Eye on the Opposition: Shels
Derry City v Shelbourne
Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, 13 March 2026
Live on LOITV
Derry City host Shelbourne in the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. A first meeting between the two since September, City and Shels is a fixture which has held quite the significance down the years.
Cityweb’s Pol O’Hare has taken a look at Joey O’Brien’s side’s transfer business and season to date ahead of tonight’s match.
Transfer business & Ones To Watch:
Incomings
- Odhran Casey (Cliftonville)
- Maill Lundgren (Degerfors IF)
- Rodrigo Freitas (Varzim SC)
- Conor Walsh (Sligo Rovers)
- Will Jarvis (Notts County)
- James Norris (Liverpool)
- Zeno Ibsen Rossi (Cambridge United –loan)
- Wessel Speel (Minnesota United – loan)
Outgoings
- Mark Coyle (Coleraine)
- Tyreke Wilson (Dundalk)
- Raymond Offor (Derby County)
- Lewis Temple (Bolton Wanderers)
- Ryan O’Kane (Sligo Rovers)
- James Roche (Athlone Town – loan [since recalled})
- Conor Kearns (Dundalk – loan)
- Derinsola Adewale (Athlone Town – loan)
- Tyreik Sammy (Bray Wanderers – loan)
- Aaron Moloney (Athlone Town – loan)
- Dan Ring (Bray Wanderers – loan)
- Taylor McCarthy (Longford Town – loan)
- Lorcan Healy (released)
- John O’Sullivan (released)
Winning the Premier Division in 2024 gave Shelbourne a springboard into Champions League qualifying last summer and provided a run which would eventually see the Reds enter the UEFA Conference League at the league phase. Backed by the windfall of their European campaign, the two most high profile transfers of Shelbourne’s winter spending are
those of Odhrán Casey from Cliftonville and Will Jarvis from Notts County.
It’s believed that the transfer for centre back Casey is the first in LOI history to breach the €100k mark, while
winger Jarvis returns to the club he shone at while on loan in 2024. Goalkeeper Conor Walsh was brought in for an undisclosed fee from Sligo Rovers, while Dutch keeper Wessel Speel returned to Shels after spending the second half of last season on loan at Tolka Park following Conor Kearns’ injury. Kearns has since joined Dundalk on loan for the season, allowing Walsh to deputise for Speel.
On the theme of players returning, fullback James Norris has signed for Shelbourne permanently after a solid campaign on loan from Liverpool last year. He’ll make the left back slot his own following the departure of Tyreke Wilson to Dundalk. Centre back Zeno Ibsen Rossi, who came through the ranks at Southampton and Bournemouth, joined on loan at the
end of the transfer window following injuries to key defenders Paddy Barrett and the aforementioned Odhrán Casey. French fullback Milan Mbeng has also missed the past two with a knock. That injury crisis in the heart of defence saw promising 19 year old James Roche recalled from his loan at Athlone Town.
Despite Shelbourne’s injury woes at the back, and the fact that captain Mark Coyle departed for Coleraine, O’Brien’s side still boasts a solid backline, with Sean Gannon, Kameron Ledwidge and Sam Bone to call on. Kerr McInroy is often the starting deep midfielder, with Evan Caffrey and JJ Lunney providing some dynamism in the middle. Harry Wood is the spark in the attacking role and is joint top of the goalscoring charts for the league so far, scoring four. Former Arsenal loanee Jack Henry-Francis is another one to watch, he was a standout at Sligo Rovers on loan in 2024.
With the options of Will Jarvis, John Martin, Ali Coote, Sean Moore, Dan Kelly and Maill Lundgren in forward areas, Shelbourne aren’t shy of talent at the business end of the pitch. Lundgren and Freitas were enticed to Shels from the Swedish topflight and Portuguese third tier, with fans keen to see what they’re about. Mipo Odubeko and Seán Boyd bring a real presence in centre forward, although the former has played just 83 minutes so far in 2026.