F.C. Carlow () was an Irish association football club based in

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

. Between

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

the club played in 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. ...

. They also fielded teams in the League of Ireland U20/U19 Division. They were the first and to date so far, the only association football club from County Carlow to play in a senior national level league. During this time, the club also competed in the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Sports Direct FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as D ...

, the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup, also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', was an annual knockout competition in men's football in Ireland. It was contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited clubs from the lower levels of the Irish footb ...

and the Leinster Senior Cup.

History

South East Development Academy

F.C. Carlow developed from the South East Development Academy, a youth football academy that recruited players from counties

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

and

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

. During the mid-2000s the academy entered teams in the

Foyle Cup The Foyle Cup is a youth soccer tournament held every year in Derry City, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Along with the SuperCupNI, which takes place around the same time, The Foyle Cup is one of Ireland and indeed Europe's premier youth to ...

and the

Galway Cup The Galway Cup is an association football National Youth Tournament held annually in Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The tournament takes place in Salthill Devon F.C.'s Drom Soccer Park venue. History The competition began in the summer ...

, playing against youth teams representing

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

, Calgary Foothills F.C. and the Republic of Ireland U15s. In 2007 the academy announced their plans to enter a team in the League of Ireland U20 Division, using the name South East F.C., however they subsequently entered the division under the name F.C. Carlow. On 28 September 2008 the club made their debut in the U20 Division with a home game against

Cobh Ramblers Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) 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. Colman's Park. The club's colours are clare ...

A Championship

Between

and

, F.C. Carlow played in the

. On April 5, 2009, F.C. Carlow made their debut in the A Championship with a 1–1 home draw against Cork City A. During this time, the club also competed in the

, the

and the Leinster Senior Cup. In 2010 they were semi-finalists in the A Championship Cup, losing out after extra time and penalties to the eventual winners Sporting Fingal A. Following the demise of the A Championship, F.C. Carlow subsequently played one season in the new

League of Ireland U19 Division The League of Ireland U19 Division is the under-19 division of the League of Ireland. The current division is the successor of earlier U21 and U20 divisions. Like the Premier Division and First Division, the U19 Division is currently sponsored ...

Grounds

F.C. Carlow played their home games at various grounds throughout

. These included grounds that were regularly used by clubs that played in the Carlow & District Football League. During the 2008–09 season when they played in the League of Ireland U20 Division, F.C. Carlow played at Hawkins Lane in

Tullow Tullow (; ), formerly Tullowphelim (), is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 5,138. Tullowphelim is the name of both a townland and civ ...

. This was the home of Parkville United. While playing in the

they played at The Valley on Fenagh Road in Ballon at the home of Burrin Celtic. During the

season they also played games at The Meadows in Graiguecullen, the home of St Patricks Boys.

References

External links

F.C. Carlow on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlow 2008 establishments in Ireland 2011 disestablishments in Ireland Association football clubs in County Carlow A Championship teams Association football clubs established in 2008 Association football clubs disestablished in 2011 Association football academies in the Republic of Ireland Defunct association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland