Castlebar Celtic F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Caisleán an Bharraigh Ceiltigh) is an Irish association football club based in

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wit ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

. They currently play in the Mayo Association Football League. They have previously fielded teams in the League of Ireland U20 Division, the

A Championship The A Championship, also known as the Newstalk A Championship, was an association football league featuring League of Ireland reserve teams and emerging senior teams. It was a third level league in the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

and the Connacht Senior League. The club previously operated a

women's team A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

History

Early years

According to the club crest, Castlebar Celtic was founded in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China h ...

. However, during the club's early years there was little activity. The club was reformed in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

as Castlebar Corinthians and did not become Castlebar Celtic until 1932. The name change was partly inspired by Celtic F.C. Initially the club played only friendlies as there were no local competitions for the club to enter. One of the earliest of these friendlies in 1928 saw Westport United visit Castlebar Celtic and win 4–1. In 1937–38 an under–18 team won the club's first trophy, the Alfie Byrne Cup. This cup was awarded to the winners of a town league based in Westport. During the 1940s Castlebar Celtic began to compete in provincial competitions such as the Western League and the Connacht Junior Cup. They won their first major honour in 1946–47 when they won the latter competition.

Mayo Association Football League

In 1954, together with Westport Town, Barcastle and Quay Hearts, Castlebar Celtic became founder members of the Mayo Association Football League. They finished the inaugural season as champions and together with Westport United, Castlebar Celtic became one of the league's two most successful clubs. Between 1957–58 and 1961–62 they were league champions five times in a row. In 1967–68 a Castlebar Celtic A team were champions while a Castlebar Celtic B team finished as runners up. Between 1980–81 and 1986–87 they completed another five in a row. After winning the league title in 1978–79 and 1980–81, Castlebar Celtic also went on to win the Michael Byrne Cup.

Connacht Senior League

In 1987–88 Castlebar Celtic joined the Connacht Senior League and in their first season finished as runners up behind Galway United Reserves. In 1988–89 they went one better when they finished as champions. Castlebar Celtic clinched the title after a draw in their final game with second placed Salthill Devon. The game was rescheduled after an assault on the referee by a Salthill Devon fan caused the original fixture to be abandoned with Celtic leading 1-0. Castlebar Celtic continued to play in the Connacht Senior League until 1999–2000 when it was dissolved. Although they did not win the league title again, they were runners up on two further occasions and they did win both the Connacht Senior League Incentive Cup and the

Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup The Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup was an association football cup competition featuring teams from the Connacht Senior League. It was the senior league cup competition of the Connacht Senior League between 1981 and 2000. It was later rema ...

. In 1992–93 Castlebar Celtic also represented the Connacht Senior League 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 invite ...

after finishing second behind Sligo Rovers Reserves in the 1991–92 season. Castlebar Celtic were invited to participate because

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

s were ineligible to compete in the League of Ireland Cup.

A Championship

After featuring in the 2007 League of Ireland U20 Division, Castlebar Celtic became the first club from

to play in a national league. They subsequently joined the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. The club was encouraged to make the move from provincial to national level after winning the 2006–07 FAI Youth Cup. Their 2009 A Championship squad included eight members of the cup winning team. However, with the conclusion of the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

season, Celtic withdrew from the league.

Ground

Castlebar Celtic originally played their home games at Fairgreen and later played at Niland's Field. In 1954 the club purchased

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

, their current home, which was then known as Flannelly's Field.

Gallery

File:Celtic38newGrandad.jpg, The Castlebar Celtic team that won the 1937–38 Alfie Byrne Cup, the club's first trophy

Honours

* FAI Youth Cup **''Winners'': 2006–07: 1 * Mayo Association Football League **''Winners'': 1954, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2001, 2006, 2011: 17 **''Runners Up'': 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2014: 14 * Western League/Connacht Senior League **''Winners'': 1988–89: 1 **''Runners Up'': 1947–48, 1970–71, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1994–95: 5 * Connacht Senior Cup **''Runners Up'': 1984–85: 1 *

**''Winners'': 1997–98: 1 **''Runners Up'': 1987–88, 1991–92, 1998–99: 3 * Connacht Senior League Incentive Cup **''Winners'': 1989–90: 1 * Connacht Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1946–47, 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1985–86, 2002–03: 9 * Michael Byrne Cup **''Winners'': 1978–79, 1980–81: 2

References

{{A Championship Association football clubs in County Mayo Association football clubs established in 1924 A Championship teams 1924 establishments in Ireland Castlebar Connacht Senior League (association football) clubs