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Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an 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 that play in the First Division of 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 ...
, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was technically founded on 30 November 1953. They hail from
Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ba ...
,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
and play their home matches at Finn Park in Ballybofey. The club's colours are blue and white, and they go by the nickname Harps. The main successes of the club include winning an
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 ...
in 1973–74 and the First Division title in 2004. They also contested the 1999 FAI Cup Final(s), a second replay of which ended in a narrow defeat, the first replay having been lost to a draw with 30 seconds left to play. Finn Harps share a local rivalry with Derry City with whom they contest the Northwest Derby.


History


Early years

Finn Harps was formed in 1954 as a junior club. The club's name derives from the river that runs through
Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ba ...
– the River Finn – and a traditional Irish symbol – the
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
. They first came to national prominence by winning the 1968
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 ...
. This enabled them to compete in the 1969
FAI Intermediate Cup The FAI Intermediate Cup ( ga, Corn Comortais Peile na hÉireann), also known as the FAI Umbro Intermediate Cup and the Pat O'Brien Intermediate Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for intermediate ...
. After they were knocked out of that competition, club directors
Fran Fields Fran may refer to: People and fictional characters * Fran (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Fran (footballer, born 1969) or Francisco Javier González Pérez * Fran (footballer, born 1972), Spanish retired football ...
and Patsy McGowan decided to apply to the League of Ireland for membership. The club was admitted into the senior ranks in May 1969 and played their first senior game against
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
on 17 August 1969. They lost the game 10–2. After initial worries that the club were not of sufficient standard, the club became a considerable force during the 1970s.


1970s: A decade of dominance

Finn Harps won their first senior trophy, the
Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...
, in 1971–72, after a goal from club legend and all-time League of Ireland record goalscorer Brendan Bradley defeated
Cork Hibernians Cork Hibernians F.C. were an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1957 and 1976 and, from 1962, played their home games at Flower Lodge. In 1971, they were League of Ireland champions. History The ...
at
Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...
. This was significant as before others had dismissed the idea of Finn Harps in the league. Two years later, Dalymount Park was again the scene as the club secured its first and only
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 ...
win. Two goals from Brendan Bradley and one from
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saw off the challenge of
St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...
. Finn Harps qualified for European competitions on four occasions during the 1970s. They appeared in the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
three times against
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,
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...
and Everton respectively, after finishing as runners-up in the league. They appeared once in the
European Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, playing
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...
winners
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. The club was again runner-up 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 ...
finals of 1974 and 1975 to
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
and
Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
respectively. Through the 1970s, the club never once finished in the bottom half of the table and were widely respected for their attractive and attacking football style. The 1974 final was the first to be broadcast in colour.


Slow decline

The 1980s saw a gradual decline of the club when it came to competing against the best in Ireland. An FAI Cup semi-final in 1981 and a League of Ireland First Division Shield final defeat by EMFA were the highlights of the decade for them and by 1985 the club had been relegated to the newly formed First Division. A series of managerial changes occurred over the following few years in an attempt to raise the club's status, but signs of improvement did not appear until the early 1990s. Patsy McGowan took over as manager for the third time at the start of the 1992–93 season. The next three seasons saw the club finish in the play-off position twice, though they were beaten both times (once by
Cobh Ramblers Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) ( ga, Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) is an Irish football club. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the League of Ireland in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colm ...
and once by
Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...
). The club let McGowan go before his aim of promotion could be completed. Following this the club's fortunes improved. Nevertheless, Finn Harps won promotion at the end of the 1995–96 season, thus bringing an end to end their 11-season spell in the First Division. During the summer of 1996, a consortium of businessmen offered to take control of the club, but - when their offer was rejected - the manager and certain members of the club committee resigned. The club appointed Charlie McGeever as manager and, despite time being against him, he managed to assemble a squad for the opening of the 1996–97 season. By the season's conclusion, he had ensured that the club's Premier Division status was retained. Off the field, the remaining committee members set the club up as a
co-operative society A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratical ...
, selling shares to the ordinary supporters, to ensure that the club would be owned and run by the people whom they felt would truly care about it. A long-term blueprint for the future was put in place. In 1998–99, Finn Harps finished fourth in the Premier Division; one point behind Shelbourne in third position and just missed out on Europe. They made it to the 1999 FAI Cup Final but lost to
Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...
after a number of replays, leaving themselves with nothing to show (bar the
Irish News Cup The Irish News Cup was a "north-south" association football competition in Ireland involving teams from the Irish League and League of Ireland mostly located in the north-west of the island. It is thus not counted among the major all-Ireland cup ...
) for what is considered to be one of their most impressive seasons. After a very poor start to the 1999–00 season, and with the team having won one point from a possible 21, McGeever resigned as manager. The club appointed Gavin Dykes as manager and, though he managed to retain the club's Premier Division status, they were forced to go public company due to financial difficulties and debts amounting to £280,000. The following season, and after an abysmal run of results, Dykes resigned. Fan-favourite Jonathan Speak took his place as new financial structures were put into place and a newly appointed fund-raising committee established along with numerous supporter clubs around the country. However, after a run of 14 games undefeated and a late-season fightback, Finn Harps were ultimately relegated to the First Division on the last day of the season. This ended a five-year run in the top flight.


