 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1995-11-22)22 November 1995 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Dunoon, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Dundalk | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Greenock Morton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Greenock Morton | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2017 | Partick Thistle | 23 | (0) |
| 2016 | →Cowdenbeath (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2017–2019 | Ayr United | 75 | (10) |
| 2019–2022 | Dundee | 51 | (4) |
| 2021 | →Falkirk (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Bohemians | 72 | (7) |
| 2025 | Athlone Town | 10 | (1) |
| 2025– | Dundalk | 14 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | Scotland Schools U18 | 4 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:03, 12 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:00, 23 July 2018 | |||
Declan McDaid (born 22 November 1995) is a Scottishfootballer who plays as amidfielder forLeague of Ireland Premier Division clubDundalk. McDaid started his career as a youth player atGreenock Morton, before being promoted to the club's first team in April 2013. However, McDaid left the club a short time later and signed for thenScottish First Division sidePartick Thistle in June 2013. After two successful seasons withAyr United, he signed forScottish Championship sideDundee in June 2019 and enjoyed promotion to theScottish Premiership with them in 2021. He also played forFalkirk on loan before spending two and a half seasons with Irish clubBohemians, and then a brief stint withAthlone Town.
Whilst still in school, Morton received a £35,000 verbal offer fromCeltic but rejected it to allow him to complete his schooling.[1]
Born in Dunoon, McDaid made his debut across the River Clyde forGreenock Morton's first-team on 6 April 2013, coming on as a late substitute in a 5–2 victory overAirdrie United.[2] He chose to reject an offer of a full-time contract with the club and left in 2013.[3]
McDaid joined newly promotedScottish Premiership clubPartick Thistle on 21 June 2013, initially to play for Thistle's under 20 squad.[4] Just 20 seconds after coming on as a substitute againstSt Mirren, McDaid assistedChristie Elliott for a goal in the seventy-fifth minute. Thistle eventually won the game 1–0. On 18 February 2015, McDaid signed a new contract, keeping him at Partick Thistle until the summer of 2017.[5] However, McDaid left Thistle on 31 January 2017, after the club agreed to terminate his contract.[6]
In January 2016, McDaid moved toScottish League One sideCowdenbeath on loan, with the purpose of gaining some first-team experience.[7]McDaid scored his first ever professional goal on 20 February 2016 scoring for Cowdenbeath in a 3–2 home defeat toPeterhead making it 1–1 at the time.[8]
After leaving Partick Thistle, McDaid signed a short-term deal withScottish League One sideAyr United on 31 January 2017.[9] He scored his first goal for Ayr in aScottish Cup round of 16 replay withClyde in February 2017. With Ayr, McDaid would win League One in the 2017–18 season, and would follow that up with an impressive season in theScottish Championship, finishing 4th place and qualifying for theScottish Premiership playoffs, though were unsuccessful in their attempts at consecutive promotions.
McDaid signed a two-year deal withDundee in June 2019, which would later be extended to three years.[10] He opened his scoring account for the Dark Blues by scoring both goals in a 2–0 win overArbroath,[11] and followed that up a couple weeks later with a long-range goal and Man of the Match performance against his former side Ayr United.[12]
On 29 January, McDaid was announced to be returning to former club Partick Thistle, now inLeague One, on loan in January 2021 until the end of the season.[13][14] However, due to teams in the third tier and lower being unable to play due toCOVID-19 restrictions in Scotland, he was unable to play for theJags, and would play for Dundee again in February.[15] The club would confirm in March that McDaid would stay with the club for the remainder of the season.[16] McDaid's form would pick up, and he would be a part of the Dundee side which won thePremiership play-offs and gained promotion to theScottish Premiership.[17]
In September 2021, McDaid joinedScottish League One sideFalkirk on loan until January 2022.[18] He would return to Dens in January after making 9 appearances with theBairns and would return to playing games for Dundee under new managerMark McGhee.[19]
McDaid would leave Dundee following the end of his contract in May 2022.[20]
In July 2022, McDaid signed forLeague of Ireland Premier Division clubBohemians. He was on the score sheet for theBohs in their victory in the final of the2023 Leinster Senior Cup.[21] On 2 November 2024, Bohemians announced that McDaid would leave the club after two and a half seasons atDalymount Park.[22]
On 5 January 2025, McDaid signed forLeague of Ireland First Division clubAthlone Town.[23][24][25] On 14 March 2025, McDaid scored his first goal for Athlone in a home league win overUCD.[26] After making 12 appearances in all competitions for the club, it was announced on 22 May 2025 that he had been released along with 4 of his teammates in the wake of a failed takeover of the club by investors.[27]
On 1 July 2025, McDaid signed forLeague of Ireland First Division clubDundalk.[28] He made his debut 3 days later in an away league win againstKerry.[29] On 4 August, McDaid scored his first goal for theLilywhites in a league win overLongford Town.[30]
McDaid was first called into the Scotland Schools U18 squad in 2013 after his performances in the Morton reserve side which finished second in the SFL Reserve League.[31]
McDaid would start all four games in the Centenary Cup, and scored against England atMcDiarmid Park.[32]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Greenock Morton | 2012–13[33] | Scottish First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Partick Thistle | 2014–15[34] | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[35] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17[36] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| Cowdenbeath (loan) | 2015–16[35] | Scottish League One | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| Ayr United | 2016–17[36] | Scottish Championship | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 2017–18[37] | Scottish League One | 34 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1[b] | 0 | 43 | 13 | |
| 2018–19[38] | Scottish Championship | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 45 | 4 | |
| Total | 75 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 97 | 18 | ||
| Dundee | 2019–20[39] | Scottish Championship | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| 2020–21[40] | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22[41] | Scottish Premiership | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 70 | 4 | ||
| Falkirk (loan) | 2021–22[41] | Scottish League One | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Bohemians | 2022[42] | LOI Premier Division | 15 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 18 | 3 | ||
| 2023[43] | 31 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | 2[e] | 1 | 37 | 6 | |||
| 2024[44] | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 72 | 7 | 9 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | 83 | 10 | |||
| Athlone Town | 2025[45] | LOI First Division | 10 | 1 | — | — | 2[e] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Dundalk | 2025[45] | LOI First Division | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 272 | 25 | 20 | 7 | 26 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 331 | 36 | ||
