Sligo Rovers can confirm that Jack Keaney has left the club to join UCD.

The 20-year-old moves to the Students on their scholarship programme.

Keaney played 54 times since graduating from the underage teams, scoring six goals. 

Liam Buckley said: “We are sorry to lose Jack from the squad. He has had this offer from UCD for a couple of seasons.

“He has decided, at this final juncture to do so, to take it up and we respect that decision. 

“Jack has made great strides and for a man of his age he has had a big influence on the pitch, as well as off of it. He can be very proud of that progress made.

“As a club we do not want to lose any player. Our education partnership will help that cause going forward. The underage system here is very good and it shows that players get opportunities. 

“We are likely to lose one more player come the end of the month but we will look to bring in one or two to add to the squad. We will update on that shortly.”

Jack Keaney said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision to make, and I want to thank everyone at Sligo Rovers, and the Sligo Rovers fans, for all the support they have given me over the last number of seasons. 

“When I arrived at Sligo in January 2016 as a kid and I leave here not only having grown as footballer, but more importantly as a person too. 

“I also want to take this opportunity to personally thank Danny O’Leary, Niall Harrison, Colm Jinks, Dave Robertson, Gerard Lyttle, Kevin Deery, John Russell, Liam Buckley, Brian Dorrian and my teammates, who have all been instrumental in both my personal and professional development. 

“This is special club that will forever hold a place in my heart, and I want to wish everyone at Sligo Rovers all the best for the rest of the season.”

Sligo Rovers chairman Martin Heraghty has said Monday’s friendly with Accrington is an important night for bringing funds into the club.

Rovers host the League 1 side on Monday with the game ear-marked in the mid-season update as one of the ways to contribute to the club. The match kicks off at 7:45pm.

The Annual Draw generated over €78,000 as another one of those methods but the chairman said the game still represents a worthwhile opportunity.

He told sligorovers.com: “We were very proud of what the Annual Draw became. It was a shining light of the spirit we have at the club and created genuine astonishment at the level of support we receive. 

“I’ve made the point already that as €78,000 was coming into the club, it was quickly being used for expenditure. It allowed us to meet our commitments and we continue to do that with the help of the Sligo public.

“The thinking behind Monday’s game is to offer an evening’s entertainment as a money-spinner for the club because there is little cost to the game. We are charging our usual prices and it was debated on what to do with that. In the end we decided to with our normal pricing to try to maximise revenue on the night. 

“We have been trying to find a balance on things that affects fans. For example the previous family night at a home game was free of charge. The Bit O’ Red Trust provided travel to fans to the game with Harps. We will continue to look at methods to invest, such as the development projects. However, we have to accept that the first-team set-up is our priority because it dictates so much.

“We are speaking to Liam in relation to the transfer window. We want to provide the opportunity to bring in players. I think the fans will agree that recruitment has been very good this year. He has his belief on what works in this window and what doesn’t, but what we want to do is be in a position to go for a player if he comes along. Liam, John Russell and Dave Campbell do that work very well. We need to utilise it when we can.”

The Rovers chairman said that the committee are trying to plan long-term to increase income streams.

“The landscape is changing year on year. The budget of the title challengers compared to ours is getting further and further away. We never stop looking at different revenue streams to allow us to even compete. Fundraising will stay at the cornerstone of it but we need more creative methods and outside of football. 

“What I would say today is Monday night will be a benefit to us and the amount of support we receive will dictate the extent of that benefit. I’d encourage our fans to come out and we have a host of families activities for children for just €5 two hours before the game.

“We welcome John Coleman who was fundamental in making this game happen. He wanted to help us and pushed to make the game happen. Andy Holt, the Accrington chairman, is a great guy and we welcome all that visit from Lancashire.

“Seamus Conneely is very well regarded by our fans and I know they will enjoying seeing him again. If you can come on Monday night, your support is massively appreciated. Last night’s result – and more so the sheer determination not to give in – resonates with us all.

“We want to compete and we want to be at the top table in the country. We do that together and your role is key. I wanted to explain our thought process and where we are and pass on our continuing gratitude for all our fans do.

“Our position is good one but we want to improve on it and that work is ongoing. See you on Monday night.”

Sligo Rovers take on Shamrock Rovers on Friday night in Tallaght Stadium in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

Ahead of a third meeting of the season, both sides have one win each so far, 3-0 in Tallaght and 2-1 in Sligo.

Rovers are in sixth position in the table and will stay there regardless of the result on Friday, trailing St Pat’s by five points and four ahead of Cork.

In team news, Regan Donelon is the only injury double (hamstring) and will be tested pre-game. Otherwise it’s a full squad as Daryl Fordyce returns from an Achilles problem.

Liam Buckley said: “It was a good response on Monday. I said to the lads afterwards that while we may have regrets over our performance and result against Finn Harps that it is in the past now.  

