Declan McDaid (born 22 November 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder. McDaid started his career as a youth player at Greenock Morton, before being promoted to the club's first team in April 2013. However, McDaid left the club a short time later and signed for then Scottish First Division side Partick Thistle in June 2013. After two successful seasons with Ayr United, he signed for Scottish Championship side Dundee in June 2019 and enjoyed promotion to the Scottish Premiership with them in 2021. He also played for Falkirk on loan before spending two and a half seasons with Irish club Bohemians.

Declan McDaid
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-11-22) 22 November 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Dunoon, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
2011–2012 Greenock Morton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Greenock Morton 1 (0)
2013–2017 Partick Thistle 23 (0)
2016Cowdenbeath (loan) 17 (1)
2017–2019 Ayr United 75 (10)
2019–2022 Dundee 51 (4)
2021Falkirk (loan) 9 (0)
2022–2024 Bohemians 72 (7)
International career
2013 Scotland Schools U18 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 July 2018

Club career

edit

Greenock Morton

edit

Whilst still in school, Morton received a £35,000 verbal offer from Celtic but rejected it to allow him to complete his schooling.[1]

Born in Dunoon, McDaid made his debut across the River Clyde for Greenock Morton's first-team on 6 April 2013, coming on as a late substitute in a 5–2 victory over Airdrie United.[2] He chose to reject an offer of a full-time contract with the club and left in 2013.[3]

Partick Thistle

edit

McDaid joined newly promoted Scottish Premiership club Partick Thistle on 21 June 2013, initially to play for Thistle's under 20 squad.[4] Just 20 seconds after coming on as a substitute against St Mirren, McDaid assisted Christie Elliott for a goal in the seventy-fifth minute. Thistle eventually won the game 1–0. On 18 February 2015, McDaid signed a new contract, keeping him at Partick Thistle until the summer of 2017.[5] However, McDaid left Thistle on 31 January 2017, after the club agreed to terminate his contract.[6]

Cowdenbeath (loan)

edit

In January 2016, McDaid moved to Scottish League One side Cowdenbeath on loan, with the purpose of gaining some first-team experience.[7] McDaid scored his first ever professional goal on 20 February 2016 scoring for Cowdenbeath in a 3–2 home defeat to Peterhead making it 1–1 at the time.[8]

Ayr United

edit

After leaving Partick Thistle, McDaid signed a short-term deal with Scottish League One side Ayr United on 31 January 2017.[9] He scored his first goal for Ayr in a Scottish Cup round of 16 replay with Clyde in February 2017. With Ayr, McDaid would win League One in the 2017–18 season, and would follow that up with an impressive season in the Scottish Championship, finishing 4th place and qualifying for the Scottish Premiership playoffs, though were unsuccessful in their attempts at consecutive promotions.

Dundee

edit

McDaid signed a two-year deal with Dundee in June 2019, which would later be extended to three years.[10] He opened his scoring account for the Dark Blues by scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over Arbroath,[11] and followed that up a couple weeks later with a long-range goal and Man of the Match performance against his former side Ayr United.[12]

On 29 January, McDaid was announced to be returning to former club Partick Thistle, now in League One, on loan in January 2021 until the end of the season.[13][14] However, due to teams in the third tier and lower being unable to play due to COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland, he was unable to play for the Jags, and would play for Dundee again in February.[15] The club would confirm in March that McDaid would stay with the club for the remainder of the season.[16] McDaid's form would pick up, and he would be a part of the Dundee side which won the Premiership play-offs and gained promotion to the Scottish Premiership.[17]

Falkirk (loan)

edit

In September 2021, McDaid joined Scottish League One side Falkirk on loan until January 2022.[18] He would return to Dens in January after making 9 appearances with the Bairns and would return to playing games for Dundee under new manager Mark McGhee.[19]

McDaid would leave Dundee following the end of his contract in May 2022.[20]

Bohemians

edit

In July 2022, McDaid signed for League of Ireland club Bohemians. He was on the score sheet for Bohs in their victory in the final of the 2023 Leinster Senior Cup.[21]

