Kildare County F.C. ( ga, Cumann Peile Chontae Chill Dara) was an Irish association football club based in

Newbridge, County Kildare Newbridge, officially known by its Irish name Droichead Nua (), is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. While the nearby Great Connell Priory was founded in the 13th century, the town itself formed from the 18th century onwards, and grew rapidl ...

. Between 2002–03 and

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 ...

they played in the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. ...

. During this time they also entered a team in the

League of Ireland U21 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 b ...

History

Foundation

Kildare County was formed in 2002 by members of

Newbridge Town F.C. Newbridge Town are a Senior Division Leinster Senior League side. A group of boys had decided they wanted to form a soccer team and approached Joe Barry and Tony Hannigan, both of whom had organised and played soccer for many years. Newbridge ...

in order to enter a team in the

. After St Francis withdrew from the First Division just two weeks before the start of the 2001–02 season, the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

began to look for a replacement club for 2002–03. Twelve clubs, including Newbridge Town, were approached to see if they were interested in joining the First Division. Members of Newbridge Town subsequently decided to form Kildare County as a separate legal entity and applied to join the First Division. The name Kildare County was chosen in an attempt to attract potential sponsors, players and supporters from throughout

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

. In February 2002 it was announced that Kildare County would be offered the First Division place ahead of Mullingar Town.

Early seasons

In March 2002 Kildare County appointed

Dermot Keely Dermot Keely (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish former manager and player. He was a schoolteacher by profession. Family Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne., h ...

as their first manager and John Gill as his assistant. On 15 June 2002 the club made their official debut in a friendly against

Bray Wanderers Bray Wanderers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Fánaithe Bhré) are an Irish association football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club in its present form was founded in 1942 in Bray, and was known until 2010 as ''B ...

. The game finished 2–2 with Keith O'Connor and Alan Kelly becoming the first and second players to score for County. On 6 July 2002 Kildare County made their competitive debut against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

at Station Road in a First Division Cup game. Philip Gorman and Shey Zellor scored for County as they won 2–0. On 24 August County made their

debut at Station Road again against Limerick. This time they lost 3–1 with Philip Gorman scoring the club's first league goal. Dermot Keely remained in charge of County for the 2002–03 season, guiding them to fifth place. In July 2003, midway through the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

season, Keely resigned as County manager in order to take charge of Derry City. During their first three seasons in the

, Kildare County challenged for promotion to the

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland ...

and on each occasion finished just outside the qualifying places for the promotion play-offs. In the 2002–03 First Division Cup they won their regional group and finished as overall runners up, losing 4–0 on aggregate in the final to

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was t ...

. They were also quarter-finalists in both the 2003 and

2004 FAI Cup The FAI Cup 2004 was the 84th staging of The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup or Carlsberg FAI Cup. It officially kicked off in late May, when twenty clubs from the junior and intermediate leagues battled it out for the chance to face ...

Decline

Between

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

and

, Kildare County finished in the bottom half of

table every season. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Kildare County finished bottom of the table and were initially relegated to 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. ...

after losing the promotion/relegation play-off to

Mervue United Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue, Galway. Their senior men's team currently plays in the Galway & District League. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, the League of Ir ...

. However they subsequently gained a reprieve after

Cobh Ramblers Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) ( ga, Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) 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. Colm ...

were refused a First Division license and were relegated directly from the 2008 Premier Division to the A Championship. In 2009 Kildare County again finished bottom of the table and they subsequently withdrew from the league. The last fixture the club played was against Shelbourne on Saturday, 7 November 2009. In the week before the game the entire club board and the team manager Joe Somerville resigned, leaving the club's players unpaid. The players were owed a total of €21,650 and as a result were reluctant to take to the pitch. However Stephen McGuinness, the general secretary of the

PFAI The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland (PFAI) is the representative body for professional and semi-professional footballers in Republic of Ireland. Players from all nationalities in the League of Ireland are represented, not just Ir ...

, persuaded the players to participate in the game. Meanwhile, fans had to run the ticket sales and canteen. County lost 5–1 and after fulfilling this last game, it was officially over. County were due to play

Salthill Devon Salthill Devon Football Club is an Irish association football club originally based in Salthill, Galway. Their senior team currently plays in the Galway & District League. They have previously played in the Connacht Senior League, the A Champio ...

in a promotion/relegation play-off but as a result of their resignation this did not happen and Salthill Devon subsequently replaced Kildare County in the 2010 First Division.

U21 Division

In addition to playing in the

, Kildare County also entered a team in the

. In 2006, with a team managed by Thomas Donnelly, they reached the

Enda McGuill Cup 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 b ...

final, losing 1–0 to

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the c ...

in the final.

League placings

Notable players

;

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of it ...

representative *

Ger O'Brien Gerard O'Brien (born 2 July 1984) is an Irish former professional footballer who played in the League of Ireland as a defender. He is the current Director of Football of St Patrick's Athletic, who he spent 5 seasons playing with. His former cl ...

; Republic of Ireland U23 internationals * Gareth Cronin *

; Republic of Ireland U21 internationals *

Pádraig Amond Pádraig Amond (born 15 April 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for National League club Woking. He began his career in his native Ireland with Shamrock Rovers, progressing through the club's youth academy befor ...

* Thomas Morgan * Richie Purdy ; Republic of Ireland U18 internationals * Lorcan Cronin ; Republic of Ireland U17 internationals * Gareth Cronin *

Alan Keely Alan Vincent Keely (10 May 1982 – 3 May 2021) was an Irish footballer who played as a defender for several League of Ireland teams between 2001 and 2009, including Shelbourne F.C., Finn Harps F.C. and Waterford United F.C. He was a member ...

Mark Kenny Marc Kenny (born 17 September 1973) is an Irish former footballer. Kenny was captain of the Home Farm schoolboys team that got into the Guinness Book of Records for going six seasons without a defeat. A Republic of Ireland national under-17 ...

Alan McDermott Alan McDermott (born 22 January 1982) is an Irish former footballer who played as a defender. Club career Born in Dublin, McDermott was signed as a trainee by Manchester United in July 1998, before signing his first professional contract with ...

Ger Robinson Ger Robinson (born 9 June 1982 in Dunboyne) is an Irish football striker, who last played for Kildare County in the League of Ireland. He is also involved in Gaelic football and has managed the Meath under-20 county team. Biography Robinson ...

; Top goalscorer * Philip Gorman (27) ; Most appearances * Philip Byrne: (124)

Managers

Honours

*First Division Cup ** ''Runners up'': 2002–03: 1 *

** ''Runners up'': 2006: 1

Gallery

File:Kildare County Supporters club logo.jpg

References

External links

Kildare County F.C. on Facebook
{{League of Ireland clubs Association football clubs established in 2002 Association football clubs disestablished in 2009 Defunct League of Ireland clubs Association football clubs in County Kildare 2002 establishments in Ireland 2009 disestablishments in Ireland Former League of Ireland First Division clubs