“Beating UCD didn’t make up for it. but there is nothing we can do about it except go to games like this and try to make up points where we can in every game.

“I said at the break that our medium-term goal is take as many points as we can from all the games and that must include grit and determination and desire to do so.  We look forward now.

“I thought we kept it simple, kept it moving and we want to build on that. When we went to Tallaght for the first game, we didn’t really perform at all. That was 15th March and I think we’re a lot different team now and I’d like us to go out and do ourselves justice.

“It’s not easy at all to do that in Tallaght. I think the only defeats they have had there are ones they can count themselves unfortunate against Dundalk and Bohs so it’s a tough, tough game for us.

“That said, we’ll go there looking to take the football we played on Monday into this game and see where that takes us.”

Buckley added on transfer targets in this window.

“We are looking at what we can do certainly but at this moment everything is still undecided. If the right player is there for us we’ll try to make it work.

“There is no concrete update on players going in or out and this stage. But the club, the staff and I are monitoring the situation of ins and outs and when we have news we’ll let the fans know.”

Accrington Stanley’s Seamus Conneely is looking forward to a return to Sligo next Monday.

Stanley are back in pre-season and face their first friendly game in The Showgrounds against the Bit O’ Red.

At the time of chatting to www.sligorovers.com, Conneely had just completed his latest session as Accrington get put through their paces at an army base in Oxfordshire.

“It’s hard going yes. We just did a run there where you have all the equipment so you feel it.

“There’s a lot of the drills that you would do and the soldiers are with us so it’s very much some of the experience.

“We had footballs out earlier in pre-season. It’s structured to build up fitness and obviously to get going on the pitch. I think we are looking forward to starting the games at this stage though!”

Conneely still keeps an eye out on Rovers and his home club Galway United ahead of his return to Ireland on Monday.

“I look out every week for Sligo’s result and Galway as well.

“I’m disappointed for Galway United and where they are at. I think with even a small bit more investment that could change but it’s hard I know.

“Sligo are doing okay, I see the gap growing from the top clubs because of the European money so they are doing well in that respect. I’m sure they are looking to break into that top four.

“John Coleman mentioned a few times that he was trying to get a friendly in Sligo at the end of last season and I kept asking him so I was delighted when it was confirmed.

“John was really keen to go there. He knows Sligo will be the ideal game and has an affection for the club and the place.

“My Dad will be there and friends of the family and I can’t wait to see some old friends from the club.

“I’m sure a lot of the lads based locally who were part of the teams from 2012 and 2013 and that will come out too. “

The full interview will appear in the Sligo Rovers match programme on Monday.

Vote for the Sligo Rovers Wehrly’s Bros Jewellers Player of the Month for June in our online poll.

The games covered in this month are the 1-1 draws with St Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City and the defeat to Finn Harps.

Vote here

Sligo Rovers host Accrington Stanley in a friendly this Monday in The Showgrounds, kick-off 7:45pm.

The match will see John Coleman bring his League 1 side to Sligo for their first of the new campaign.

Seamus Conneely will be part of the Accrington squad.

Rovers will host a summer party with all the details below. To register e-mail shane@sligorovers.com or phone 071-9171212

Tickets are also available here

Sligo Rovers are currently seeking part time candidate(s) looking to gain experience in the area of video analysis for our underage sides.

College placement or work experience options are available.

You will be required to:

• Attend all underage home fixtures
• Liaise with underage management on a weekly basis
• Upload videos to the club’s video analysis platform
• Report back to management on opposition through opposition video analysis

To apply, send a copy of your CV and cover note to colinfeehilysrfc@hotmail.com

Closing date is Friday, July 19^th 2019

Members of the Sligo Rovers squad attended Sligo’s Surf 4 All Summer Camp at Streedagh Beach on Tuesday.

Surf4All Sligo have been putting on a fantastic five day event at Streedagh making surfing accessible to young people with autism.

It is all done with the help of volunteers, so our players swapped the training pitch for the beach after their victory over UCD on Monday night.

The camp, which was in it’s second day, will cater for 21 children with autism this week, and is ran in conjunction with Sligo Sport & recreation partnership as well as Sligo Autism Service and Surf Ireland.

CEO Colin Feehily: “We were delighted to be able to give up some time and help out at the summer camp.

“The lads who took part really enjoyed it and it was great to see the kids enjoy it too. As a club we try and give something back in the community, and this is something we will continue to do in the future.

“There are some fantastic initiatives on going in the county, and the region, and it was a pleasure to be involved.”

The Sligo Rovers Annual Draw generated a truly extraordinary €78,340 in ticket sales this year.

David Gaule from Rathcormack won the top prize of €5,000.

