WHEN KAMERON LEDWIDGE signed a new long-term contract with Shelbourne last year, manager Damien Duff referred to him as “the third grumpiest person at the club, after myself and Joe [O’Brien].”
But cantankerousness is not the only reason Ledwidge is perceived as an old head on young shoulders.
At 23, Ledwidge is in his fifth season at the club and has more appearances under the current manager than any other player in the squad (110).
Duff has hailed his maturity and growth “as a player and more importantly as a person” in recent seasons.
The manager has consequently always given his firm backing to Ledwidge.
In 2022, he responded to criticism of the youngster by Karl Sheppard on the RTÉ Sport podcast.
After Sheppard suggested Ledwidge repeatedly gave the ball away in a match with Finn Harps, Duff responded: “He is playing in a position he is learning day by day. I pick up an article two weeks ago, some ex-player referencing him, name-checking him. He’s a 20-year-old coming back from England, trying to rebuild his life and his career. To name-check him was, I thought, lower than low.
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“I won’t name-check the ex-Shelbourne player who was having a pop off Kam, one of our players who we care deeply about, but I’ll namecheck Kam as he was brilliant. Yes, he is a work in progress in that position but he was world-class tonight.
“For me, he is an eye-catching individual. I know a lot of players in the league want to get to England. Well, Kameron Ledwidge can go back to England. He doesn’t need to be reported on when he’s 20, so young, trying to rebuild his life. I thought it was poor. He knows who he is.”
Three years on, Ledwidge may not be back in England, but he has established himself as one of the top full-backs in the Premier Division.
The Finglas native insists he is unperturbed by such criticism but was grateful for Duff’s backing.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Back then I was probably still a kid and wasn’t really mature as I am now. The manager will always have the back of anyone in the changing room, or the club. He’ll back you until he can’t back you any more. He will keep going and keep going and back everyone. That’s just the way he is and the nature of the man. He loves everyone and once you’re with him, that’s the main thing.”
Along with JJ Lunney, Ledwidge is the club’s longest-serving player and one of only five survivors from the team that reached the FAI Cup final against the odds in 2022.
Under a tough taskmaster such as Duff, the Dubliner would not have survived so long without considerable resilience in addition to talent.
“When [Duff] first came in and you have that meeting where you set out what you want to do, the standards and the demands are always sky high. You have to stay on it all the time, hard work and everything in training, once you put that into a game then it starts looking after itself. I think the demands that he puts on us every week and every day in training, he’s the best coach.”
Ledwidge has made 110 appearances for Damien Duff's Shelbourne, more than any other player. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Already, the St Kevin’s Boys graduate has had to deal with his fair share of setbacks.
At “12 or 13,” he went on trial to Celtic and several other clubs across the water.
At 16, he landed at Southampton and was one of 10 Irish players on the Saints’ books – Seamas Keogh, Sean Brennan, Thomas O’Connor, Aaron O’Driscoll, Will Smallbone, Will Ferry, Jonathan Afolabi, Michael Obafemi and Shane Long were the others.
“I probably didn’t get the best out of myself over there and I don’t know why,” he says. “I ask myself the question as well, but probably being away from home at such a young age I thought was, not hard, but I wasn’t used to it.
“I think it’s just going away from home so young, the manager calls me a mammy’s boy.
“There are more opportunities now [in the Premier Division] than there were back then. I was 16 [going to England] but I think it’s really good for the league with young players coming through.
“[Being in England] makes you grow, as a player and a person. Obviously, you’re at such a young age and you have to grow quickly and when I came back here first, I was still not mature enough. Then I think I had a few chats with a few people, and Luke [Byrne] took me under his wing, and I started learning quickly from all of the players in the changing room.”
It’s also no coincidence that Ledwidge, whose Irish teammates at underage level included Adam Idah and Caoimhin Kelleher, has enjoyed better fortune on the pitch the harder he has worked off it.
“Two years ago, I would have switched off completely [in the off-season], and done a little bit. Even in the mid-season break, I don’t go away anymore. I keep switched on, keep training. I took two weeks off last year when we won the league and was straight back in the gym, trying to get fitter and stronger for this season. I don’t really take a break. I’d be out running and in the gym.”
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Ledwidge will be hoping Shels can win tonight against title rivals Shamrock Rovers, unlike former Hoops star and fellow fishing enthusiast Ronan Finn.
“I’m a better fisherman than Ronan Finn,” he claims. “I’ve been out once with Ronan. I went with Luke Byrne a couple of times but probably the person I go most with in football is Brian McManus. I played with him since I was a kid and love a bit of fishing in my downtime.
“[I go to] Cavan, Monaghan, down to the lakes and rivers. The scenery, sitting beside a lake, sometimes I’m up at four or five in the morning, hitting the road, watching the sunrise. It’s good for the head, good to chill out.
“[I do it] the odd Sunday but not all the time.”
And his best catch?
“Pike. 19 pounds. That’s the biggest one. I’m trying to break the 20-pound barrier. It was down in Cavan. I can’t tell you about the lakes, it’s a secret. They’re good fish, a good scrap off them.”
