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Horgan receives Dundalk FC Supporters’ Trust 2026 Player of the Year award
Daryl Horgan has been named Dundalk FC Supporters’ Trust Player of the Year – a fitting accolade for the club captain, who contributed 12 goals and 10 assists during Dundalk’s first season back in the top flight.
Horgan, who has also been shortlisted for League of Ireland Player of the Year honours – an award he won in 2016 – collected his award at Oriel Park on Friday night from Anne Reilly, Dundalk FC Supporters’ Trust Equality & Inclusion Officer, before reflecting on a season that re-established Dundalk’s position among the country’s elite.
“I know at the start of the season, if anyone was to say that Dundalk would stay up, then that would be a good year,” the club captain said in an interview with Chris Clarke from The Town End Podcast during the ceremony which was held at the Lilywhite Lounge. “Now, in the middle of the season, we really thought we could go for something and be really competitive, and it was disappointing to drop out a small bit, but overall the outcome was decent.
“Football has a funny way of knocking you back down to earth, and we got a couple injuries, (players) moved on and things like that. It just took time (to readjust) and the games we were finding a way to win, to come on the right side of, we were finding a way not to win and that was the tough part of it.”
Horgan, evergreen at 34, played a pivotal role in Ciarán Kilduff’s plans, not only by taking the captain’s armband, but also by operating on the left wing – and in other attacking roles as required – in 35 of the season’s 36 league games. Indeed, his only time on the sidelines during the 2026 league campaign came in Derry on 10 April, an outing for which he was serving a one-match ban. Not only that, but Horgan started and finished 29 of those matches. His contribution in front of goal was equally impressive.
“(Before the season started), I never really kind of put a number on (goals or assists) or you have to do this this or this,” the 17-time Republic of Ireland international said. “You know, obviously you are an attacking player, and the job is to be creative and to score goals, set up goals and just be a threat in that final third, but sometimes the chances don't come, sometimes they do, and sometimes you get lucky that they bounce off they go in. That is just the way of football at times, but as long as I was contributing to what everyone was doing, what the team was doing, then that was a starting point for me.
“The body feels good, the head feels good, and as long as that's the case, I'll stay playing as long as I can. They will probably have to drag me out kicking and screaming at some point, but look, I am enjoying coming in every day. I love playing football and it will be a hard thing to walk away from, but while I still feel there's something I can give, I will give it.”
In 2026, Horgan’s goals and assists proved vital, perhaps none more so than a set-piece masterpiece on 29 August, when his late free-kick at Sullivan and Lambe Park secured a 3-2 away win against local rivals Drogheda United.
“As I was walking over (to take the free-kick), I was thinking I am just going to run over it (and let Bobby Burns hit it),” Horgan recalls. “But just the way the wall was set up, I think they had Conor Kane on the edge of the wall, and he was obviously the smaller of the three giants they had also lined up. So I just saw there was an opportunity to hit it and these ones hadn't gone in this year, but that one did and that was nice.”
And there was a positive reaction from the terraces?
“Yeah, look I definitely would be lying to say otherwise and it's the video (Dundalk FC media officer) Gerry Scully had, where it was just looking at the crowd, and it was unbelievable, like class! The atmosphere was special, and my kids were in the crowd, and my wife was in the crowd, so it was just nice, it was a special moment for everyone to get that winner.”
As club captain, and with his experience, Horgan recognises the importance of seeing the efforts on the pitch acknowledged both by the club and its supporters – an important combination as Dundalk FC looks towards 2027 and beyond.
“There is the responsibility of playing for any football club, but then to be captain of a big football club like Dundalk, where there has been recent trials and tribulations, I did feel that responsibility on my shoulders after the relegation big time. Probably not so much now, because I feel the progress is there, whereas two years ago it was all negative. Now there are positives, and there are green shoots. There's a lot of hope all of a sudden again which is brilliant.
“The fans are huge, it's why home records are so much better than away records at every level,” Horgan added. “Have that support, have that energy, it’s important. You can feel the positivity, and the negativity, when it's coming from the sidelines and from the fans...and as long (everyone is) trying the right things, and it might not always be the right execution, but that's football, you know, football is a game that is based around mistakes more so than anything else, so you do need that support, that confidence, that belief from the people around you. And you know that when you see every successful team, it goes from boardroom to management to players to fans to staff to everything all going in one direction and that's what I would love to see here more so than anything else.”
There are already signs that the club is moving in that direction.
“We all know that there was loads that needed to be fixed,” Horgan continued. “You know, with everything that went on, it just got a bit chaotic. But the owners we have here now, and Chris (Clinton), he's trying to do everything he can, bit by bit. You know, it's not a pool of money where you can just put whatever you want in and buy whatever you need. It's going to take a bit of time, but you can see the pitch, the lights, the work on getting extra stuff for the academy, promoting the women's game – all of these things are important. And then being able to put a team on the pitch that can be competitive. So, it might take a little bit more time to get absolutely everything perfect. And, look, granted, everything is not going to be perfect. You're not going to have a 70,000-seat stadium with plush boxes and everything. That's just not going to be the case. But things are moving, and they're moving in the right direction, which I suppose is all you can really ask for.”