The

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...
years

Speak's first full season in charge saw the club finish second to
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 ...
in the First Division, thus securing them a play-off place for promotion.
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 ...
beat them on penalties. The following season saw the club finish third and lose at the play-off semi-final stage to
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 ...
. Speak managed to hold most of the squad together, despite their top-scorer
Kevin McHugh Kevin McHugh ( ga, Caoimhín MacAodha); born 19 January 1980 in Letterkenny, Ireland) is an Irish former footballer and current manager of Finn Harps F.C. under-15 League of Ireland team. He is considered one of Donegal's best-known sportstars. ...
(who formed a successful forward partnership with English striker Damien Whitehead) attracting the interest of several Premier Division clubs. Considered bookmaker's favourites to lift the 2003 title and win promotion, Finn Harps began well but fell to fourth position after having gone without a win for a month by mid-September. This poor run included a home-loss to the neighbouring northwest club
Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...
and a home-draw against league leaders Dublin City, the latter game billed as a must-win match. Despite losing only two games for the entire season, the nine draws cost Speak his job. Speak's assistant, Sean McGowan, took temporary charge until a suitable placement was found and steadied the club with two wins from two. Approaching the final third of the season, the club appointed
Noel King Noel King (born 13 September 1956) is a former professional footballer and the current head coach of Women's National League club Shelbourne. For 10 years from 2000 until 2010 he was manager of the Republic of Ireland women's national team. ...
as manager. They were rejuvenated and stormed back to the top of the First Division table with a club record-equalling six wins on the trot. With only four games remaining, Finn Harps led the table by a point but losses away to Bray Wanderers and Dublin City handed the title to Dublin City and left Finn Harps in the now-dreaded playoffs once again. They disposed of Bray Wanderers in the semi-finals but lost in the final to local rivals Derry City, who had finished ninth in that season's Premier Division. Noel King lasted six games into the 2004 season before leaving the club by mutual consent, with the amount of travelling the
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
er had to endure being cited as one of the main reasons for his departure. Sean McGowan, his assistant, once again took charge for two games but within ten days the club announced a shock replacement.
Felix Healy Felix Healy (born 27 September 1955 as Patrick Joseph Healy) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and singer who played for Coleraine and then became a football manager. He has also worked as a media pundit and is currently pa ...
, the former Derry City player and manager who had won all domestic major honours with his home-town club, would be the new manager. Fans viewed this as a bold move by the Finn Harps board of directors, considering Healy's history with the club's fiercest rivals. However, Healy - in the club's
golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
year - won the club's first First Division title and achieved the promotion to the Premier Division that had eluded so many managers before him. However, the following season saw the club struggle in the Premier Division and Harps sacked Healy in July. Anthony Gorman agreed to become
player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
until the end of the season. However, at the season's end and with Finn Harps relegated again, Gorman agreed to take the position on a full-time basis only to leave following the 2006 season as his efforts to lead the club to promotion failed. In 2007, after
Paul Hegarty Paul Anthony Hegarty (born 25 July 1954 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish football player and manager. He was captain of Dundee United during their most successful era in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the Scottish league championship in 1983 and the ...
took charge of managing the team, financial difficulties that had nearly bankrupted the club some seasons earlier became more prevalent so the club - struggling in the lower half of the First Division - put all players on sale. The 2007 season started sluggishly with a number of defeats and "bore draws" (notably against
Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Mhuineacháin Aontaithe) is an Irish association football club based in Monaghan currently playing in the Ulster Senior League. The club joined the League of Ireland in 1983 and subsequently went on to pl ...
), but a lengthy unbeaten run left the club in second place in the league, only one point behind Cobh Ramblers. They emerged as victors over
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
from the first round of the First Division play-off, with a 2–0 win. The first leg of the final play-off round against Waterford United ended at Finn Park with Harps taking a 3–0 advantage to the Waterford RSC ahead of the return leg, which ended 3–3. Thus, Harps secured promoted to the Premier Division 6–3 on aggregate. In 2008, Harps began the conversion from a semi-professional, part-time club to a full-time setup over the off-season, with 16 full-time players on the books as of the opening day of the season. The conversion succeeded but relegation beckoned once again for the club, this time on the final day. Though they won their game, Galway United's win sealed the fate of Harps. In 2009, Finn Harps played in the FAI First Division, on a semi-professional basis once again. On 11 May 2009, Paul Hegarty left the club, citing "personal reasons". James Gallagher replaced Hegarty as manager. On 3 May 2011, Peter Hutton took over as manager, while former Northern Ireland international and fellow former Derry City player
Felix Healy Felix Healy (born 27 September 1955 as Patrick Joseph Healy) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and singer who played for Coleraine and then became a football manager. He has also worked as a media pundit and is currently pa ...
also arrived to take the role of club
director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
. Following the final home game of the 2013 season (a 3–2 win against champions
Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...
), Hutton announced his resignation as manager.


