CPD Y Rhyl 1879 becomes 11th club of dazzler McDaid’s senior career
Ardal North West leaders CPD Y Rhyl 1879 have made a major signing to boost their end-of-season run-in.
Jamie McDaid, 30, has landed at the Hops and Barley Community Stadium after spending the last seven months with fellow ANW club Menai Bridge Tigers.
Pacy and a respected marksman, right-winger McDaid has played in the Cymru Premier and Cymru North in a 15-year stint which also includes European ties and international football on his CV.
Rhyl 1879 is the 11th club of a career which has brought him in the region of 150 goals from 300+ appearances.
Where it started
Caernarfon lad Jamie was always destined to play at a high level.
Back in 2006/07, as a 12-year-old, he made huge waves when scoring 93 goals for a Bethel Under-13 side crowned Gwyrfai League and Cup double winners.
He later was chief goals supplier when the all-conquering Ysgol Brynrefail of Llanrug won the Welsh Schools Cup in 2009/10.
That set the trend for a tremendous youth career which saw him sign for Crewe, represent the Wales U18 Semi Professional side in Ireland in 2012 and score a hat-trick for Wales Colleges against England.
Jamie also won the Welsh Colleges Cup with Coleg Menai, netting a goal in the final which saw the North Wales side recover from two-down to defeat Gower Colleges 3-2.
He represented Welsh Colleges three seasons in a row, winning three caps, and played for Wales Schools alongside players a year above, appearing twice.
Not surprising, therefore, he went on to be a top class talent in senior football.
Senior football
Born on March 29, 1994, Jamie began his senior path at Porthmadog in 2010-11.
He featured in 50 matches for the Cymru Alliance club, scoring 10 goals.
Steve Smith then signed him for hometown club Caernarfon during 2011-12, the young striker finding the net three times in 11 appearances. He also won the NWCFA Youth Cup with the Canaries that campaign.
Stays at Holyhead Hotspur and Bangor City followed.
He was Bangor City Reserves’ top scorer in the season he made his first team debut for the Citizens in a NWCFA Challenge Cup tie at home to Meliden on March 26, 2013, grabbing a goal in a 3-0 victory.
On March 30, 2013, the day after his 19th birthday, he featured for the first time in the Welsh Premier for Bangor, coming on as a sub in a 3-3 draw with Port Talbot at Nantporth.
In 2013-14, he was involved in 28 first-team games, appearing as a sub on 23 occasions.
Another memorable episode in Jamie’s time at City came in summer 2014 when he saw action in both legs of a Europa League tie against Stjarnan of Iceland.
Jamie moved on from Nantporth, rejoining Caernarfon Town under Lee Dixon and finishing top scorer for the Cymru Alliance runners-up in 2014-15 with 23 goals in 22 outings.
He was named Cymru Alliance Player of the Month for October and November 2014 and chosen for the league’s Team of the Season.
The following season Jamie was in the Caernarfon side crowned Cymru Alliance champions under Iwan Williams. He made 21 (2) appearances and netted four times.
Jamie continued to impress in the 2016-17 season, starting at Porthmadog, where he bagged eight goals in 11 starts before switching to Holywell Town, finding the net eight times in 13 games.
He shone again for the Wellmen in 2017-18, scoring eight in 13 matches prior to re-signing for Holyhead Hotspur.
Jamie remained at Hotspur at the start of 2018-19, but tried his luck in the Welsh Premier with Aberystwyth Town from the start of 2019, featuring in nine games and scoring once.
In June 2019, Llandudno became Jamie’s seventh senior club, before he landed back at Porthmadog for a third time.
A couple of seasons beset by injuries and illness then hampered his progress.
He remained at Port in 2021-22, then in February 2023 joined Llanberis, scoring nine goals in 12 games for the tier 4 side.
The 2023-24 season was a truly memorable one for Jamie, as he finished top scorer in the Tier 4 North Wales Coast West Premier Division with 47 league goals and 54 in all competitions for Llanrug United.
He switched to Menai Bridge, newly-promoted to the tier 3 Ardal North West League. at the start of the current season but things have proved tough for the Anglesey side, Jamie managing five goals in 21 matches.
CPD Y Rhyl 1879 now becomes his latest club. Jamie scored against the Lilywhites for Menai Bridge Tigers in a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Jamie will go straight in to Paul Moore’s squad for this weekends fixture against Conwy Borough at the Hops and Barley Community Stadium.
All the best.
JAMIE McDAID – SENIOR FOOTBALL CAREER
(not all stats available)
2010-11 Porthmadog: starts 17 (sub 12) goals 3
2011-12 Porthmadog: starts 16 (sub 5) goals 7
2011-12 Caernarfon Town: starts 11 goals 3
2012-13 Bangor City 0 (2) 0
2012-13 Holyhead Hotspur
2013-14 Bangor City: starts 5 (sub 23) goals 2
2014-15 Bangor City 0 (1) 0
2014-15 Caernarfon Town: starts 14 goals 11
2015-16 Caernarfon Town: starts 21 (sub 2) goals 4
2016-17 Porthmadog: starts 11 (sub 9) goals 8
2017 Holywell Town: starts 13 goals 8
2017-18 Holywell Town: starts 17 goals 8
2017-18 Holyhead Hotspur
2018-19 Holyhead Hotspur
2019 Aberystwyth Town apps 9 goals 1
2019-20 Llandudno – apps 3
2019-20 Porthmadog: starts 2 (sub 2) goals 0
2021-22 & 2022-23 Porthmadog apps 24 goals 8
2023 Llanberis – apps 12 goals 9
2023-24 Llanrug United – apps 30 goals 54
2024-25 Menai Bridge Tigers – apps 22 goals 5
2025 CPD Y Rhyl 1879