Keadue Rovers welcome Adam McCaffrey back for remainder of 2024/2025 season

Keadue Rovers FC have confirmed the return of Adam McCaffrey to the club for the remainder of the 2024/2025 campaign.

McCaffrey, who played a pivotal role in Keadue's 2020 relegation/promotion play-off victory against Rathmullan Celtic by scoring a crucial goal, rejoins after a challenging period in his career.

The Dungloe man lined out for Finn Harps U-21s in a Knockalla Caravans Senior Cup game against Buncrana Hearts at the Letterkenny Community Centre in 2021.

The player was flown to undergo emergency surgery at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin before returning to Letterkenny University Hospital before being discharged in late 2021 after suffering two fractured skull bones, shattered facial bones, a punctured lung, and extradural hematoma.

He eventually made his Premier Division debut for the Finn Harps first team during the 2022 season under manager Ollie Horgan.

However, his promising trajectory was interrupted that year when he sustained a serious leg injury while playing for ATU against UCD. After a lengthy and arduous recovery, McCaffrey made a triumphant return to competitive football yesterday, playing the full 90 minutes in Keadue’s convincing 4-1 win over Donegal Town FC.

Keadue’s first-team manager, Patrick Bonner, expressed his joy at bringing McCaffrey back to the squad for the second half of the Donegal League Premier Division season.

“We’re absolutely delighted to get Adam onboard for the second half of the season. I played with Adam at Keadue when he was only 16, and you could see he was destined to operate at a much higher level, which he subsequently did at Harps," Bonner said.

"However, as we all know, Adam has had a couple of really bad injuries over the last number of years, and on a personal level, I was just delighted to see him get back on the pitch yesterday and get through the full 90 minutes. It’s been a long, long road back for Adam, and he’s had more than a few setbacks, but he’s a very resilient character and he has a great mindset, so it’s great to see him back playing football first and foremost."

Bonner also drew a parallel between McCaffrey’s situation and that of former Keadue player Paddy McGarvey, who recently moved to Ballinamallard FC after using Keadue as a stepping stone for his return from injury.

“He’s in a similar situation to Paddy McGarvey, who also had a bad injury, and Paddy used us as a platform to get back playing week-in-week-out," Bonner said. "Paddy has now signed for Ballinamallard FC, and we wish him well, and want to sincerely thank him for all his efforts with us. Paddy created a brilliant culture with the young goalkeepers at the club, and was a great example to all."

Looking ahead, Bonner hopes McCaffrey will use this opportunity to reach even greater heights in his career.

"We want Adam to use us to get back to the League of Ireland or Irish League, as that’s the level we believe he is capable of playing at, and as I said, we’re just over the moon to have him now for the next 11 league games we’ll play in the second half of the season."