This year the Annual Draw ticket sellers covered more ground than every before, going door to door, not just in County Sligo and Sligo Town but border regions and other counties as well.

The team was up to 20 people and the result was remarkable.

Club chairman Martin Heraghty said: “This is an incredible achievement by everyone at the club and the region. It shows what Sligo Rovers means to the public.

“A volunteer team devoted their summer nights to selling tickets on behalf of the club. They sacrificed time with family, friends on evenings and weekends going door to door. This is the history, heritage and spirit of Sligo Rovers at its strongest.

“I can tell you I am very proud of that team today. Mark Cummins in particular deserves great credit as the head of the group and chief organiser of the draw.

“We issued a message at the mid-season break over the difficulty of running a League of Ireland club in the current environment. We spoke about rising costs and an under-funded league. I wish I could tell you €78,000 is going to a new project or an idea for the future. The generosity of our fans in supporting it speaks volumes. They understand the environment.

“The reality is this is to fund the club for those costs and without it we would be having a different conversation today.

“We know the unquenchable desire within Sligo for the club to achieve success again and tickets sales extended to Leitrim and Mayo which also tells a story.

“It inspires the committee, it inspires the ticket sellers, and the playing squad and management have a greater understanding of why this all happens which is important to us as a club.

“We will use this momentum to try to keep driving this club in an upward trajectory.”

The prize winners:

1st prize: €5,000 – David Gaule, Rathcormack

2nd prize: One Night B&B for two people at the 5 Star Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin – Austin O’Callaghan, Rahaberna

3rd prize: Two tickets for Rod Stewart for his 4th December Concert plus One Night B&B and Evening Meal in The Croke Park Hotel. – Brendan O’Donnell c/o PSO

4th prize: One Night B&B and Evening Meal for two people at the Titanic Hotel in Belfast – Dylan Henry, Ballisadare

5th prize: One Night B&B for two people in Hotel Westport, Co Mayo – Gerard Devaney, Lisheen

6th prize: €200 voucher for 4 Star Old Ground Hotel, Ennis, Co Clare – Paul Feehily, Tubbercurry

7th prize: €150 Gift Voucher for The Cat and The Moon – Stephanie Sproule

8th prize: Sligo Rovers season ticket for 2020 – Niall McLean, Dublin Supporters Club

9th prize: 2 Premier Level Tickets for the Republic of Ireland versus Switzerland on 5th September in Aviva Stadium Euro 2020 qualifer – Brendan Rooney, Circular Road

10th prize: Signed Sligo Rovers jersey – PJ Sweeney

Ronan Coughlan netted a hat-trick for Sligo Rovers as they hammered UCD at the Showgrounds to pick up their first win in five games.

The away side took the lead in this one through skipper Liam Scales but Sligo turned the match completely on its head courtesy of Coughlan’s heroics, along with strikes from Johnny Dunleavy and Romeo Parkes.

In search of their first points on the road this season, it was UCD who impressed early on.

Yoyo Mahdy had Ed McGinty at full stretch to keep out his powerful effort before the Students hit the lead.

Bristol Rovers-bound Scales showed his strength as he muscled his way to the front post to head home Richie O’Farrell’s corner.

Rovers slowly found their feet and worked their way back into this tie. Conor Kearns got a strong hand to Coughlan’s shot on eleven minutes, before Parkes saw his effort sail past the far post from close range on the quarter hour.

Liam Buckley’s charges deservedly levelled the tie when Dunleavy latched on to David Cawley’s corner, although it looked like UCD keeper Conor Kearns could have done better.

Sligo were ahead less than 60 seconds later. Cawley pushed the ball into the path of Coughlan, who tucked it beyond Kearns for his first of the night.

Rovers had their third before the break. Parkes held off his man, biding his time before supplying the oncoming Coughlan who was left with a simple finish.

Parkes added his name to the score-sheet five minutes into the second half, the Jamaican left to tap the ball in at the back post from Dunleavy’s square.

Coughlan then had his hat-trick moments later, after he lifted the ball over a despairing Kearns from inside the six-yard box.

Parkes missed two late chances to claim his brace but Kearns twice got down quick enough to get a hand to both efforts.

Sligo Rovers: Ed McGinty; Johnny Dunleavy (Niall Morahan 53), Kyle Callan-McFadden, Dante Leverock, Lewis Banks; Kris Twardek, John Russell (John Mahon 70), David Cawley, Romeo Parkes; Ronan Coughlan (Brian Morley 58), Ronan Murray.

UCD: Conor Kearns; Dan Tobin (Harry McEnvoy 86), Evan Farrell, Josh Collins (Luke Boore HT), Liam Scales; Paul Doyle, Mark Dignam; Jason McClelland, Richie O’Farrell, Yoyo Mahdy (Hugh Torfeldt 86); Danu Bishop.

Referee: Damien MacGraith