Massey rejoins Wanderers for a second spell
FOLLOWING a couple of years at Drogheda United, Knocklyon native Dane Massey has opted to rejoin Bray Wanderers in advance of the new League of Ireland First Division season reports Daire Walsh.
Having come through the youth ranks at the Ballyfermot-based Cherry Orchard alongside future professional stars Adam Rooney and Stephen Gleeson, Massey was signed up to the youth section of Bray and eventually made his breakthrough into the first-team squad in May 2008.
His debut appearance against Shamrock Rovers in a League of Ireland Cup clash was the first of 150 games Massey played for the Seagulls over a five-season stretch, but he will get an opportunity to add to that tally in 2023. In comparison to when he first left the club 10 years ago – to join forces with Tallaght man and current Republic of Ireland senior boss Stephen Kenny at Dundalk – Bray now find themselves in a radically different position.
Back then, the north Wicklow men had just completed their eighth consecutive season in the League of Ireland Premier Division. In modern times, Bray are operating in the second-tier of Irish soccer and had to settle for a seventh-place finish in last season’s First Division table.
This was the first campaign for the club since their merger with Cabinteely FC and they will be hoping for a much-improved showing in 2023.
The signing of someone with Massey’s experience is certainly a help and having captained Drogheda to Premier Division safety in the season just gone, the Seagulls will undoubtedly be leaning on his vast knowledge of the league.
Although he has represented Bray and Drogs with considerable distinction in the past, it was with the latter’s Co. Louth rivals Dundalk that Massey achieved the greatest level of success.
In total, Massey won the Premier Division title on no fewer than five occasions – including a magnificent three-in-a-row triumph from 2014 to 2016. Additionally, he won three FAI Cups with the Lilywhites, starting at left-back for their final victories against Cork City in 2015 and 2018.
He was also part of the club’s League of Ireland Cup win in 2014, as well as a brace of President’s Cup successes in 2015 and 2019.
While his former Dundalk colleague and fellow Knocklyon man Brian Gartland has brought down the curtain on his own glittering playing career at the highest level, the 34-year-old Massey will continue to soldier on for his 16th season as a League of Ireland player.
Interestingly, he won’t be the only Knocklyon connection within the Bray ranks as the club’s new manager Ian Ryan also hails from the southside suburb. Previously linked with a switch to Bohemians, former Shamrock Rovers defender Ryan assumes the helm after a recent stint in charge of Wexford Youths.
An ex-student of Terenure College, Ryan has been busy in the transfer market as he has also drafted in Firhouse’s David Webster – cousin of St Patrick’s Athletic striker Eoin Doyle – for his own second spell with Bray.