Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Their senior men's team currently plays in the

Galway & District League The Galway & District League is an association football league organized by the Galway Football Association. It features amateur and junior clubs from County Galway. It currently features six divisions. Its top division, the Premier Division, i ...

. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, the League of Ireland U21 Division, the

A Championship The A Championship, also known as the Newstalk A Championship, was an association football league featuring League of Ireland reserve teams and emerging senior teams. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

and the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...

History

Early years

Mervue United was formed in 1960 by a group of residents in the McDonagh Avenue area of Mervue,

. In 1964–65 the club won its first trophy, the Murphy Cup, a competition for under–13 boys teams. By the early 1970s Mervue United were playing in the

and in 1972–73 they won promotion to the league's Premier division. They subsequently began to regularly win the league's two league cups, the Joe Ryan Cup and the Lillis Cup. In 1976–77 they also won a Galway & District League and

Michael Byrne Cup The Michael Byrne Cup is an association football cup competition featuring teams from the Galway & District League. It is now the main league cup competition for this league. However when it was originally inaugurated in 1976–77, it was a pla ...

double. By 1980 the Mervue United B team had also gained promotion to the Premier Division. However

Galway Football Association The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C. Affiliated leagues * Galway & Di ...

rules insisted that two teams from the same club could not play in the same division. As a result, Mervue Celtic was founded as a separate club and, like United, they also found success in the Joe Ryan Cup and the Lillis Cup competitions. In 1981–82 they also won the Galway area

FAI Junior Cup The FAI Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for junior association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Brideville. The competition's most successful club is Fairvi ...

competition.

Connacht Senior League

Between 1981 and 2000 Mervue United played in the Connacht Senior League. In 1981–82, together with Sligo Rovers Reserves, Castlerea Celtic,

Salthill Devon Salthill Devon Football Club is an Irish association football club originally based in Salthill, Galway. Their senior team currently plays in the Galway & District League. They have previously played in the Connacht Senior League, the A Champi ...

, Ballina Rovers, Tuam Celtic and UCG, Mervue United became founder members of the CSL. In its first season Mervue United finished as runners-up behind Sligo Rovers. They also won a league cup double, winning both the Connacht Senior League Cup and the Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup. Mervue United won the league for the first time in 1982–83 and subsequently went on to become one of the league's most successful teams, winning the title eight times. In 1982–83 and 1983–84 they completed two successive trebles winning the league title, the Challenge Cup and the Connacht Senior Cup. In 1992–93 they went one better and won a quartet of trophies, winning the league title, the Connacht Senior League Shield, Connacht Senior Cup and the Challenge Cup. Between 1996 and 1997 and 1999–2000 Mervue United were also Connacht Senior League champions four times in a row. In 1999–2000 Mervue United completed another treble by also winning the League Cup and the Challenge Cup. In 1984–85 Mervue United first came to national prominence when they became the first CSL club to take part in the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

, losing 2–1 in the first round to the holders, UCD. In the 1986–87 FAI Cup they defeated

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

1–0 in the first round but got knocked out by Rockmount in the next round. In 1997–98 Mervue United made a third appearance in the FAI Cup but were knocked out in the first round after a replay by Sligo Rovers. As Connacht Senior League champions, United were also invited to play in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

National leagues

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, together with local rivals,

, Mervue United were founder members of the

. As the highest placed non-

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

in the league's inaugural season, Mervue United qualified for a relegation/promotion play-off. They subsequently defeated

Kildare County Kildare County F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Chontae Chill Dara) was an Irish association football club based in Newbridge, County Kildare. Between 2002–03 and 2009 they played in the League of Ireland First Division. During this time they also e ...

5–3 on aggregate and were promoted to the

. Between

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Mervue United played in the League of Ireland First Division. In their final season they finished third before losing a relegation/promotion play-off against

Galway United

In 2012 an FAI commissioned report recommended that

city and

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

should be represented in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

by a single club or team based at

Eamonn Deacy Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galway ...

