Armagh City Football Club is a semi-professional,
Northern Irish
The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club playing in the
NIFL Championship.
History
The club was founded in 1964 as Milford Everton in the village of
Milford, just outside
Armagh
Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
city. The original name was in honour of the founders' favourite English team,
Everton. Milford was the village were the penalty kick was first introduced in 1890 when local goalkeeper
William McCrum suggested a way to combat illegal challenges near to goal. Milford Everton eventually bought and refurbished the McCrum Institute in the early 1980s as they strove to improve facilities for the 'B' Division. The club was renamed Armagh City after relocating to Armagh in 1988. They played at the Mill Field, Armagh from 1988 to 1993, when they moved to their current ground,
Holm Park. They achieved
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
status in 1999, but reverted to intermediate status in 2003 when the
Irish Premier League was established and the number of senior clubs was reduced from 20 to 16. In 2005, however, City gained promotion to the Premier League, but after three more seasons at senior level, the club failed to gain a place in the 12-club
IFA Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...
and reverted once more to intermediate status as a member of the
IFA Championship
The Northern Ireland Football League Championship (known as the Playr-Fit Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second level of the Northern Ireland Football League, the national football league in Northern Ireland. Clubs in the Champion ...
. The club's colours are azure and black stripes. Former player Marty Rice was named first team manager on 10 July 2010, having been assistant to Ivor McGucken at the start of the 2009–10 season.
During the 2011–12 season Armagh City entered into negotiations with various bodies including the IFA, Armagh City and District Council and SportNI to secure funding to replace their grass pitch with the latest, FIFA approved, 3rd generation pitch. The pitch was laid in summer 2013 and opened in September 2013. The first game for the first team was on 14 September 2013 - a 5–1 win against Lurgan Celtic in the
Bob Radcliffe Cup.
Luke Grimley was the last player to score on the old Holm Park in a 1–0 win over rivals Loughgall which clinched the Championship reserve league title managed by Mickey O’Neill and captained by Cillian Sheridan, while Shea McGerrigan was the first player to score in the new Holm Park with a 5–1 win over Lurgan Celtic.
In the 2011–12 season Armagh City F.C. Youth (U18) created history by winning their first ever national trophy, the Harry Cavan Irish Youth Cup,
[https://www.irishfa.com/ifa-domestic/cup-competitions/harry-cavan-youth-cup-sponsored-by-dale-farm-protein-milk/youth-cup-2011-12 ] defeating Cliftonville 1–0 in the final with a goal from Barry Quinn, the side was managed by John Hynds and Martin Grimley, and captained by Matthew Hynds. On the run to the final the Eagles defeated, Ballymoney United 9–0, Woodvale F.C. 7-0 and Glenavon F.C. 3–1. In a successful year for the youth side they also lifted the League title undefeated and the League Cup completing an impressive domestic treble.
In the 2013–14 season Armagh City F.C. won the double by winning the league and Bob Radcliffe Cup, the side, captained by Liam Cullen also reached the Intermediate Cup Final but were defeated by Bangor F.C. 2–1.
The club over the years has reached several Mid Ulster Cup finals with a reasonably large following and have came close to promotion to the
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...
. The club was relegated to the Premier Intermediate League in the 2016–17 season following a disappointing 7–1 loss to
Newry City in the championship relegation play off over two legs. Manager Marty Rice then resigned.
In the summer of 2017 former Cliftonville player Joe Kerr took over as manager of the club for the 2017/18 season with Alex Clifford and Mickey O'Neill as his assistants. Kerr departed from the club in June 2021, with his successor, Shea Campbell being appointed the following day.
In the 2023–24 season, Armagh finished second in the
Premier Intermediate with 52 points. This gave them a chance of promotion to the
NIFL Championship via the promotion play-offs. Armagh faced
Dergview. The first leg resulted in a draw, whilst the second ended in a penalty shoot-out. Armagh won the shoot-out 6–5 to secure a place in the second tier of Northern Irish football for the following season.
Current squad
Honours
Senior honours
*
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 Co ...
: 1
**2000–01
Intermediate honours
*
Irish First Division (tier 2): 1
**
2004–05
*
NIFL Championship 2 (tier 3): 1
**
2013–14
*
Bob Radcliffe Cup : 5
**1991–92, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2020–21
Junior honours
*Mid-Ulster League: 1
**1973–74
*Mid-Ulster Shield: 1
**1969–70
*Harry Cavan Irish Youth Cup: 1
**2011–12
*Championship Reserve League: 1
**2012-13
References
External links
*
Irish League Supporters forum
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Former senior Irish Football League clubs
Association football clubs established in 1964
Association football clubs in Northern Ireland
Association football clubs in County Armagh
1964 establishments in Northern Ireland
NIFL Premier Intermediate League clubs