Brian Gartland staying with Dundalk in new off-field operations role

NEW ROLE: Brian Gartland of Dundalk. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Dundalk stalwart Brian Gartland is staying on at the club post-retirement as their new head of football operations.

The defender was an integral part of the club’s golden period under Stephen Kenny and Vinny Perth, winning five league titles before he announced his retirement as a player just before Christmas.

The 36-year-old has since been working unofficially in a supporting role to first-team boss and former teammate Stephen McDonnell, particularly on the recruitment front ahead of their league opener on February 17.

The Lilywhites have endured plenty of tumult since Kenny departed in late 2018, the reign of American owners Peak6 littered with controversy and a series of appointments that didn’t last long.

Former Sky Sports presenter Andy Burton was drafted in as Technical Director just as Kenny departed before ex-Northern Ireland player and QPR manager Jim Magilton survived just 11 months in a similar role having arrived in late 2020.

Now back under local ownership and looking forward to a return to European competition in the summer, Gartland has been turned to for stability.

He will work closely with the club’s owners, board and head coach Stephen O’Donnell on all aspects of football-related activities, including player recruitment, scouting, analysis, technical and medical support, player welfare and planning.

“I’m absolutely delighted to extend my stay at the club in a role that I’m really excited about,” said Gartland, facing into his 11th season at Oriel Park.

“The current focus now is to work with Stephen to bring in new additions and create an environment for the first-team to be successful.” His remit will also be to develop and implement long-term structures across all football-related aspects of the club, including the club’s academy.

“Our academy teams had a brilliant year in 2022 and, alongside our academy director Derek Boyle, who has done an outstanding job, I want to ensure we build on that and continue to nurture the talented players and coaches that we have in our underage set up,” said Gartland.

“This position will help to strengthen the link between our first team and the academy and ensure that our underage players have a seamless pathway from underage to senior level.” 

“From the moment we first spoke to Brian and explained our vision for the role and how we saw him playing a part in the club going forward, we knew he was exactly the person we wanted,” said Dundalk FC chairman Sean O’Connor.

“He has character and understanding of what it takes to be a successful player, he knows how to instil a culture of success at the club, and he knows how to connect the club with the fans and the community.

“A big part of his job right now is identifying players that have the right attributes to fit in with Stephen’s style of play and have the right character to be at the club. He has already shown his strength in that area by securing our four top targets within the past week.

“Off the field, he has an understanding of business which adds a different dimension to the role and that knowledge is something we really wanted to harness and keep at Oriel Park. It’s a really exciting appointment for the club.” “It’s very important to keep someone like Brian, who enjoyed so much success here as a player, as part of the fabric of the club,” said Dundalk head coach Stephen O’Donnell.

“It’s a very exciting opportunity for him and he has really taken to it. There is an awful lot to the technical side of the game now in terms of contract negotiations, dealing with agents and creating an environment for players to maximise their potential and Brian’s skillset will really help us in those areas.”