Cork City FC are delighted to announce that Darragh Crowley has signed his first professional contract with the club.
Crowley made his league debut for the club against St. Patrick’s Athletic in April, after scoring his first senior goal in the EA Sports Cup against Cobh Ramblers earlier that month.
Speaking to CCFC.ie after putting pen to paper, Crowley said: “I am delighted; it has all happened very quickly for me. With being in Leaving Cert as well, my life has been very busy with training and studying.”
“It is a big step up from Under 19s and it took me a little while to get used to the training, but I have found my feet and got used to the first team intensity. I have been lucky that there have been a number of players who have come through from the 19s, as well as Colin Healy joining the coaching staff, which has helped me settle in.”
“Once I get the Leaving Cert done, I can get my head down and focus full time on training. I just want to improve myself and get stronger. Hopefully, if I keep working hard, then I can push my way into the first team and see what happens from there.”
Interim First Team Manager John Cotter welcomed the news, saying: “It is great news that Darragh has signed professional contract. He is a local lad who has come through our Academy under Colin Healy, and they have done a lot of good work with him. He has come into the first team over the last number of weeks and made an immediate impact, so this is something we have been working on for the last number of weeks.”
“You have a lot of other young lads who have come through the Academy over the last while, such as Cian Murphy, Cian Bargary, Conor McCarthy, Sean McLoughlin, Pierce Phillips. These have all come through in the last couple of years; it is great to see but the hard work starts now for these lads and hopefully they can progress and have great careers.”
“Darragh is doing his Leaving Cert in the coming weeks, so we have to manage that situation and support him to make sure he gets the education he wants. Hopefully, he can get his head down, finish his Leaving and then come into training full time with us.”
Cork City chairman Declan Carey also commented on the news, stating: “”Darragh Crowley signing a professional contract shows the importance the club puts on our academy progression and player pathway program. Darragh follows in the footsteps of other first team players such as Garry Buckley, Conor McCarthy, Seán McLoughlin, Cian Murphy and Ronan Hurley. The board is delighted to see this finalised and it shows the faith that our coaching team has in Darragh and our younger players.”
