed for League of Ireland champions Dundalk for an undisclosed fee. Stephen Kenny had long been an admirer of Kilduff saying Kilduff "has a very good attitude and is a very willing player. He gets all types of goals and that’s what I like. I see him more of a French striker, tall, athletic and scores goals, one on one goals through the middle with his pac." He scored twice on his debut for Dundalk against Bray. He has proven an instrumental squad player in Dundalk's title winning year. He revelled in the turn around of being in the wilderness to being in the league winning team.

In 2016, however, he suffered a major setback when he fractured his vertebrae in an accidental collision with St Patrick's Athletic goalkeeper Brendan Clarke. He spent 10 days wearing a back brace that left him housebound and unable to move to the extent that he wasn't even allowed to have a shower. He expected to spend the season on the sidelines but Dundalk's staff had other ideas. He returned after only in six weeks to play against St. Patrick's Athletic. He was rested though for the following game which allowed Dave McMillan to kick off a goal-scoring streak that has made him first choice again. He had hoped to play against Legia Warsaw in Dundalk's historic Europa League run but missed out due to a serious knee complaint. He did, however, travel to the Netherlands to play against second seeds Alkmaar and in the 89th minute scored a goal with a header, justifying Stephen Kenny's faith in him. This goal ensured a point for Dundalk's group stage campaign, the first point an Irish team has ever won in the group stages of European competition. Reflecting back on what the goal meant for him and the League he said: “I’ve had a tough year myself, and this little league probably gets looked down on a bit, but it’s a league with passionate supporters and passionate players. It’s not just for myself or the team tonight, it’s for the League of Ireland. Away from football, I’ve had a difficult injury-stricken season and I can’t describe what a relief and what a great feeling that was for me tonight".

Honours

 * Dundalk
 * League of Ireland (1): 2015


 * Shamrock Rovers
 * League of Ireland (1): 2011
 * Setanta Sports Cup (2): 2011, 2013
 * Leinster Senior Cup (1): 2012


 * UCD
 * League of Ireland First Division (1): 2009