. The O'Connor Report also recommended that the

, the Galway United Supporters Trust,

and Mervue United should work together to form such a club. Following the conclusion of the 2013 season, both Mervue United and Salthill Devon withdrew from the

to make way for a reformed

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

. The new board of Galway United featured two Mervue United representatives, Donnie Farragher and Declan McDonnell. The O'Connor Report had also recommended reforming the Connacht Senior League, allowing Mervue United and Salthill Devon to play at a provincial level. However, in June 2013 the ''

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland. The main regional newspaper for the county, the Tribune Group prints two titles every week - the ''Connacht Tribune'' on Thursday ...

'' reported that the plans for a reformed CSL were shelved due to a lack of sufficient interest from the clubs. The senior teams of Mervue United and Salthill Devon subsequently joined the

Ground

Mervue United originally operated out of the Redemptorist Grounds before moving to Monivea Road were they shared facilities with Mervue Athletic Club. After joining the Connacht Senior League, the club secured a lease on a clubhouse and a pitch in Fahy's Field. This has remained the club's principal home ground ever since. During the

and 2010 seasons when they were playing in the

, Mervue played at

Terryland Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galway ...

as Fahy's Field did not meet

standards. The move away from their Mervue fan base affected attendances to the degree that they were the lowest in league records. In early 2011 Fahy's Field was upgraded with fencing and turnstiles been added, allowing Mervue United to play their later League of Ireland games there.

Notable former players

;

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

international * Aaron Connolly *

Greg Cunningham Gregory Richard Cunningham (born 31 January 1991) is an Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left back for Preston North End F.C., Preston North End, and the Republic of Ireland national football team, Republic o ...

* Ryan Manning ; Republic of Ireland U21 internationals * Séamus Conneely *

Conor Shaughnessy Conor Glynn Shaughnessy (born 30 June 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for club Portsmouth. He is also able to operate as a central midfielder. He has represented the Republic of Ireland national footb ...

Joe Shaughnessy Joseph Thomas Gordan Shaughnessy (born 6 July 1992) is an Irish professional defender who plays for Dundee. Shaughnessy has previously played for Aberdeen, Forfar Athletic, Falkirk, St Johnstone, Southend United and St Mirren. He has repre ...

Republic of Ireland Schools U15 internationals * Rola Olusola * Isabelle Fitzpatrick * Jessica Talbot Republic of Ireland Women's U16 internationals * Eve Dossen * Rola Olusola * Skye Corcoran * Isabelle Fitzpatrick Republic of Ireland Women's U17 internationals * Eve Dossen ;Top Goalscorers *

Patrick Hoban Patrick James Hoban (born 28 July 1991) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Dundalk in the League of Ireland Premier Division, as a forward. He had his greatest successes in two spells at Dundalk, where he scored over 100 goals ...

: 21 (2009–12) *

Rory Gaffney Rory Nicholas Gaffney (born 23 October 1989) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for League of Ireland Club Shamrock Rovers Career Limerick Gaffney started his career at League of Ireland First Division team Mervue Unite ...

: 15 (2009–11) * Lar Defly: 69 ; New Zealand U20 international *

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...

Honours

* Connacht Senior League **''Winners'': 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000: 8 **''Runners-up'': 1981–82, 1984–85: 2 * Connacht Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1982–83, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1999–2000: 6 **''Runners-up'': 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2007–08: 5 * Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup **''Winners'': 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1992–93: 6 **''Runners-up'': 1985–86: 1 * Connacht Senior League Cup/Shield **''Winners'': 1981–82, 1992–93, 1999–2000: 3 * Connacht Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1989–90, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2014–15: 6 **''Runners-up'': 1979–80, 1984–85: 2 *

**''Winners'': 1976–77, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13: 11 *

**''Winners'': 1976–77, 1977–78, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11: 9 **''Runners-up'': 2006–07, 2012–13: 2

References

{{Galway Association football clubs in County Galway Galway & District League teams Connacht Senior League (association football) clubs A Championship teams Former League of Ireland First Division clubs Former League of Ireland clubs Association football clubs established in 1960 1960 establishments in Ireland Galway United F.C. Association football clubs in Galway (city)