International career

edit

McDaid was first called into the Scotland Schools U18 squad in 2013 after his performances in the Morton reserve side which finished second in the SFL Reserve League.[22]

McDaid would start all four games in the Centenary Cup, and scored against England at McDiarmid Park.[23]

Career statistics

edit
As of match played 1 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greenock Morton 2012–13[24] Scottish First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Partick Thistle 2014–15[25] Scottish Premiership 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2015–16[26] 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
2016–17[27] 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 0
Total 23 0 0 0 3 0 26 0
Cowdenbeath (loan) 2015–16[26] Scottish League One 17 1 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 19 1
Ayr United 2016–17[27] Scottish Championship 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
2017–18[28] Scottish League One 34 6 3 4 5 3 1[b] 0 43 13
2018–19[29] Scottish Championship 34 4 2 0 6 0 3[c] 0 45 4
Total 75 10 7 5 11 3 4 0 97 18
Dundee 2019–20[30] Scottish Championship 24 3 1 0 5 0 1[b] 0 31 3
2020–21[31] 20 1 1 0 4 0 3[d] 0 28 1
2021–22[32] Scottish Premiership 7 0 1 0 3 0 11 0
Total 51 4 3 0 12 0 4 0 70 4
Falkirk (loan) 2021–22[32] Scottish League One 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Bohemians 2022[33] LOI Premier Division 15 2 3 1 18 3
2023[34] 31 4 4 1 2[e] 1 37 6
2024[35] 26 1 2 0 0[e] 0 28 1
Total 72 7 9 2 2 1 83 10
Career total 248 22 19 7 26 3 12 1 304 33
  1. ^ Appearances in the League One play-offs
  2. ^ a b Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  3. ^ One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; Two appearances in the Scottish Premiership play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in the Premiership play-offs
  5. ^ a b Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup

Honours

edit

Bohemians

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ton youngster at centre of transfer fight". Greenock Telegraph. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Morton 5–2 Airdrie Utd". BBC Sport. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (18 May 2013). "Moore's bemused by youngster's Ton snub". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Two youngsters signed". Partick Thistle F.C. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. ^ Hosie, Tom (18 February 2015). "MCDAID SIGNS NEW CONTRACT". Partick Thistle F.C. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Decland McDaid leaves the club". Partick Thistle FC. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  7. ^ "McDaid joins Cowdenbeath on loan". ptfc.co.uk. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Cowdenbeath 2–3 Peterhead". BBC Sport. 20 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Declan McDaid joins United". Ayr United FC. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Declan is a Dee". Dundee FC Official Website. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Dundee 2–0 Arbroath". BBC. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Ayr United 1–2 Dundee". BBC. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Loan Signing: Declan McDaid returns to Firhill".
  14. ^ "Declan joins Partick on loan". dundeefc.co.uk. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Greenock Morton v Dundee". BBC. 27 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Declan to remain at club". dundeefc.co.uk. 4 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Dundee promoted as Kilmarnock drop down for first time in 28 years". BBC. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Declan joins Falkirk on loan". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Players return from loan". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Player Departures". Dundee Football Club - Official Website. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  21. ^ a b Dempsey, Andrew. "Bohemians secure Leinster Senior Cup crown with win over Usher Celtic". extratime.com. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  22. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (25 January 2013). "Scotland call-up for Ton youth". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  23. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (16 April 2013). "Dream strike against Auld Enemy". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  24. ^ "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  26. ^ a b "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  30. ^ "Games played by Declan McDaid in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  31. ^ "Games Played by Declan McDaid in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Games Played by Declan McDaid in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  33. ^ "Declan McDaid | Football Stats | Bohemians Dublin | Season 2022/2023 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  34. ^ "Declan McDaid | Football Stats | Bohemians Dublin | Season 2023/2024 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  35. ^ "Declan McDaid | Football Stats | Bohemians Dublin | Season 2024/2025 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
edit