From Europe to crisis in four years - the rise and fall of Dundalk

Four years ago, Dundalk were playing Arsenal in the Europa League. Now, there concerns they can even see out the remainder of the League of Ireland season amid liquidation fears.

Dundalk are one of the most successful sides on the island of Ireland, but now they are a club in crisis.

They won five titles in seven seasons along with three FAI Cups and two runs in the Europa League between 2014 and 2020, but this season has been filled with difficulties.

They sit bottom of the Premier Division with six games remaining, and their owner is trying to secure a deal that will stop the club going into liquidation.

What has happened to a club with a 121-year history that is the second most successful in League of Ireland history? BBC Sport NI takes a look.

This is not the first time the club has faced financial challenges. In 1998 they were forced to transfer list their entire first team and also had difficulties as recently as 2012, before recovering to their unprecedented success.

In the not so distant past, Dundalk were the team to beat in the League of Ireland with five titles and three FAI Cups in the space of seven seasons.

They are also the only league of Ireland club to reach the group stages of the Europa League twice (2016-17 and 2020-21).

What has followed has been a period of sharp decline, which has coincided with management changes under various ownership.

On the pitch, Dundalk are currently embroiled in a relegation battle and sit bottom of the table with six matches remaining. In 2022 they finished third and were fifth last year.

Club legend-turned-manager Stephen O'Donnell was let go after a disappointing start to the season with another former player, Brian Gartland, replacing him on an interim basis.

Noel King was eventually appointed as permanent manager, but his tenure lasted 25 days and he left the role, citing medical issues. Jon Daly has been in charge since.

The decline on the pitch has been married with a bleak outlook off it with growing debts reported to be seven figures and in the club has had four separate ownership regimes in recent years.

Current owner US-based Irish businessman Brian Ainscough purchased the club from Andy Connolly and StatSports in December 2023.

Connolly, who had previously owned the club with local businessman Paul Brown, had sold it to an American investment firm Peak6 in 2018 before re-buying the club with StatSports in 2021.

In terms of Ainscough's acquisition of the club, the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] admitted that a "loophole" meant not all financial checks were carried out before the ownership change.

Speaking at the FAI's AGM in September, interim chief executive David Courell conceded that the club's Premier Division Licence had been completed a month prior to the takeover, meaning financial checks were carried out on the previous owners rather than the prospective new ones.

Fears over the club's finances and ability to finish the season came to light in recent weeks when players and staff had their wages delayed.

Ainscough admitted in a statement that the club were experiencing "financial difficulties" and his attempts to secure additional investment did not come through for "various reasons".

That was followed by fears the club could go under on Monday, but talks to secure the club's future are ongoing.

Reaching the group stages of European competition is often seen as the promised land for clubs on both sides of the Irish border due to the financial windfall that brings.

For example, Larne recently earned £2.6m by becoming the first Irish Premiership side to qualify for the group stages of the Uefa Conference League - and that could rise with payments for results and media rights.

Gartland played for Dundalk in both the club's European campaigns and said a lot of the perceived success around the club in Europe was "superficial" as they had to play home matches away from Oriel Park, which did not meet Uefa's criteria.

Their second campaign in 2020-21 was also played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Anytime a club goes to a greater distance in Europe, they either have to play at Tallaght or Lansdowne Road (Aviva Stadium)," Gartland told RTE Sport.

"A lot of the success you see is on the outside but underneath it is where you need to get it.

"You need to put in strong structures so that this stuff doesn't happen."

Gartland added that the structures were required to the future of a club wasn't "at the behest of one owner" and shared his concerns about growing wages within the league without additional revenue streams.

Derry City manager Ruaidhri Higgins spent time with Dundalk both as a player and assistant coach under Stephen Kenny.

He said the club's plight was "extremely sad" and said "there are some really good people down there who deserve a bit better".

"You never like to see that happen to anybody, so fingers crossed they can get themselves out of it."

"It wasn't that long ago that they were enjoying major success. It just shows if there is mismanagement about how things can flip."

One of Higgins' current players, Patrick McEleney, spent six seasons at Oriel Park during the club's most recent period of success and he added that it is "an amazing place".

"My children were raised there and it always has a special place with me and my family.

"It's a massive club with a massive fan base, so hopefully it all gets sorted."

After fears the club would go into liquidation as early as Monday, it emerged that Ainscough was speaking to a number of parties as fans gathered outside Oriel Park to show concern for their club.

The ongoing talks leave three possible opportunities for Dundalk – each with varying outlooks on the club’s future.

Until a deal is agreed, then liquidation is still a worst case possibility for Dundalk given the fears the club would go under on Monday.

The damage it would do to not only the club, but the town and county Louth, needs little explanation as its 121-year history would come to an abrupt close.

But there would also be significant damage to the FAI and League of Ireland if Dundalk were to go under before the end of the season.

It's highly likely that all of Dundalk’s results would be expunged, which would see Shelbourne go from a four-point lead to at the top of the Premier Division to being one point behind Higgins' Derry City – albeit with one game in hand.

Waterford, who are chasing a European place, would drop from third to sixth as positions would chop and change in the table.

If a deal is to be struck then there are two scenarios that could play out.

Dundalk could enter SCARP (Small Company Administrative Rescue Process) as part of a takeover deal. SCARP is a 45-day salvage scheme that was established in 2021, and would lead to the club’s debts being restructured.

It would allow Dundalk to fulfil the remainder of the season, but a points deduction for entering administration would apply and they would be relegated to the first division. But, crucially, the club would survive.

The best case scenario is that any new owners would absorb the club’s debts as part of the takeover. That would allow Dundalk to avoid a points deduction and fight their relegation battle on the pitch.

Shortly after taking over, Ainscough described Oriel Park as a "pig sty"., external Thomas Byrne, the Irish government’s sports minister, announced on Monday that the 500,000 euro grant to improve the stadium’s artificial pitch and floodlights would be brought forward in a bid to try and attract any potential bidders.

Optimism has grown after a bleak outlook on Monday morning, but until a deal is struck then uncertainty will remain about the future of one of the League of Ireland’s most storied clubs.