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 based in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland which existed for little over a year between 1889 and 1890.
History
Formation
The club was formed as a breakaway from
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 ...
cooperage
A cooper is a craftsman who produces wooden casks, barrels, vats, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other similar containers from timber staves that were usually heated or steamed to make them pliable.
Journeymen coopers also traditionally made w ...
-owning businessman and Irish nationalist James Quillan, engaged in public disputes via newspapers with other committee members in spring 1889, followed by the club's AGM in June of that yearGlasgow Hibernian: The short-lived team with ties to Celtic created after Hibs refused to leave Edinburgh Patrick McPartlin,
Edinburgh Evening News
The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by National World, whic ...
, 11 March 2021 over various points in order to gather support for his alternative vision of a charitable sporting society with membership limited to persons of an Irish and Catholic background, for the benefit of that generally very poor and marginalised immigrant community in Glaswegian society. Celtic had a similar ethos but accepted members and players of all backgrounds (although in their first year they had an all-Catholic team) and under the stewardship of John Glass were already being run on a more commercial basis than some members desired, including making financial inducements to players in the supposedly
amateur game
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
His ...
in Scotland. Local churches associated with Celtic were also said to be exasperated at the drunken disorderly behaviour of some of the team's followers, and Quillan's group sought to align themselves to the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
, although the fact that some of their meetings were held in pubs casts doubt on the whether the stated desire to distance their new club from alcohol was genuine.
With Quillan having been voted out of the Celtic committee, his associates turned to the original
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the , the top division of Scottish football. The club was founded in 1875 by members of Edinburgh's Irish commu ...
based in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
– which had formed the blueprint for the creation of Celtic,1889: Weakened Hibernian FC Historical Trust had offered financial support but then been damaged badly by the Glasgow club enticing their players away to the new enterprise,Whose grass-roots are the greener? The Scotsman, 20 May 2001 and at that time maintained the selective membership policy Quillan sought to emulate – and attempted unsuccessfully to persuade their owners to relocate to Glasgow. In the summer of 1889 the 'malcontents' thereafter formed a new club, Glasgow Hibernian the name of a defunct team which in 1885 was part of the inspiration to create a Glasgow version of the original Hibernian, and was a proposed title for Celtic rejected by founder
Brother Walfrid
Andrew Kerins (; 18 May 1840 – 17 April 1915), known by his religious name Brother Walfrid, was an Irish people, Irish Marist Brothers, Marist Brother and is best remembered for being the founder of Scottish football club Celtic F.C., Celtic. ...
to avoid confusion with the Edinburgh team.
Results
With the wary Edinburgh Hibernian having rebuffed a proposal to act as opponent in their inaugural match, Glasgow Hibernian first entered the
Willie Naughton
William A. Naughton (16 July 1870 – 23 April 1906) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played as an outside-forward for various clubs in Scotland and England in the 1880s and 1890s, including Celtic, Stoke and Southampton. Throughou ...
Thistle F.C.
Thistle Football Club (also known as Glasgow Thistle and Bridgeton Thistle) was a 19th-century football club based in Glasgow. The club was briefly a member of the Scottish Football League Division Two, and has been described as the most insig ...
from nearby
Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock (, ) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Parkhead to the north-e ...
in the first round, watched by 500 spectators. They fared little better in the
Glasgow Cup
The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rule ...
, being drawn against the leading club of the era, Queen's Park, in the opening round and suffering a 4–0 defeat at home.Glasgow FA Cup 1887-1989 Scottish Football Historical Archive Queen's Park Football Club - An Early History The 4,000 attendance for that match would have been particularly disappointing to the owners who had hoped (and budgeted accordingly) to attract a greater number of fans from the local area, as Celtic had done as soon as they began playing matches – in contrast to Hibernian's crowd, Queen's Park's meeting with Celtic two weeks earlier drew 22,000 spectators to the first Celtic Park followed by 10,000 to the second Hampden for a replay even with prices increased to keep spectator numbers down to manageable levels.
The early cup exits left only sporadic friendlies to occupy the club until the next season, including one against Heart of Midlothian and two against
Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland and currently plays in the . Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not ...
1890–91 Scottish Cup
The 1890–91 Scottish Cup was the 18th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. Heart of Midlothian defeated Dumbarton 1–0 to win the trophy.
Teams
First round Glasgow and Lanarkshire district
Glengowan receive ...
first round, Hibernian overcame Kelvinside Athletic 5–1 in a replay, but then lost 4–1 away to Wishaw Thistle. The Glasgow Cup appeared to have brought a more favourable draw than the previous year, but Hibernian again failed to progress as they were eliminated by Summerton Athletic from
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...
(who had been beaten 11–0 by Queen's Park at the same stage in 1889) in a replay after a 2–2 draw at home.
Collapse
Within a few weeks of the Summerton defeat, the Glasgow Hibernian club was dissolved in late October 1890 with no prospect of matchday income in the near future and outstanding debts. A court order was brought against James Quillan the following year by the club's former secretary (a wood merchant who was owed money, presumably for the construction of the stadium) as the only individual identified in its paperwork as a 'promoter', although his involvement while the team was in operation was not widely known or publicised (he was still a club member at Celtic, and later returned to active involvement with the
Parkhead
Parkhead () is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet (place), hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road (now the Gallowgate and Tollcross Road) and Westmuir Street. Glasgow's Eastern Necro ...
club before his death in 1901).
Colours
The club originally wore green jerseys and black knickers, and in its last season it wore green and maroon vertically striped shirts.
Ground
Funds of £500 were provided to build a new ground, which they named
Hibernian Park
Hibernian Park was the home ground of the Scottish football club Hibernian from 1880 until the club's dissolution in 1891. When the club was reformed in 1892, the club took out on a lease on a site which became known as Easter Road. Hibernian ...
(again aping the Edinburgh Hibs' home of the time), on the south bank of the
River Clyde
The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
) on the Rutherglen Road. It was close to areas with large Irish populations including
Hutchesontown
Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central (ward), Southside Ce ...
Barrowfield Park
Barrowfield Park was a football ground in the Bridgeton / Dalmarnock area of Glasgow, Scotland. It was the home ground of Eastern during the 1870s and Clyde between 1877 and 1898.
History
Clyde moved to Barrowfield Park in 1877, initially g ...
, home of the established
Clyde F.C.
Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in . Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 until 2022.
The ...
, on the opposite bank of the river.
In 1892,
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
of Dalmarnock took over Hibernian Park and renamed it Braehead Park; however, they themselves only survived for two more years before folding after an attempt to compete in the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...
resulted in several humiliating defeats. The ground was then used by
Benburb
Benburb ()) is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies 7.5 miles from Armagh and 8 miles from Dungannon. The River Blackwater runs alongside the village as does the Ulster Canal.
History
It is best known, in hi ...
before being acquired to become part of the landscaped Richmond Park in 1898 (precipitating Benburb's reformation in Govan),2009 Updates: 25 August Scottish Football Historical Archive (archived version, 2009) and in the early 21st century the land had some new apartments built upon it (located close to
Polmadie Bridge
The Polmadie Bridge is a footbridge that crosses the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland between Glasgow Green (the Flesher's Haugh area which is largely football pitches) to its north, and Oatlands (at the west side of Richmond Park) to its south. ...