Rejuvenation and the 'Ollie Years'

On 25 November 2013, the club named Galway native and former Fanad United manager
Ollie Horgan Oliver Horgan (born 17 February 1968) is an Irish football manager, he was the manager of Finn Harps from November 2013 to November 2022. Horgan has previously managed the Republic of Ireland national schoolboy football team. In December 2022, ...
as manager for the 2014 season. In his first season in charge, Horgan led the club to an FAI Cup semi final for the first time in 15 years, before being beaten by Premier Division side St. Patrick's Athletic in
Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...
. The 2015 season concluded with Finn Harps securing promotion to the
League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...
by beating
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
2–1 on aggregate in a famous relegation/promotion playoff, the second leg of which occurred on 6 November 2015. Against all the odds, Horgan managed to keep Finn Harps in the Premier Division in 2016, however, in their second season back in the top flight they were relegated once again. They spent
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in the First Division, achieving immediate promotion - again at the expense of Limerick in the relegation/promotion play-off, though this time on a 3-0 aggregate score. 2019 saw another relegation battle, as Harps defeated Drogheda United in the relegation play-off game in Finn Park to retain their Premier Division status for 2020. 2019-20 marks Harps's fiftieth season in the League of Ireland. In a
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disrupted 2020 season, Harps again managed to avoid the drop, with a last day of the season win against
Waterford F.C. Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...
securing their place in the Premier Division again under Horgan, in what was his seventh season in charge of Harps. The 2021 season got off to a good start with Adam Foley securing a win over Bohemians. May 2021 would see Finn Harps get their first ever away success over Derry City at league level.


Stadium

Finn Harps play at
Finn Park Finn Park ( ga, Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. Facilities The ground is in a relatively dilapidated conditi ...
in
Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. Ba ...
, County Donegal. Finn Park is formed mainly of open terracing surrounding the football pitch. In 2005, the terraces were renovated for health and safety reasons as new concrete surfaces replaced the old viewing slopes. In total, the ground's capacity accommodates approximately 6,000 spectators. The stadium has one covered stand, which also caters for 350 seated supporters. The area allocated to supporters of visiting teams is the terrace opposite the seated stand (situated in the Shed End). The pitch dimensions measure 110 yards in length by 80 yards in width. Sitting on the
banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
of the River Finn, Finn Park is prone to waterlogging in times of wet weather.


New stadium

The club planned to move to a new covered 6,600 all-seater stadium just across the River Finn in
Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River Finn) form ''the Twin Towns''. Transport The town is located at the junctio ...
. The proposal would also feature an FAI Regional Development Centre. Club shareholders gave the club's board a mandate in 2005 to proceed with the stadium plans. Planning permission was obtained in mid-2005. Approval to proceed to tender was obtained from the Football Association of Ireland in early 2006 and local developers, Joseph McMenamin and Sons, won the tender process and had their tender approved a year later. Finn Harps received funding of €750,000 in 2007 to commence works at the new stadium. They hoped to be in the new stadium for the 2013 season. Work ceased on the new stadium due to the recession and lack of funds. Work was expected to resume on the stadium in early 2011 but in the end it did not restart until late 2014. Revised plans were unveiled in May 2022, showing a 6,130 capacity ground, with all four sides covered, and a seating capacity of 3,330.


