Carfin Shamrock F.C. was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, from the village of Carfin in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

. Although the club only existed from 1885 to 1895, it reached the last 16 of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and Scottish League.

History

The club was founded in 1885 and entered the

Lanarkshire Cup The Lanarkshire Cup was an annual competition open to football teams in the Lanarkshire area. The competition is now defunct. List of winners 1879–80 - Stonelaw 1880–81 - Thistle 1881–82 - Hamilton Academical 1882–83 - West Benhar 1883� ...

in its first season. It entered the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1886–87. The club lost 11–0 at

Greenock Morton F.C. Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish Professional sports, professional Association football, football Football team, club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of t ...

in the fourth round on front of 1,100 spectators. The club reached the fifth round in 1887–88, which that season marked the last 16, and was the furthest the club reached in the competition. In the fifth round the club lost 5–2 at

Dundee Wanderers F.C. Dundee Wanderers Football Club was a football club based in Dundee, Scotland. They were formed in 1894 as a result of a merger between two local clubs, Johnstone Wanderers and Strathmore. The club was briefly a member of the Scottish Footb ...

, even though the Wanderers had to play the last 30 minutes with 10 men due to injury. The Bhoys reached the fourth round again in 1889–90. The club's third round tie at Northern F.C. of

Springburn Springburn ( gd, Allt an Fhuairainn) is an inner-city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, made up of generally working-class households. Springburn developed from a rural hamlet at the beginning of the 19th century. Its indu ...

was abandoned with the Shamrock 2–1 down because of crowd violence, which spilled onto the pitch, and saw the referee and some players injured. The Scottish FA ordered a replay at

Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . O ...

, which the Shamrock won 4–3, in a match "singularly free from rough play", thanks to Breslin finishing off after a "splendid run" from Naughton with just 30 seconds to go. The Shamrock lost 4–2 at Moffat F.C., at one point reducing a 3–0 lead to 3–2. The club's most remarkable achievement however was holding Celtic F.C. to a draw in the 1890–91 Scottish Cup, at Celtic Park, scoring two goals in the final few minutes to secure a 2–2 scoreline. Celtic won the replay at Byreknowes Park 3–1. Later in the season the club beat Royal Albert by two goals to secure the Airdrie Charity Cup for the only time. It was a particularly resilient achievement by Shamrock, as early in 1890 a number of players left the club for the newly-formed Motherwell Shamrock. The rise of Celtic, which was a greater attraction for fans and players (the Shamrock's Eddie Pearson played in Celtic's first-ever match), and the creation of league competitions, were disastrous for Shamrock, which never secured a place in a league, and was reduced to playing only in cup competitions.

Two Shamrocks, the Hibernians, and the end of the club

Another blow was losing the right to play at Byresknowes Park at the end of the 1890–91 season, which seems to have caused a split in the club; not only did this result in the formation of a new club, Carfin Hibernians, wearing the same green and white (albeit with hoops rather than stripes), and who managed to secure Byres Knowe Park for the season, ), but two Carfin Shamrocks. One Shamrock was led by a Mr Johnston (who had the minute books and papers, and a ground lease near to the Hibernians' ground), and one Shamrock led by a Mr R Timmeny (who had lately been elected secretary of the Shamrock and claimed to have found a new ground), with both claiming the right to play under the Shamrock name. Mr Timmeny won the argument, partly on the basis that the Lanarkshire FA thought Mr Johnston might have been running a sham operation in order to secure the status of the Hibernians, so Mr Johnson was ordered to call his club Carfin Unknowns, and membership to the Lanarkshire FA was refused; no more is heard of his operation. The Hibernians' first competitive match - at

Linthouse F.C. Linthouse Football Club was a football club from the Linthouse district of Govan, Scotland. The club played in navy blue. History The club were established in 1881 from an athletics club, in an era when the shipbuilding industry in the area w ...

in the Scottish Cup - was a 12–0 defeat. Shamrock did not enter the competition, given the confusion over the club's status; after the Timmeny faction had won out, the club was allowed back into the Scottish Football Association, and did try to enter the Scottish Cup at the third qualifying round, but was refused permission to do so. Although there were reports that the two clubs had "rubbed noses" at the end of the 1891–92 season, the Shamrock and the Hibernians still ran separate operations. In the 1892–93 Cup competition, Shamrock did enter again, losing 4–2 at

Airdrieonians F.C. Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

in the third qualifying stage; Hibernians lost 10–0 at

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...

, who played almost the entire game with 10 men, but "cribbed, cabined, and confined the Hibernians throughout" and "had some fun with them". In 1893–94 things were even worse; Shamrock scratched without playing and Hibernians lost 11–1 at

Cowlairs F.C. Cowlairs Football Club was a 19th-century football club from the Cowlairs area of Glasgow in Scotland. The club were one of the founder members of the Scottish Football League in 1890, and played at Springvale Park during their time in the leagu ...

, having sold home advantage for a £6 guarantee and some players playing in their ordinary clothing. The Hibernians do not seem to have survived into 1894–95, but Shamrock, using the simple name Carfin at the start of the season, and returning to its traditional ground, had something of an Indian summer, with a surprise 5–3 win at an unsettled Albion Rovers in the first round of the Scottish Qualifying Cup, and holding

Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club, commonly known as Killie, is a Scottish professional football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The team is currently managed by Derek McInnes, who was appointed in January 2022. The club has achieve ...

to a 4–4 draw in the second round, before going out 4–2 in the replay. Shamrock's very last match was a 7–3 defeat at Airdrieonians in the final of the Airdrie Charity Cup, at the end of the 1894–95 season, not helped by having to use substitutes in place of three players who had not turned up. The club did not pay its subscription to the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

for the 1895–96 season and was therefore struck off the register. The club was not revived, players joining other local clubs, Mason and M'Farlane for example joining Airdrieonians.

