Waterford FC are excited to announce that Jesse Dempsey has put pen to paper to sign his first professional contract on a multi-year deal for the Blues.
The 20 year-old made his Blues first-team debut in May, and has gone on to make six further appearances for John Coleman’s side to date, as he now signs on the dotted line to become the latest Waterford FC academy graduate to earn his first professional deal.
The left-side defender started his footballing journey with Wexford Albion FC, located in the heart of Wexford Town. Jesse progressed from there to Wexford FC in 2020 where he spent 12 months at Ferrycarrig Park with their MU15 side.
Dempsey made the move to the Blues in 2021 where he lined out for our MU17 & MU19 teams, before departing the Blues at the start of 2023 to join UCD AFC where he gained his first taste of first-team experience.
At the time, UCD were in the top flight of Irish football, as the youngster earned an impressive 21 appearances for the students in their 2023 SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division campaign – 18 of which were starts.
After an impressive season with the students, Dempsey earned a move abroad to Italian side US Lecce, as he spent time with their underage sides, before making the move back to Waterford during the summer of 2024 where he lined out for our MU19’s side.
And after an impressive half-season back with the Blues, Jesse made the step up to the first-team this year, earning his first appearance in our 2-2 draw away to St. Patrick’s Athletic FC at the end of May where he played a pivotal role in Conan Noonan’s 80th minute equaliser.
Jesse earned his first start for the Blues in our Premier Division trip away to Sligo Rovers FC in June, in a Player of the Match performance in the heart of the Blues defence.
Dempsey’s first game at the RSC was in our 2-1 win at home to Bohemians last month, as again he caught the eye of the Blues support with an excellent display as our left wing-back.
With 30 Premier Division appearances to his name in total now, the defender earns his first professional deal with the club this Summer, and we caught up with the Blues number 14 to see what he had to say on his new deal:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be signing a new contract with Waterford FC. I’m very proud to extend my stay at this fantastic club and I’m grateful for the faith the club has shown in me. I’d like to thank the manager, the coaching staff, and the fans for their incredible support. I’m committed to giving my all for the team and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together in the future.”
Blues Head Coach John Coleman was delighted to reward Jesse with his first professional contract, mentioning:
“Jesse is someone who we feel is a promising talent who has acquitted himself really well when called upon for the first team. We are delighted he has signed, and are looking forward to being part of his development.”
Waterford FC Academy Manager Mike Geoghegan also spoke of his delight for Jesse signing his first professional contract with the club:
“We are delighted that Jesse has signed a professional contract with the club. He spent two years with us before leaving and playing first team with UCD. We brought him back to our under 20s from Lecce and he has pushed on immensely from there”
Congratulations Jesse!