Newry City F.C.
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Full name | Newry City Football Club | ||
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Founded | 1918 (as Newry Town) | ||
Dissolved | 2012 | ||
Ground | The Showgrounds, Newry | ||
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Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish
The formation of a new club called Newry City AFC was finalised in March 2013, with the club starting life in the Mid-Ulster Football League for the 2013–14 season, reaching the NIFL Championship for the 2017–18 season.[4]
History
The club was originally known as Newry Town – it was renamed in 2004, two years after Newry obtained city status.
The club was formed in the autumn of 1918 and played its first season in the Newry and District League, winning its first trophy in May 1919 by beating Damolly Rovers in the final of the Newell Cup. The following season, Newry finished second in the league and joined the 'more competitive and higher standard' Portadown and District League in 1921. In 1923, the club applied to join the Irish League and on 20 July 1923 the club was admitted on a unanimous vote, thus acquiring senior status.[5]
The club played originally at the Marshes until the 1946–47 season, when a factory was built on the site and the club was compensated with £5,000. The club used this money to develop a new ground – the Showgrounds – adjacent to the Marshes, which opened at the start of the 1948–49 season.[5]
The Irish League was suspended because of the
In 1957–58, the Intermediate Cup was won for the first time, a feat repeated in 1966–67, and the B Division championship in 1959–60. In 1963, Pat Jennings was sold to Watford for £5,600. Newry won the Southern section of the B Division in 1974–75, but lost to Carrick Rangers in the championship play-off. A "double" was achieved in 1980–81, when Town won the B Division and the Intermediate Cup.[5]
On the back of this success, the club applied to join the Irish League in 1981, but was initially turned down. In 1983, however, the League decided to extend its membership to fourteen clubs and Newry, along with Carrick Rangers, were admitted to membership, restoring senior status for the first time in some forty years.[5]
The club's most successful period was the late 1990s. After winning the First Division in the 1997–98 season, the club managed to finish fourth in the Premier Division, thus qualifying for the
Since the 1999–2000 season, the club went into decline, culminating in a last-place finish in the league in 2002–03. However, thanks to the restructuring of the
In the 2006–07 season, big things were expected of Roy Coyle's team, with the manager seen as the most successful manager in the history of the Irish league, however poor results resulted in Coyle leaving the club. He was replaced by former player Gerry Flynn at the start of 2007. In the 2007–08 season, Flynn's first full season in charge, he and his assistant Peter Murray steered the club to 8th position in the final league table. In September 2009, after a 2–1 victory over Coleraine, Flynn resigned.
Shortly after, former Newry player-manager
Under McGibbon's leadership Newry were unlucky not to achieve promotion after only one season in the
Dissolution
In early 2012, former manager Gerry Flynn took legal action against the club for
Many of the former players left to join neighbouring club Warrenpoint Town F.C. With the backing of the dissolved club's fans, the formation of a new phoenix club called Newry City AFC with similar colours and badges, but with no legal or corporate link, to the former side was finalised in March 2013, with the new club starting life in the Mid-Ulster Football League for the 2013–14 season, reaching the NIFL Championship for the 2017–18 season.[4]
European record
Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | ![]() |
2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
2R | ![]() |
1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
Honours
Senior honours
- Irish League First Division (Tier 2): 1
- 1997–98
- County Antrim Shield: 1
- Mid-Ulster Cup: 15
- 1936–37, 1938–39, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2006–07, 2011–12
Intermediate honours
- Irish League B Division: 2
- 1959–60, 1980–81
- Irish Intermediate Cup: 4
- 1957–58, 1966–67, 1980–81, 2011–12
- Irish Alliance: 3
- 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57
- Bob Radcliffe Cup: 2
- 1978–79, 1984–85†
† Won by reserve team
Notable former players
Pat Jennings (goalkeeper)
Tommy Breen
- Jimmy Kelly
John Feenan
Mickey Keenan (goalkeeper coach)
- Mickey Collins(midfielder)
Davy O'Hare (goalkeeper)
John Connolly (goalkeeper)
References
- ^ "Newry City 0–4 Glenavon". BBC Sport. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Irish FA suspends Newry City after club is wound up". BBC Sport. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Newry City's membership of the IFA is terminated". BBC Sport. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Newry launches new football club". UTV. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Jim Campbell, The Origins and History of Newry's Leading Football Club: The Highs and Lows of the Frontier Club since its Formation in 1918 – on the incredible journey from Town to City to City AFC ([n.p.]: Newry City A.F.C, 2016)
- ^ RSSSF
- ^ "McGibbon steps down as Newry boss". Newry Times. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "Gerry Flynn: My story at Newry City FC". Newry Times. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ "Newry City future appears uncertain after game postponed". BBC Sport. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.