MURRAY “PROUD TO BE BACK” AT ORIEL
Ronan Murray says that he is “proud to be back” at Oriel Park, with the 2018 League and FAI Cup double winner with Dundalk having joined Ciarán Kilduff’s backroom team as Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 2025 season.
Murray has vast experience in the game having spent almost a decade playing in England before returning to Ireland to play for Galway United in 2017.
That was followed by an unforgettable season under Stephen Kenny at Dundalk, with the Mayo forward scoring 11 goals in 34 appearances for the Lilywhites as they bagged the double. He went on to play for Sligo Rovers and Drogheda United before hanging up his boots in 2021.
Murray says his spell at Oriel “felt a lot longer” than just a single year. With his wife from Armagh, he has kept a close eye on the club since departing six years ago, while he remains in contact with a number of his former Dundalk teammates.
Having moved back into the local area, a return to Oriel Park was something that he wished for, and he is excited to work under 2015 double winner Kilduff as Dundalk look to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.
“It feels absolutely brilliant to be back, a bit surreal that I’ve been away for so long and been out of the League of Ireland for three years or so. To be back is just absolutely fantastic,” Murray told dundalkfc.com.
“It feels like I’ve never been away, and the facilities have got even better since I was here. I’m just absolutely delighted and proud to be back.”
Explaining how the opportunity to return to Oriel came about, Ronan said: “I’ve been based in the West for the last three years. My wife is from Silverbridge, so we’ve decided to move back up this direction.
“When Ciarán got the job, I reached out to him to say that I was back in the area if he was in need of anything, that I was available, and that’s how it came about.”
19 October 2018; Pat Hoban, left, and Ronan Murray of Dundalk celebrate with the trophy after winning the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division following the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Dundalk and Sligo Rovers at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
He added: “One or two things went in my favour, he got in touch, we had a good conversation about what he wants to do this season, going forward. Everything was in line with what I was wanting. I think it was a no-brainer on both parts to get me back involved. I’m just delighted that the opportunity has arisen.”
Murray has long been interested in the Strength and Conditioning side of the game and has been focussed on it and personal training since he ended his days playing in the League of Ireland in 2021.
“I would have done a bit of Strength and Conditioning on the Gaelic side of things the last three years, and playing Gaelic as well,” Ronan explained, “and personal training is what I’ve been doing full-time.
“This is the area that I want to go down in the future. Obviously now, I’ve got this opportunity, it’s going to be a massive experience, and I hopefully can give all my experience to the club and to the lads. So far, it has been brilliant. I’m really looking forward to the start of the pre-season.”
5 October 2018; Dundalk players Dylan Connolly, front left, and Ronan Murray, front right, celebrate following the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division match between Dundalk and St Patrick’s Athletic at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Co Louth. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile.
Reflecting on his one-year spell at Oriel Park which ended with a League and FAI Cup double, the 33-year-old looks back on those days fondly, and has followed the club closely since leaving.
“It was only one year, but it felt a lot longer than one year,” he said. “I’ve been coming up and down as my wife is from nearby, and I still keep in contact with a couple of the players local to here. I’ve always kept in contact with the club and the town itself, in the years that I’ve been away.
“It didn’t feel like just one year that I was here. I’m just delighted to be back. That year that we had, a double-winning team, it was Stephen Kenny’s last year here at the football club after all his years of success. We won the league and were nip and tuck with Cork and came out the right end, and then again in the final.
“It was a really enjoyable year with the players that were on the team and the players that have gone on now and done extraordinary things from that year as well. I’ve kept an eye on them all and kept in contact with most of the lads. It was a great year.”
5 November 2018; Ronan Murray, right, and Patrick Hoban of Dundalk in attendance during the Dundalk team’s Homecoming at Market Square in Dundalk, Co. Louth. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
The League of Ireland now has a very different look to 2018, with Cork City relegated last year and Dundalk suffering the same fate in 2024. But Murray is excited by the challenge that the Lilywhites face in the New Year.
“It’s ironic that the two of us were not so long ago at the top and now circumstances are different. It’s a reset for the club,” Ronan said. “I think the right man is in place to bring the club forward.
“We are where we are and we can only work as hard as we can to get back up where the club belongs, back in the Premier Division for next season. But it’s not going to be easy. It’s a hard road to get back promoted, with one team going up and then obviously the playoffs.
“We’re going to have to start well, we’re going to have to have a good pre-season under our belts, and then get points on the board early doors to set the tone for the rest of the season.”
Top photo by Gerry Scully.
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