Newry City A.F.C.

Newry City Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club who play in the NIFL Championship. It is based in Newry, County Down and plays at the Showgrounds. The club's colours are blue and white, with striped jerseys and blue shorts.

This article is about the club founded in 2013. For the club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012, see Newry City F.C.
Newry City
Full nameNewry City Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)City
Founded2013
GroundThe Showgrounds, Newry
Capacity7,949 (safe capacity 2,275, 1,080 seated)[1]
ChairmanMartin McLoughlin
ManagerDarren Mullen
LeagueNIFL Championship
2019–205th

The club was created in 2013 after the city's former semi-professional club, Newry City F.C. 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.[2][3][4] This led to the majority of Newry City's players leaving for Warrenpoint Town.[5] The new club, wearing the same colours and having the same home as its predecessor, is regarded as a phoenix club, but has, and claims, no legal connection to the former club business.

History

Foundation

After the winding-up of Newry City F.C., discussions to form a new club began in December 2012. In February 2013, it was clarified that Newry City A.F.C. would be a new club and would not be liable for any debt owed by Newry City F.C.[6] There were discussions for the club to join the Republic of Ireland's League of Ireland, however the Irish Football Association said that they would block any attempt for Newry City to join the League of Ireland.[7] Newry City A.F.C. uses the old club's stadium, the Showgrounds, which is owned by Newry City F.C.'s season-ticket holders.[7] This meant that it was not sold when Newry City F.C. was wound up.[7]

Despite initial plans for the club to be named "Newry City 2012",[8] Newry City A.F.C. was officially launched by former Newry Town player Ollie Ralph on 7 March 2013, and it was announced that they would seek to join the Irish Football Association,[4] and play in the Intermediate B division of the Mid-Ulster Football League in the 2013–14 season.[9][10] Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was originally scheduled to take part in the club's launch, but was unable to attend.[11]

Junior football from 2013

In July 2013, the club was accepted as a member of the Mid-Ulster Football League Intermediate B division for the 2013–14 season - the fifth tier of football in Northern Ireland.[12] They won the division in their first season, gaining immediate promotion to Intermediate A (the fourth tier), which in turn they won in 2015-16 after two seasons, earning promotion to the NIFL Premier Intermediate League (the third tier).[13] In their first season in their division, the club were runners up, qualifying for the NIFL Championship Play-Off. Over two legs, the team beat Armagh City 7-2 on aggregate to earn promotion to the NIFL Championship for the 2017-2018 season, a third promotion in four years, and ensuring the return of senior league football to the city for the first time since 2011.

Senior football from 2017

The club's rise was completed in the following season, as the runners-up spot in the 2017-18 Championship, and a 6-3 aggregate win over Carrick Rangers in the NIFL Premiership Promotion-Relegation play-off saw the team reach the NIFL Premiership for the first time since its foundation, and top tier football return to the city for the first time since 2011.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IRL Mark Byrne
2 DF  NIR Darren King
3 DF  NIR Noel Healy
4 DF  NIR Dale Montgomery
5 DF  NIR John Boyle
6 MF  NIR Thomas McCann
8 MF  NIR John Grant
9 FW  NIR Mark McCabe
10 FW  NIR Declan Carville
11 DF  NIR Mark Hughes
14 DF  NIR Connor McCaul
16 MF  NIR John McGovern
18 DF  NIR Stephen Moan
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF  NIR Kevin McArdle
23 DF  NIR Neil Mullen
24 DF  NIR Ian Curran
25 MF  NIR Tiarnan Murphy
28 FW  IRL Lee Duffy
29 GK  NIR Lewis Hunter
30 MF  DEN Benjamin Möller Nielsen
31 DF  NIR Leigh Crooks
35 MF  NIR Josh Durnin
— DF  NIR Thomas Lockhart
— MF  NIR Jimmy Walker
— MF  IRL Deanne Watters

Honours

Intermediate honours

Women's team
Further information: Newry City Ladies F.C.

The women's team played its first season in 2011.[14][15] They won the Division 4 in 2011 and the Division 3 in 2012.[16] They won the Division 1 title in 2013.[17] The women's team was promoted to the Women's Premier League in 2014, after winning the Championship.[18] In their 2015 Premier League season they only had 2 defeats and were second place going into the final matchday. After Linfield only drew with Glentoran United and Newry City won the team took first place and won the Premier League title.[19]

They also reached the Irish Cup final in 2014 but lost on penalties.

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References
  1. Northern Ireland Assembly Answer to Written Question AQW1178/11 Archived 2010-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Newry City 0-4 Glenavon". BBC Sport. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. "Irish FA suspends Newry City after club is wound up". BBC Sport. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  4. "Newry City's membership of the IFA is terminated". BBC Sport. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  5. "Newry old boys out to make point". Belfast Telegraph. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  6. "Newry City FC to be relaunched". Destination Newry. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  7. "What does future hold for football in Newry?". BBC Sport. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  8. "Newry City poised to make comeback after being wound-up". BBC Sport. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  9. "Newry launches new football club". UTV. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  10. "Delight as Newry City AFC officially launched". Newry Times. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  11. "Official NCAFC Launch this Thursday". newrycityafc.co.uk. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  12. "City accepted into Mid Ulster Intermediate B league". newrycityafc.co.uk. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  13. Newry Democrat
  14. http://www.irishfa.com/news/item/6453/newry-city-girls-flying-high/
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-08-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. http://www.shekicks.net/news/view/6423
  17. http://www.newrycityafc.co.uk/?p=1708
  18. https://int.soccerway.com/national/northern-ireland/championship/2014/regular-season/r24348/
  19. https://int.soccerway.com/national/northern-ireland/premier-league/2015/regular-season/r31178/
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