Controversies

The club's first

tie in 1885–86 saw the Shamrock beat

Royal Albert F.C. Royal Albert Football Club are a football club, historically based in the town of Larkhall, Scotland but currently playing in the nearby village of Stonehouse. Formerly a member of the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Junior Footb ...

by 9 goals to 1. However the Royalists protested that Shamrock had "borrowed" three players from Alpha F.C. of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

who were Cup-tied, having already played in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Shettleston F.C. {{Disambiguation Shettleston F.C. may refer to: * Shettleston F.C. (1880), Scottish association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily us ...

protested unsuccessfully about rough play after Carfin had won in their first round tie, and

also did so after their second round tie; the Plains F.C. also protested after their

tie in the same season, after a match which saw the Shamrock introduce "the game of fisticuffs" after the Plains left-half-back had been carried off with a broken leg after a foul on him. Slightly ironically, Airdrieonians had beaten Shamrock 3–2 in the second round of the Scottish Cup, but the Scottish FA reversed the result on considering two counter-protests from Shamrock; firstly, that the winning goal had come when there were some people on the pitch, and, secondly, one of the Onians (Sharp, who had "quarrelled with

the Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

", and whose identity the Clyde club apparently passed on to the Shamrock) had not been registered with the club for the required one month before the tie. After losing 11–0 at Morton in the fourth round, Shamrock protested against the Greenock side's rough play; however the referee gave evidence that "any rough play came at the hands of the Shamrock half-backs", and the Shamrock lost its 10s protest deposit. In the 1889–90 Lanarkshire Cup, the Shamrock beat Wishaw Thistle F.C. 9–1 in a replay, but an appeal (seemingly because of a delay to the kick-off for want of a ball) saw another replay, which also ended in a draw; with the competition stalled, Wishaw proposed re-drawing the second round in toto, and, when that was voted down, withdrew. Shamrock lost its second round tie at Royal Albert and protested against the state of the ground, and that the umpires were neutral; this protest was dismissed. A different type of controversy came out of the club's triumph in the Coatbridge Express Trophy in 1889–90. This competition was later known as the Lanarkshire Consolation Cup and was for clubs who had been knocked out of the Lanarkshire Cup in the early rounds. For the final of the Trophy against Motherwell F.C., Carfin borrowed four reserves from Celtic F.C., who had only played second XI football during the season, so were not barred by the rules of the Lanarkshire Cup. Carfin duly won 4–1 and survived a protest, although the relevant tournament rule was amended afterwards to prevent players who had played in second XI tournaments from playing for other clubs. As a consequence of the rule change, the Shamrock refused to defend its trophy after losing 7–1 to Airdrieonians in the main competition's semi-final. The club's new ground in 1892 caused problems because of the pitch markings; both Airdriehill F.C. and Motherwell protested Cup defeats, the former on the basis that the touchlines were not in place (and also that local fans threw stones at the players as they left the village), the latter on the basis that the centre circle and the six yard penalty curves around the posts were missing, but there were lines across the pitch at the 6, 12, and 18 yard lines. One unfortunate incident in 1886 which was not the club's fault was that many spectators who had attended a match advertised as Fence Rovers v Carfin Shamrock at

Kirkmuirhill Kirkmuirhill is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It borders Blackwood, near Lanark and is sited near Junction 9 of the M74 motorway. Its postal sector is ML11 9. History In 1810 John Begg, husband of Robert Burns youngest sister Isabe ...

were disappointed to find that the visiting club was not the Carfin Shamrock, but the Craigneuk Shamrock; the Fence Rovers secretary had not known there were two Shamrock sides in the same area.

Colours

The club played in striped shirts and black shorts for its existence, the stripes being black and white initially, changing to red and white vertical in 1888, and to green and white from 1890. With the change of name to Carfin, the club changed its colours, to white shirts and black knickers. The club's change colour was dark blue.

Grounds

The club played at Byres Knowe Park, described as "a perfect quagmire". The highest attendance was 6,000 for the Cup tie with Celtic on 4 October 1890. In 1891 the club was forced to move to a new ground simply called Shamrock Park; on the demise of Hibernians, the club moved back to Byres Knowe.

Notable players

* Pat Breslin, future Scotland international * Paddy Gallacher, later of Celtic and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

Hughie Clifford Hugh "Hughie" Clifford (8 April 1873 – 1929) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Hibernian, Stoke, Celtic, Motherwell, Liverpool and Manchester City. Career Clifford started his career Carfin Shamrock before joining Hibernian in 1887 ...

, later of

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

*William Mason, later of

Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the S ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

* Felix Mooney, who turned professional and joined

Ardwick Ardwick is a district of Manchester in North West England, one mile south east of the city centre. The population of the Ardwick Ward at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from ...

* Chippy Naughton, later of

Hibernian F.C. Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The club plays in the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). ...

* Jerry Reynolds, enticed away from Shamrock by Celtic before he could be Cup-tied

External links

Scottish Cup ties
(NB the protested tie with Northern was a 2–1 defeat, not 22–1)

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs, status=collapsed Carfin Shamrock F.C. Association football clubs established in 1885 Association football clubs disestablished in 1895 1885 establishments in Scotland 1895 disestablishments in Scotland Football in North Lanarkshire Irish diaspora sports clubs in Scotland