The signing of Callum Fordyce takes the number of ex-Dunfermline players to ten during Ian Murray’s era as Raith Rovers manager.
Some of those he inherited from predecessor John McGlynn and others he has signed himself.
Some have been no more than bit-part players during Murray’s spell in charge and others have only been on loan at Stark’s Park.
But it is a remarkable number of players who have joined Raith having also turned out for their biggest rivals.
Courier Sport takes a look at the players who have crossed Fife’s football divide.
Aidan Connolly
Coming through the ranks at Queen’s Park, Connolly joined Dundee United in 2013 along with Andy Robertson.
After being released from his contract at Tannadice by mutual consent in January 2016, the winger saw out the season with Raith, playing 17 times.
He then spent two years with York City before joining Dunfermline in 2018 and playing 25 times in his one season with the Fifers.
Now 28, following two years with Falkirk, Connolly signed for Raith in 2021 and has played 129 times in his second spell at Stark’s Park.
Tom Lang
A youth player with Birmingham City and Rangers, the Englishman had spells with Dumbarton and Stranraer before impressing with Clyde.
The defender joined Dunfermline in 2019 but made just one appearance for the Pars before being loaned back to Clyde in January 2020.
That move was made permanent in October 2020 and his performances this time attracted the attention of Raith, who signed him in summer 2021.
With 20 outings for Rovers before Murray’s arrival, Lang recovered from a serious knee injury to turn out another 20 times in season 2022-23 before leaving to hook up again with McGlynn at Falkirk.
Ethan Ross
Ross spent four months on loan at Dunfermline from Aberdeen in campaign 2019-20, playing eight times in the Championship.
The following season, the winger then joined Raith on loan in October 2020 and made 15 appearances before being recalled by the Dons.
After leaving Pittodrie at the end of that season, Ross signed permanently for Rovers in October 2021 and scored five times in his first eight matches.
However, after an inconsistent campaign in Murray’s first season in charge, he was allowed to leave on loan to Falkirk in September last year.
Ross Millen
The defender began his senior career at Dunfermline in February 2013 and made 79 appearances for the Pars before joining Livingston in 2015.
Millen flourished after the East End Park side went into administration and his seven goals included a winner against Raith in a League Cup match in 2014.
After spells with Clyde, Queen’s Park, Kilmarnock and Scunthorpe United, the right-back signed a two-year deal with Rovers in June 2022.
Millen, 29, was a regular for Murray until an ‘internal matter’ saw him frozen out following the SPFL Trust Trophy semi-final defeat to Airdrie in February.
Euan Murray
A Motherwell youth, Murray’s career had taken him to the Solomon Islands and to England as well as Clyde and Stenhousemuir before he signed for Raith in 2017.
After nearly 100 appearances, he crossed the Fife divide to move from Stark’s Park to Dunfermline in 2019 and played 46 times for the Pars.
A Championship title with Kilmarnock followed in 2022 before a return south of the border to sign for Hartlepool United.
And then came a return to Raith last summer and a further 37 appearances for the Kirkcaldy club.
Callum Smith
Smith came through the ranks at Dunfermline and made his debut in July 2016 aged just 16.
However, the striker failed to make the expected first-team impact and was sent on loan to Alloa Athletic, Arbroath and Airdrie.
He then left East End Park in 2020 to play for Hamilton Accies for a season before returning to Airdrie on a permanent deal in 2021.
Playing under Murray for a year, the pair were reunited at Rovers last summer and he scored nine times in 49 appearances this season.
Lee Ashcroft
Ashcroft played for Kilmarnock for four seasons in the top-flight before joining Dunfermline in 2016.
His whole-hearted defensive displays made him a fans’ favourite over the course of the following four years.
The centre-half then signed for Dundee in 2020 and twice helped the Dark Blues to promotion to the Premiership.
In February, the 30-year-old joined Raith on loan – choosing them over Dunfermline – but managed just 41 minutes before picking up a serious hamstring injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Shaun Byrne
A Celtic youth, Byrne then joined Dunfermline and came through the ranks to make 114 appearances for the Pars.
He left to join Livingston in 2016 and won back-to-back promotions to reach the Premiership in 2018.
After signing for Dundee in 2019, the midfielder turned out over 100 times for the Dark Blues in five seasons.
But, allowed to leave last summer by Tony Docherty, the 30-year-old joined Raith on a season-long loan and played in all but five league games for his hometown team.
Kyle Turner
After impressing with Stranraer, Turner was handed a full-time opportunity by Dunfermline.
The midfielder played 52 times over two seasons but his time at East End Park ended on a sour note following a loan move to Airdrie.
He then joined Partick Thistle and came within a whisker of promotion to the Premiership in 2023 before signing for the Jags’ play-off conquerors Ross County.
With changes in management at the Staggies, Turner was allowed to join Raith in January and helped them into the play-off final – before being ineligible to face his parent club.
Callum Fordyce
Fordyce was a youth at Hibernian before joining Livingston, where he played over 100 times in five seasons as a first-team player.
He moved to Dunfermline in 2015 and was appointed captain by manager Allan Johnston.
But his first campaign with the Pars was curtailed by a broken leg and he did not play again until the following season.
Two years with Queen of the South were followed by five with Airdrie, where he signed for Murray and then became assistant to manager Rhys McCabe when Murray left for Raith.
The 31-year-old became Murray’s first signing of this summer when he penned a two-year deal last week.
