Garliestown Football Club was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club from the village of

Garlieston Garlieston ( gd, Baile Gheàrr Lios, IPA: �paləʝeaːᵲʎis̪ is a small planned coastal village in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. It was founded in the mid 18th century by Lord Garlies, la ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has ...

History

The club claimed a foundation date of 1878, although it had a fitful existence for its first few years, being an irregular entrant to the

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (originally one and later three) from a wide arr ...

from 1881 and twice entering the

Southern Counties Cup The Southern Counties Cup is an association football cup competition for clubs in the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Wigtownshire, and Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1891. Format The competition was a knock-out ...

, in the competition's first season of 1891–92 and again in 1895–96, but scratching both times. The club's name was generally rendered as Garliestown until at least 1906, the Garlieston spelling becoming more common from 1907. The club was one of the most successful in its county, winning the Wigtownshire Cup three consecutive seasons (1892–93 to 1894–95), the final time with a remarkable 8–5 win over

Kirkcowan Kirkcowan is an area about 15 miles in length, and from nearly two to nearly seven miles in breadth, comprising 30,580 acres, of which 7000 are arable, 300 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture in Machars, in the historical ...

in the final at Stranraer. The club also won two of the first four editions of the Newton Stewart Cup (1891–92 and 1893–94), exchanging titles with the

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart ( Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and ...

club, although, as the club was not yet a member of the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility fo ...

, it was entitled to play a 'ringer' (Willie Crozier, formerly of

Sunderland Albion Sunderland Albion Football Club was an English association football club based in Sunderland, England, formed in 1888 and disbanded in 1892. The club was reformed in 2020 but has as of 2023 ceased operations again. Summary Sunderland Albion ...

) without threat of punishment for playing an illegal professional. It was also a regular entrant to the Law Cup, for clubs in the two counties of Wigtownshire and

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative coun ...

, reaching the final for the only time in 1895–96, but losing 3–2 away at Douglas Wanderers, all of the goals coming in the first half. However, on a wider stage it was almost entirely without success, its first two wins in the Churchill Cup (which included clubs from

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. ...

) coming in 1893–94 against St Cuthbert's Wanderers and Newton Stewart. The club also received a bye to be put into the final against the 5th K.R.V., which beat Garliestown 7–0, despite the 5th having a much longer journey to

for the final. This small success gained the club an invitation to play in the Southern Counties Charity Cup for the only time, but it lost 6–0 at Newton Stewart in its only tie. Garliestown was also an irregular entrant to the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup ...

between 1895 and 1905, taking part in the competition four times. Its first appearance in 1895–96 was a 3–2 defeat to a Newtown Stewart side filled with reserves and, after scratching from its next two entries, re-formed itself in the early 1900s with patronage from the

Earl of Galloway Earl of Galloway is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1623 for Alexander Stewart, 1st Lord Garlies, with remainder to his heirs male bearing the name and arms of Stewart. He had already been created Lord Garlies in the Peera ...

and the local

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

, Sir H. E. Maxwell. Its third entry, in 1905–06, saw the club beat Tarff Rovers 4–3 in a replay, coming from 2–1 down at half-time, for its only win in the competition. In the second round it lost 11–1 at 6th G.R.V., the Garliestown goal being a penalty from Edgar when already four behind. The club's last appearance of any note was in the final of the 1913–14 Wigtownshire Cup, by which time the competition had been reduced to four clubs, and Garlieston walked over in the semi-final after illness reduced the Tarff Rovers squad. In the final, Garlieston lost 1–0 in a replay to Newton Stewart. The club did not re-emerge after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

and a new

club was founded in 1926.

Colours

The club originally wore royal blue jerseys. For the 1904–05 season, it described its colours as blue and white, and afterwards as black and white.

Ground

The club originally played at Galloway House Park. The club tried to move to a new park in 1902, a 3-minute walk from the town centre and surrounded by trees, but was frequently forced to revert to Galloway House (owned by the club's president Major Johnstone) because the new pitch was often under water.

Honours

* Churchill Cup ** Runner-up: 1893–94 *Law Cup ** Runner-up: 1895–96 * Wigtownshire Cup ** Winner: 1892–93, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1907–08 ** Runner-up: 1890–91, 1913–14 * Newtown-Stewart Cup ** Winner: 1891–92, 1893–94 ** Runner-up: 1890–91, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1895–96

External links

Churchill Cup

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1878 Association football clubs disestablished in 1914 1878 establishments in Scotland 1914 disestablishments in Scotland Football clubs in Dumfries and Galloway