St. Pats announce triple signing

St. Patrick’s Athletic have announced the signings of Keith Treacy, Mark Timlin and Graham Kelly ahead of the 2016 season. The players will serve as welcome additions to a squad that has lost the long-serving league and cup winning duo of Greg Bolger and Kenny Browne to Cork City in the last week.

The trio have agreed terms with the Inchicore side and will play an integral part in manager Liam Buckley’s plans to move his side further up the table for next season.

Former Ireland international Keith Treacy arrives from relegated Drogheda United who he joined in August having departed Barnsley in January. He had previous spells in the Premier League at Blackburn Rovers and in the Championship with Burnley.

His new club finished 2015 in fourth position in the Premier Division while also winning the EA Sports Cup in September. That cup win meant St. Pats had won every domestic trophy available to them since Buckley arrived at the club four years ago.

Such consistent performance was lacking in the final weeks of their 2015 campaign however, as they went on a losing streak of five games following a remarkable nine game winning streak during the summer – ending the season with eight losses in their final twelve games in all competitions.

Their dismal end to the season led many to call for the introduction of new faces to Richmond Park, something Buckley's new recruits, a mixture of international undertaking, experience and prospect are expected to bring.

Their comfortable win over Galway United on the final day of the season saved face however, with Keith Long’s Bohemians coming to within one win of snatching the Saints’ European place for 2016 - something St. Pats had secured for the previous five seasons.

Midfielder Mark Timlin joins the club from Derry City, where the 21 year-old played for over a year and a half under Roddy Collins and Peter Hutton, making 63 appearances and scoring 15 goals following a short spell at Ipswich.

While Graham Kelly signs from Bray Wanderers having featured consistently at the Carlisle Grounds for two years. The 24 year-old central midfielder joined Derby County’s youth academy in 2008 before signing on loan for Bray in 2010, where he eventually signed on a permanent basis in 2011 having also played at Athlone.

Kelly made 29 appearances for Seasiders in 2015, scoring twice and helping Bray to an eighth place finish in the Premier Division.

The signings are St. Pats’ first since the off-season began with the Inchicore clubs supporters most certainly hoping that many more are just around the corner.