Colours and crests

The traditional colours of Finn Harps are blue and white. The club played in white jerseys and blue shorts upon entry into 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 ...
. Their away strip was all green. Since that time Harps have played in either white or blue jerseys as their primary colour and used green, yellow or white as their away colours. In the 1975/76 and 1976/77 Harps wore blue and white stripes and repeated this during 1983/84 and 1984/85. Harps kits and training gear is currently manufactured by Joma Sports, and the club's jerseys are sponsored by the KN Group, with Superior Group and Joey O'Leary sponsoring the back and sleeves respectively. The current home strip is made up of a blue jersey with white sleeves, white shorts and blue socks with the home goalkeeping kit being pretty similar except with a light green jersey with black shorts and black socks. The current away strip consists of a luminous yellow jersey with navy trim, navy shorts and navy socks, the away goalkeeping kit is made up of a black jersey, black shorts and black socks. Harps current third kit is made up of a dark silver/grey jersey with blue trim, with matching shorts and socks, the third goalkeeping kit consists of a yellow jersey with black shorts and black socks. Finn Harps have sported various crests throughout their history. All, largely circular in composition, have featured a harp and new designs have essentially been modernised updates of the previous crest. The harp has traditionally been a symbol of Ireland. Footballs have also been a common feature. The modern stylised crests contain the club's name in a Gaelic-style font, similar to the Gandalf typeface. For the club's
golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
year, 2004, they introduced a new golden crest which was very similar to their early crest. Bar this crest, blue, green and white have been common colours used. In 2010, Finn Harps decided to play in an all-white kit due to demand from supporters after they wore an all-white kit against Shelbourne to celebrate 40 years in the League of Ireland in 2009. They reverted to blue home kits in 2011. For the 2021 season, Joma sport has been announced as the jersey partner.


Supporters

Finn Harps supporters share a friendly rivalry with their north-west neighbours, Derry City. The most exciting encounter between the two sides was perhaps the 2003 relegation play-off between the two sides. A
Brandywell Stadium The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporaril ...
packed with both sets of fans witnessed a Finn Harps side managed by
Noel King Noel King (born 13 September 1956) is a former professional footballer and the current head coach of Women's National League club Shelbourne. For 10 years from 2000 until 2010 he was manager of the Republic of Ireland women's national team. ...
(a former Derry City manager) lose a highly charged affair that finished 2–1 to Derry after an extra-time goal from Derry City favourite, Liam Coyle. A friendly rivalry is maintained between the two clubs, yet both have encountered times of trouble in recent years. One team has often been helped by the other in this regard. Harps' other main derby is with southern neighbours
Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...
Harps have a good relationship with
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
. The clubs have provided financial assistance to each other in the past and both sets of supporters socialise together when the clubs play one another. The club's anthem "The Finn Harps song" can often be heard being sung by the club's supporters and its lyrics "they follow them in Donegal, Derry and Tyrone" illustrates that the main core of the Harps support comes from the North West of Ireland.


Rivalries

Finn Harps and Derry City share what is called the Northwest Rivalry. It has been hotly contested since Derry entered the League in 1985. The close proximity of the two
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
clubs, being only 30 miles apart, has contributed to the rivalry. The strong contrast between the two clubs, Rural/Urban and the gulf in success, has aided the rivalry. Both sets of fans can be frequently heard singing songs about each other. Many players have played for both clubs, the most notable of whom is
Kevin McHugh Kevin McHugh ( ga, Caoimhín MacAodha); born 19 January 1980 in Letterkenny, Ireland) is an Irish former footballer and current manager of Finn Harps F.C. under-15 League of Ireland team. He is considered one of Donegal's best-known sportstars. ...
.


Players


Squad


Technical staff


Academy staff


Honours

*
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 ...
** Winners: 1973–74 *
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 ...
** Winners:
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
** Runners-up: 2015, 2018 *
Dublin City Cup The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides (and not just those from Dublin city as the name suggests). It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In the 1975–76 se ...
** Winners: 1971–72 *
Irish News Cup The Irish News Cup was a "north-south" association football competition in Ireland involving teams from the Irish League and League of Ireland mostly located in the north-west of the island. It is thus not counted among the major all-Ireland cup ...
** Winners: 1998–99 *
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 ...
** Winners: 1967–68 *First Division Cup ** Winners: 2002–03


European record


Overview


Matches


Footnotes


External links


Official Website
{{Authority control 1954 establishments in Ireland Association football clubs established in 1954 Association football clubs in County Donegal Former League of Ireland First Division clubs League of Ireland Premier Division clubs