Minutes after the First Division playoff final, Treaty United manager Tommy Barrett said “experience” would be key in the clubs recruitment policy going into the 2026 season but have Treaty fallen behind the chasing pack?

Having been competitive right through out the playoff final which required a Justin Ferizaj wonder strike to give Bray Wanderers the victory, Barrett was optimistic that Treaty United could improve and build on a positive end to the 2025 season where at times during the season it didn’t look like they would make the playoffs at all with results not going their way with it taking a win on the last day of the season against Wexford to secure their spot.

In an interview with Treaty United’s media team Tommy Barrett was looking to hang onto a large part of their squad from the 2025 season and add a few more that had experience of the League Of Ireland that could help them take the next step and challenge for the First Division title. Let’s take a look at how the off season has gone so far for Treaty United

Treaty United Outgoings

A lot of players have departed the Markets Field during the off season with the first 3 to be announced by the club being Trpimir Vrljičak, Valerii Dolia and Matt Boylan.

These have since been followed by Corey Chambers (Cobh Ramblers),Evan O’Connor (Athlone Town), Lee Devitt (Galway United) Patrick Ferry (Athlone Town) who all started the playoff final at Lissywollen all moving on for the 2026 season.

It is widely speculated that Lee J Lynch and Karl O’Sullivan will not return to Limerick for the 2026 season with Lee J Lynch starting a new role as sporting director of Limerick FC and had hoped to continue playing with Treaty United but it is expected Lynch will not be playing for Treaty United this coming season.

That is 6 players from the side that featured against Bray Wanderers that will not return to the club for this coming season. Devitt was the clubs top scorer in 2025 scoring 16 times in 42 games across all competitions.

There has been disappointment from Treaty United supporters that Patrick Ferry will not return to as he had been a fan favourite and made an instant impact at the club when he joined in the summer netting 5 times aswell as 3 assists.

 

Treaty United Incomings

Benjamin Lee, Darren Nwankwo, Richkov Boevi, Ben Lynch, Robbie Lynch, Fionn Doherty, Mark Walsh, Colin Conroy, Mark Byrne and Bryan Cunningham have all committed their future to the Limerick side for another season with Steven Healy making his 2 year loan spell a permanent one aswell.

As of January 12th, Treaty United have made 5 new signings with Jack Brady making a return to the club from Drogheda United, Cian Curtis (Bray Wanderers), Ben Feeney (Athlone Town), Eric Yoro and Kevin Fitzpatrick (UCC) also signing for Treaty.

In an interview before Christmas, Tommy Barrett said that the club was struggling to sign players inside the league with other clubs having the ability to make better offers for players they were targeting. Barrett also indicated that he would be looking at players abroad to complete his squad ahead of the opening night of the season away to Cork City.

The area I see the biggest concern for Treaty United is the same area from last season when doing our season preview and that’s where the goals are going to come from. Between Patrick Ferry and Lee Devitt alone that is 21 goals from last season that Treaty United need to replace. That equates to 39% of all goals scored by Treaty United in 2025.

Looking at the incomings Ben Feeney scored 4 goals, Cian Curtis 10 goals being the only attacking options Treaty United have brought in so far. This is the most crucial signing Treaty United need to make for the season to be a good one by getting back into the playoffs and going a bit further up the table or a season that could lead to irreversible damage.

This leaves Treaty United at something of a crossroads heading into the new season just a matter of weeks away. While continuity has been maintained in parts of the squad, the loss of proven goal scorers without a clear replacement strategy is a significant risk. Feeney and Curtis may contribute, but asking them to bridge a gap of 21 goals, nearly 40% of last season’s total feels optimistic at best.

Unless Treaty can add a proven attacking threat before the season kicks off, it is difficult to see how this squad takes the step forward Barrett spoke about. In a First Division where rivals appear to be strengthening with intent, Treaty United risk standing still and in this league, that can quickly mean falling behind.