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Shelbourne's most-used player under Damien Duff has come of age
WHEN KAMERON LEDWIDGE signed a new long-term contract with Shelbourne last year, manager Damien Duff referred to him as “the third grumpiest person at the club, after myself and Joe [O’Brien].”
But cantankerousness is not the only reason Ledwidge is perceived as an old head on young shoulders.
At 23, Ledwidge is in his fifth season at the club and has more appearances under the current manager than any other player in the squad (110).
Duff has hailed his maturity and growth “as a player and more importantly as a person” in recent seasons.
The manager has consequently always given his firm backing to Ledwidge.
In 2022, he responded to criticism of the youngster by Karl Sheppard on the RTÉ Sport podcast.
After Sheppard suggested Ledwidge repeatedly gave the ball away in a match with Finn Harps, Duff responded: “He is playing in a position he is learning day by day. I pick up an article two weeks ago, some ex-player referencing him, name-checking him. He’s a 20-year-old coming back from England, trying to rebuild his life and his career. To name-check him was, I thought, lower than low.
“I won’t name-check the ex-Shelbourne player who was having a pop off Kam, one of our players who we care deeply about, but I’ll namecheck Kam as he was brilliant. Yes, he is a work in progress in that position but he was world-class tonight.
“For me, he is an eye-catching individual. I know a lot of players in the league want to get to England. Well, Kameron Ledwidge can go back to England. He doesn’t need to be reported on when he’s 20, so young, trying to rebuild his life. I thought it was poor. He knows who he is.”
Three years on, Ledwidge may not be back in England, but he has established himself as one of the top full-backs in the Premier Division.
The Finglas native insists he is unperturbed by such criticism but was grateful for Duff’s backing.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Back then I was probably still a kid and wasn’t really mature as I am now. The manager will always have the back of anyone in the changing room, or the club. He’ll back you until he can’t back you any more. He will keep going and keep going and back everyone. That’s just the way he is and the nature of the man. He loves everyone and once you’re with him, that’s the main thing.”
Along with JJ Lunney, Ledwidge is the club’s longest-serving player and one of only five survivors from the team that reached the FAI Cup final against the odds in 2022.
Under a tough taskmaster such as Duff, the Dubliner would not have survived so long without considerable resilience in addition to talent.
“When [Duff] first came in and you have that meeting where you set out what you want to do, the standards and the demands are always sky high. You have to stay on it all the time, hard work and everything in training, once you put that into a game then it starts looking after itself. I think the demands that he puts on us every week and every day in training, he’s the best coach.”
Already, the St Kevin’s Boys graduate has had to deal with his fair share of setbacks.
At “12 or 13,” he went on trial to Celtic and several other clubs across the water.
At 16, he landed at Southampton and was one of 10 Irish players on the Saints’ books – Seamas Keogh, Sean Brennan, Thomas O’Connor, Aaron O’Driscoll, Will Smallbone, Will Ferry, Jonathan Afolabi, Michael Obafemi and Shane Long were the others.
“I probably didn’t get the best out of myself over there and I don’t know why,” he says. “I ask myself the question as well, but probably being away from home at such a young age I thought was, not hard, but I wasn’t used to it.
“I think it’s just going away from home so young, the manager calls me a mammy’s boy.
“There are more opportunities now [in the Premier Division] than there were back then. I was 16 [going to England] but I think it’s really good for the league with young players coming through.
“[Being in England] makes you grow, as a player and a person. Obviously, you’re at such a young age and you have to grow quickly and when I came back here first, I was still not mature enough. Then I think I had a few chats with a few people, and Luke [Byrne] took me under his wing, and I started learning quickly from all of the players in the changing room.”
It’s also no coincidence that Ledwidge, whose Irish teammates at underage level included Adam Idah and Caoimhin Kelleher, has enjoyed better fortune on the pitch the harder he has worked off it.
“Two years ago, I would have switched off completely [in the off-season], and done a little bit. Even in the mid-season break, I don’t go away anymore. I keep switched on, keep training. I took two weeks off last year when we won the league and was straight back in the gym, trying to get fitter and stronger for this season. I don’t really take a break. I’d be out running and in the gym.”
Ledwidge will be hoping Shels can win tonight against title rivals Shamrock Rovers, unlike former Hoops star and fellow fishing enthusiast Ronan Finn.
“I’m a better fisherman than Ronan Finn,” he claims. “I’ve been out once with Ronan. I went with Luke Byrne a couple of times but probably the person I go most with in football is Brian McManus. I played with him since I was a kid and love a bit of fishing in my downtime.
“[I go to] Cavan, Monaghan, down to the lakes and rivers. The scenery, sitting beside a lake, sometimes I’m up at four or five in the morning, hitting the road, watching the sunrise. It’s good for the head, good to chill out.
“[I do it] the odd Sunday but not all the time.”
And his best catch?
“Pike. 19 pounds. That’s the biggest one. I’m trying to break the 20-pound barrier. It was down in Cavan. I can’t tell you about the lakes, it’s a secret. They’re good fish, a good scrap off them.”
Additional reporting by David Sneyd
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