Daryl Horgan

Daryl Jeremiah Horgan (born 10 August 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for League of Ireland Premier Division club Dundalk.

Horgan was born in Galway and attended Coláiste Éinde in Salthill between 2005 and 2010 where he studied for his Leaving Certificate.

He is the eldest of four brothers, with his brothers Colm and Kevin also playing professional football for Cork City and Shamrock Rovers, while his youngest sibling, Christopher, is currently playing for Galway United.

His father, Tom, coached at Salthill Devon for a number of years.

He began his career with Salthill in 2010 in the League of Ireland First Division before starting his professional career with Sligo Rovers the following year.

Horgan was a key member of Salthill Devon's side during their 2010 First Division campaign, making 23 league appearances and scoring twice.

Horgan was also a key member in their under-20 side who were beaten by UCD in the All-Ireland Final.

After a loan move to Cork City in July 2011 resulted in a First Division title, Horgan signed a permanent deal with the Munster club later that year.

In February 2011, Horgan signed for Paul Cook at Sligo Rovers, having impressed the manager while playing on trial for Finn Harps against Sligo in a pre-season friendly.

He made his Sligo debut on 9 April 2011, coming on as a substitute against St Patrick's Athletic at the Showgrounds and scored his first goal against Cockhill Celtic in the EA Sports Cup two weeks later.

Horgan made 13 appearances for Sligo before joining Cork City on loan in July 2011.

He made his debut for Cork City against Salthill Devon on 8 July 2011 and scored his first goals for the club in a 3–1 win away to Longford Town two weeks later when he got on the scoresheet twice.

By the end of the season he had scored seven league goals for Cork City as they lifted the First Division title.

On 2 December 2011, Horgan signed a permanent two-year deal at Cork City.

He had scored 21 goals in 79 appearances for Cork City before a move to Dundalk in 2013.

Over the next two seasons, he scored 10 times in 58 league appearances, including a Goal of the Season contender against Drogheda United on 14 June 2013 that received coverage in Marca and la Repubblica.

He cemented a reputation as one of the league's brightest young talents after earning a nomination for the PFAI Young Player of the Year and being included in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year.

At the end of the 2013 season, Horgan left Cork City and despite interest from Shamrock Rovers and St. Patrick's Athletic as well as trials at Barnsley and Torquay United, he signed for Dundalk on 9 December 2013.

Due to the fact he was under the age of 24, Dundalk had to pay a fee of €10,000 in compensation.

In his first season at the club, he scored five goals in 33 league appearances to help win the Premier Division title and League Cup, while on a personal level he was named PFAI Young Player of the Year.

With Dundalk he achieved Premier Division title success in three consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2016.

Horgan amassed 132 appearances for Dundalk across three seasons, scoring 27 goals.

In 2015, he netted nine times in 33 league appearances and was an integral part of the side which won the league and FAI Cup double.

At the end of the season, Horgan signed a new one-year contract at the club.

Horgan was a member of the Dundalk team which became the first Irish side to reach the play-off round of the Champions League in August 2016.

In November 2016, he earned his first call-up to the senior squad for a 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Austria.

His form throughout the 2016 season earned him comparisons to Damien Duff and Philippe Coutinho, while in August 2016, Galway United manager Tommy Dunne stated that he regarded Horgan as the best player in Ireland.

He appeared in all six of Dundalk's Champions League qualifier games in 2016 as they became the first ever Irish side to reach the play-off round.

Dundalk went on to qualify for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League group stage for the first time and Daryl scored for Dundalk in the away game against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, but lost 2-1.

Horgan began attracting more attention from clubs abroad with his contract due to expire at the end of 2016.

In October 2016, Horgan began reportedly attracting attention from Everton, Sunderland, Newcastle United and Ipswich Town, as well as clubs in the MLS and A-League.

It was announced on 12 December 2016 that Horgan and teammate Andy Boyle would be joining Championship club Preston North End on 1 January 2017.

He has been capped 17 times for the Republic of Ireland national team between 2017 and 2021.

Horgan was born in Galway and played youth football with Salthill Devon.

He moved to English club Preston North End in January 2017, and was then transferred to Scottish club Hibernian in August 2018.

He made his full international debut in March 2017.

Horgan made his debut in an FA Cup tie against Arsenal on 7 January 2017, coming off the bench to replace Daniel Johnson.

Seven days later, on his first start for the club, he provided an assist for Callum Robinson's second-half goal in a 2–0 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Horgan was a regular in the Hibernian team and played a total of 81 times and scored 10 goals including 2 against city rivals Heart of Midlothian before signing for newly-promoted Championship club Wycombe Wanderers in September 2020.

Horgan has represented his country at under-19 and under-21 level.