Ryan Delaney has joined Rochdale on a permanent deal from Burton Albion.
The 21-year-old defender has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract at Spotland, and leaves the Brewers without making a first-team appearance.
Albion signed Delaney from Wexford Youths in July 2016 ahead of their debut Championship campaign, with the versatile defensive player impressing in pre-season.
He spent much of 2017 on loan at Cork City, where he won the League of Ireland Premier Division title and the FAI Cup during a hugely positive spell, as well as earning a call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-21s.
After returning to the Brewers in November, Delaney has been training with the first-team, but was ineligible to feature until the start of January.
And he is now moving to League One Dale, the club from which Albion signed midfield duo Matty Lund and Jamie Allen in the summer.
Delaney featured mainly at centre-half for Cork, but his primary position is left-back.
Tom Flanagan is Burton's standout choice in that role currently, while Stephen Warnock and Damien McCrory - recently back from a loan spell at Portsmouth and recovering from a knee injury - are other left-back options in the squad.
Centrally, Jake Buxton, Ben Turner, Kyle McFadzean and John Brayford have all been in fine form over recent weeks, and Tom Naylor is seen as another centre-back choice by Nigel Clough.
On Delaney's move, Clough said: "It’s a good opportunity for Ryan after a very productive loan spell at Cork.
"Ryan hasn’t quite made the progress we hoped and has found opportunities limited. We have a very strong defence and with being a left sided defender and even Stephen Warnock finding it hard to get in the side at the moment, his chances would be limited.
"This gives him an opportunity to further his development and make a name for himself in League One."
