Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played 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 use ...

between

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champions and the following season they reached the second round of the European Cup.

History

Evergreen United

The club's foundation date is unknown, but its earliest appearance in the FAI Cup was in 1936–37. Evergreen finished as League runners-up in 1954 and 1959. In 1953 they also played in an all-Cork FAI Cup final against Cork Athletic, losing 2–1 in a replay after drawing the first game 2-2. During the 1956–57 season Evergreen's Donal Leahy finished as joint top goalscorer in the league with 15 goals. In the following two seasons Leahy finished top goalscorer outright with 16 and 22 goals respectively.

Irish 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 ...

international Tommy Moroney finished his playing career with Evergreen and, on 4 October 1953 in a World Cup qualifier against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, he won the last of his 12 caps while with the club. In 1959 the club changed its name to Cork Celtic.

Cork Celtic

As Celtic in the 1960s they enjoyed a local rivalry with Cork Hibernians. Attendances reaches record highs in the late 1960s, with players such as Carl Davenport, the Dav, drawing crowds of up to 18,000. In 1974 with a team that included

Alfie Hale Alfred "Alfie" Hale (born 28 August 1939 in Waterford, Republic of Ireland) is a former Irish footballer and manager who played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League, most notably, Waterford, Aston Villa, Doncas ...

and

Bobby Tambling Robert Victor Tambling (born 18 September 1941) is an English former professional association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), forward, most notably for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Pa ...

, Celtic won their only League of Ireland title under manager and former player Paul O'Donovan. Tambling, a former

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

player and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international had initially moved to Ireland to work as a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

missionary. He scored 7 league goals in his first season as he helped Celtic win the title.

Best, Hurst and Seeler

In subsequent seasons Celtic attracted several other notable players. On the back of League success in 1974, Paul O'Donovan signed

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

and then

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...

. In December 1975

had a brief spell with Celtic in between equally brief spells at

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

and

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...

. He played only three league games, against

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

, Bohemians and Shelbourne, but despite attracting big crowds he failed to score or impress. In 1976

spent a month with Celtic, scoring three goals during his brief stay.

Uwe Seeler Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of ...

also played one game for Celtic during the 1977–78 season and scored twice in a 6–2 defeat to Shamrock Rovers.

Demise

At the start of the 1977–78 season Celtic looked for a longer lease on Turners Cross in order to develop it for the purpose of raising additional income. The club, now in decline since winning the League in 1973–74, saw developing Turners Cross as their only means of survival. The FAI's legal advisers had previously been unable to find the property owner or their original lease, however a complex ownership structure was eventually unravelled. Unable to resolve the tenancy situation with the FAI, Celtic spent no money on the upkeep of Turners Cross and it was eventually deemed unfit for use by the League for the 1978–79 season. As a result, the club moved to Flower Lodge for what would be their final season. But three years of deteriorating relationships with both the League and the F.A.I. led to Celtic being expelled from the League in the summer of 1979. Despite exiting the League, Cork Celtic's holding company still held the sub-lease on Turners Cross, and the club proposed joining the Munster Senior League. However the Munster F.A. refused, and the trustees of the club eventually relinquished the lease on Turners Cross in 1980, bringing the club to an end.

Honours

: 1 ** 1973–74 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

: 1 **1960–61 * Dublin City Cup: 1 **1961–62 *

Top Four Cup The Top Four Cup was an association football super cup featuring the top four clubs in the League of Ireland. It was first held in 1955–56 and last played for in 1973–74. It was played at the end of the season. Shamrock Rovers were the i ...

: 4 **1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74 * Munster Senior League: 2 ** 1936–37, 1955–56 * Munster Senior Cup: 6 ** 1951–52, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1971–72, 1973–74 * FAI Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1935–36: 1 **''Runners Up'': 1934–35: 1 *

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competi ...

**''Winners'': 1938–39, 1948–49: 2 **''Runners Up'': 1961–62, 1976–77: 2

Season placings

European record

Overview

Matches

Notable former players

* Florrie Burke * Tommy Moroney * Donal Leahy * Jim "Jimux" O'Keeffe GK * Paul O'Donovan * Kevin Blount * Dinny Allen *

Jimmy Barry-Murphy James Barry-Murphy (born 22 August 1954) is an Irish hurling manager and former hurler, Gaelic footballer and association football player. He was the manager of the senior Cork county hurling team from 2011 to 2015, returning a decade after h ...

* Amby Fogarty *

* Patsy Dorgan * Keelan Hegarty * Jimmy O'Neill *

* Billy McCullough *

* Barry Notley * Alec Ludzic

Notable former managers

* Paul O'Donovan *

References

External links

Cork teams in FAI Cup finals
{{Sport in Cork City Defunct League of Ireland clubs Association football clubs in County Cork Association football clubs in Cork (city) Association football clubs disestablished in 1980 1980 disestablishments in Ireland