Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish

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 ...

club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

, County Down and played its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white. The club was relegated from the

IFA Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

in the 2010–11 season, and after narrowly missing out on promotion back to the top tier the following season, was dissolved in September 2012, when a winding up petition brought against the club by former player and manager Gerry Flynn was granted, and the club decided not to appeal the decision. 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 The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

for the 2013–14 season, reaching the NIFL Championship for the 2017–18 season.

History

The club was originally known as Newry Town – it was renamed in 2004, two years after Newry obtained

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, 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 Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

.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'' ( .p. Newry City A.F.C, 2016) 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. The Irish League was suspended because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1940, and Newry was not included in the temporary Northern Regional League that took its place. When the Irish League resumed in 1947, it was with twelve rather than fourteen members, Newry and

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

losing their places. Newry played instead in the Irish Intermediate League until 1954, when the league folded due to the loss of members to the

Irish League B Division The NIFL Premier Intermediate League is the third division of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national association football league in Northern Ireland, and the highest intermediate division in Northern Ireland, occupying level three in ...

. Newry, along with Dundela and

Carrick Rangers Carrick Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1939, hails from Carrickfergus, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Taylors Avenue which is known as ...

failed to be accepted as B Division members and instead joined the Irish Alliance League. Newry were Alliance champions for the following three seasons, before eventually securing admission to the B Division in 1957. 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 Patrick Anthony Jennings (born 12 June 1945) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 119 international matches for Northern Ireland in an international career which lasted for over 22 years. D ...

was sold to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

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. 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. 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

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

. In this, their first ever appearance in European competition, Newry Town (as they were then known) were drawn against the Croatian side

Hrvatski Dragovoljac Nogometni klub Hrvatski dragovoljac ( en, Football Club Hrvatski dragovoljac), commonly referred to as NK Hrvatski dragovoljac or simply Hrvatski dragovoljac, is a Croatian football club based in the Novi Zagreb neighbourhood of the country's c ...

. A 1–0 defeat in Croatia was followed by an historic 2–0 win at home to send the club into the second round. There they met

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

. Again, Newry were drawn away in the first leg, coming away with a respectable 2–0 defeat to the German professionals. A 1–0 win at home was not enough to force extra time but the side had exceeded expectations in the tournament. 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

Irish Football League Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

they were given the chance to avoid relegation, with a play-off against Bangor over two legs. A 0–0 away draw and a 2–1 home win kept the club in the top flight. In the 2006–07 season, big things were expected of

Roy Coyle Robert Irvine Coyle (born 31 January 1946) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer. Coyle is the most successful manager in the history of the Irish Football League. He is the Director of Football at Glentoran. Playing career Co ...

'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 Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

, Flynn resigned. Shortly after, former Newry player-manager

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

was given the job. On 13 March 2010, after an uncharacteristically unsuccessful spell McDonnell resigned as First team manager and Gerry Flynn once again took the reins. On 26 April 2011, the club lost 4–0 to

Glenavon Glenavon Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club that competes in the NIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. Gar ...

and were relegated to IFA Championship 1. Prior to this, Gerry Flynn was sacked as manager and former club captain Robbie Casey took charge on a temporary basis. Despite speculation that

Roddy Collins Roderick Collins (born 7 August 1962), is an Irish former professional football player and manager. During a playing career of 18 years, Collins played for many sides across England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. While towards the end of his ...

was to get the job, former

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

player

Pat McGibbon Patrick Colm McGibbon (born 6 September 1973) is a Northern Irish association football, football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a Defender (association football)#Centre back, centre-back. He notablty played in t ...

later took over as first team coach. Under McGibbon's leadership Newry were unlucky not to achieve promotion after only one season in the

IFA Championship The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Lough 41 Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Championshi ...

. The club finished as runners-up in the league behind

Ballinamallard United Ballinamallard United Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club, re-formed in 1975 after being dormant since the 1960s, hails from Ballinamallard, near Enniskillen, County Ferma ...

and lost the two-legged promotion play-off 3–2 on aggregate to

Lisburn Distillery Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, County Down. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of t ...

