Adam O'Reilly feels his previous spell in Ireland will help him to hit the ground running at St Pat’s.
The midfielder, 20, has today completed his loan move to the Saints from Championship outfit Preston North End, until July 31.
St Pat’s boss Tim Clancy admired O’Reilly’s work from afar while he was on loan with Waterford last season.
And he believes his new recruit will be a valuable asset as the Inchicore club looks to build on their FAI Cup success and second-placed league finish.
"Adam really impressed at Waterford in his loan spell last season and he’s a player who I've been monitoring for quite a while,” said Clancy.
“He'll add a lot to our midfield options and myself and the coaching staff are looking forward to welcoming Adam to the group and working with him.
“He's exactly the type of player we want at the club."
Corkman O’Reilly joined Preston from Ringmahon Rangers in 2016 and he made one Championship appearance off the bench against Aston Villa in 2018.
Since then, he has had loan spells with Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic, Bamber Bridge, Waterford and, briefly before Christmas, Stalybridge again.
O’Reilly said: “"I'm delighted to have joined such a massive club. I've got some experience in the league already and played against St Pat's.
“The team did so well last year, winning the cup and finishing second in the league, so I'm really excited to be here.
“I think my spell at Waterford had something to do with my loan to St Pat's and I feel I did my best there.
“St Pat's got in touch with Preston and I couldn't really say no to the offer as it's such a big club.”
O’Reilly is the seventh new arrival at St Pat’s over the close season, following Eoin Doyle, Jack Scott, Joe Redmond, Mark Doyle, Anto Breslin and Tunde Owolabi in the door.
And he continued: “A lot of players are coming back here and doing so well and I feel I can do the same.
“I'm excited to compete as I enjoy that competitiveness with new players. I like to win and coming to St Pat’s is a great decision as I feel we can do very well this year.
“I'm a box to box midfielder and I'll be hoping to add some goals and do my best to benefit the team and the club."
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