Ciaran Kilduff succeeds Tommy Hewitt at Athlone Town Women

Former League of Ireland star Ciarán Kilduff has been appointed manager of the Athlone Town women's team.

Kilduff replaces Tommy Hewitt, who resigned last week with Athlone seventh in the Women's Premier Division table, having been league and FAI Cup runners-up last season.

As a player, the Kildare man won a Premier Division title with Shamrock Rovers (2011) and two with Dundalk (2015 and 2016) as well as First Division crowns with UCD (2009) and Shelbourne (2019).

In 2016, he scored the goal against AZ Alkmaar to ensure that Dundalk became the first Irish team to win a point in the group stages of a European competition and followed that up by scoring the winner against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the next group game.

The 34-year-old retired at the end of the 2020 season and in recent years has been working in women's football while also managing the Maynooth University Women’s Team. He holds a UEFA 'A' coaching license and

Kilduff said: "I’m delighted to be here and to get this opportunity to manage at the top level of women’s football and I’m looking forward to getting started with the girls.

"We have a game at the weekend with Linfield FC which will be an ideal opportunity to see them in competitive action before the break and we can then develop our plan of action for the second half of the season".