. The club also reached the semi-finals of the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

, being beaten 7–0 by eventual winners Linfield. In July 2012, McGibbon stepped down from his post as first team coach, citing personal reasons for doing so.

Dissolution

In early 2012, former manager Gerry Flynn took legal action against the club for

wrongful dismissal In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contra ...

and

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

regarding his sacking in 2011. The court found in his favour and ordered the club to pay Flynn £25,050 in damages. However, on 10 August 2012, the club (''Newry City FC Ltd'') was the subject of a

winding up Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

petition brought by Flynn, after he had not received settlement. As a result, the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

postponed the club's opening fixture of the

2012–13 IFA Championship The 2012–13 IFA Championship (known as the Belfast Telegraph Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season since its establishment after a major overhaul of the league system in Northern Ireland. The season began on 10 August 2012 a ...

season, but after the club gave assurances to the IFA, the governing body allowed Newry to fulfil the upcoming fixtures. However, on 21 September 2012, the winding up petition was granted at a High Court hearing. The IFA then suspended the club's membership, preventing any team affiliated with the club from playing any fixtures. Ultimately, the club decided not to appeal against the ruling, which meant dissolution after 89 years of existence. This left the IFA with no option but to terminate the club's membership immediately, expunging all of its results from the season so far. Many of the former players left to join neighbouring club

Warrenpoint Town F.C. Warrenpoint Town Football Club is a semi professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club's home ground is Milltown, Warrenpoint. History The club was formed in 1987, and for the first 23 years of its exis ...

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

for the 2013–14 season, reaching the NIFL Championship for the 2017–18 season.

European record

Honours

Senior honours

Irish League First Division Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

(Tier 2): 1 **1997–98 *

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster Foo ...

: 1 **1987–88 *

Mid-Ulster Cup The Mid-Ulster Cup is a senior football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association (founded 2 April 1887). The competition has historically featured teams based in County Armagh, east County Tyrone, and west Count ...

: 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

: 2 **1959–60, 1980–81 *

Irish Intermediate Cup The Irish Intermediate Cup is a Northern Irish football competition for teams of intermediate status, including NIFL Premiership reserve sides. It is a straight knock-out tournament and is currently sponsored by McCombs Coach Travel. The curre ...

: 4 **1957–58, 1966–67, 1980–81, 2011–12 *Irish Alliance: 3 **1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57 *

Bob Radcliffe Cup The Bob Radcliffe Memorial Cup is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the Mid-Ulster Football Association. It was introduced in 1978. The competition culminates in the final which has traditionally been played on Boxing ...

: 2 **1978–79, 1984–85† † Won by reserve team

Notable former players

''(Goalkeeper)'' * Tommy Breen * Sir. Robert Casey * Jimmy Kelly *

John Feenan John Joseph Feenan (1 July 1914 – October 1994) was an Irish and Northern Irish footballer who played for Belfast Celtic, Sunderland and Shelbourne. As an international he also played for Ireland. In the 1940s he served as manager of Shelb ...

Marcus McKeown Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a Asteroid belt, main belt asteroid, also known as List of minor planets: 369001–370000#088, ( ...

Mickey Keenan Michael Keenan (born 5 April 1956) is a Northern Irish retired goalkeeper. He was successful with Portadown F.C., Portadown during the 1990s and early 2000s, where he won four league titles and several cup winner medals, as well as being named ...

''(Current Goalkeeper Coach)'' * Mickey Collins ''(Midfielder)'' * Davy O'Hare ''(Goalkeeper" * John Connolly ''(Goalkeeper)" * Jackie Bowers (Centre-Half,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

)

References

External links

Newry Town / Newry City Statistics and Results at the Irish Football Club Project
{{Former Irish League senior clubs Association football clubs established in 1918 Association football clubs disestablished in 2012 Defunct association football clubs in Northern Ireland Newry Former senior Irish Football League clubs 1918 establishments in Ireland 2012 disestablishments in Northern Ireland Defunct Irish Football League clubs