Ambitious Darragh Burns wants to 'jump into the history books' at Derry City

​The ambitious 23-year-old joined on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee from League Two outfit Grimsby Town and is set to make his Derry debut against Tolka Rovers in Sunday's FAI Cup second-round tie at Brandywell.

The Meath man was officially unveiled as Tiernan Lynch's FIFTH summer signing on Tuesday but was ineligible to play in last night's Europa League qualifier against CSKA Sofia. He will be available for the visit of the Leinster Senior League outfit on Sunday.

A 2021 FAI Cup winner with St Patrick's Athletic, Burns is determined to help bring success to Derry City supporters and can't wait to play in front of the 'passionate' Brandywell support.

"The cup is only special when you go on a good cup run so we want to start off well on Sunday," said the ex-MK Dons and Grimsby man. "I can't wait to get going. Hopefully I get my first few minutes if the gaffer decides.

"I have great memories playing in the cup final at the Aviva against Bohs and winning on penalties was probably one of the best days of my life. Unbelievable! So hopefully I can jump into the history books with Derry and bring some success here."

He's played at Brandywell for St Pat's and Shamrock Rovers and so he's looking forward to experiencing the fans getting behind him at the venue for a change.

"I think the fans are very passionate," he smiled. "Every time I played at Brandywell it's been a hostile environment for an opposition player so I'm glad to be wearing the Candy Stripes and be a Derry City player now going out on Sunday which will probably be my first game.

"Obviously I couldn't play on Thursday because of registration but I think the people of Derry deserve success. It's a hungry dressing room and the lads want to bring it to the city."

It's Burns third League of Ireland Premier Division club but signing for Derry was a 'no brainer'.

"I've played for Pats; I've played for Rovers. I think I have a good bit of experience for my age and know the league inside out. “When I spoke to Tiernan and Mark [Connolly] it was a project they put out personally for myself and the club going forward so it was a no brainer.

"The club really wants to go in the right direction and push on over the next couple of years so that's an exciting thing for me. It felt right and I'm delighted to be here.

"I'm absolutely buzzing. When I spoke to Tiernan and Mark and they told me their project for the club going forward, I was really excited to get on board."

Of course former Brandywell favourite Cameron McJannet who scored twice in the FAI Cup final when Derry last won it back in 2022 gave the club a glowing reference.

"He spoke very highly about the club and everyone around the club. The city, he loved it here so when you get a reference from Cam it make the move a lot easier.

"Cam had a really good time here. He won the cup here and got two goals in the cup final. He was actually my neighbour when I lived over there so I have a good relationship with Cam and he had good words to say about the club."

The stunning new grass pitch, the overall improvements at Brandywell, and the investment in the squad were another major selling point for Burns.

"The grass pitch is the best in the country. It was a big attraction for me. I know a lot of players didn't like playing on the astro pitch. It wasn't good for the body but when you have a surface like that and the new stand behind the goal—I obviously haven't played there since it's been put in—but I can't wait to play at Brandywell and hopefully we have a good time there."

Burns scored two penalties in the shootout win over Man United at Blundell Park in the Carabao Cup last season in one of the biggest cup upsets of the modern era.

He also played against Chelsea for Shamrock Rovers in the Uefa Conference League and believes those experiences have matured him as a player.

"I think it has matured me as a player and probably as a person as well. I played a lot of games over there last year. There were some magical nights against Man United, Wolves and Brentford in the cup.

"We had a really good cup run, and I really enjoyed the experience but my full focus is on Derry now and I can't wait to get going.

"People expected big things this year [from Derry] and it hasn't went the way people expected so far but there's still half of the season to go.

"There's still a lot of football to be played. There are the European games and then again on Sunday so there's still a lot of league games to go and I think we can finish the season strong and see where it takes us."