Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue,

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. Their senior men's team currently plays in the

Galway & District League The Galway & District League is an association football league organized by the Galway Football Association. It features amateur and junior clubs from County Galway. It currently features four divisions. Its top division, the Premier Division, ...

. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, 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 ...

, 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

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

History

Early years

Mervue United was formed in 1960 by a group of residents in the McDonagh Avenue area of Mervue,

. In 1964–65 the club won its first trophy, the Murphy Cup, a competition for under–13 boys teams. By the early 1970s Mervue United were playing in the

and in 1972–73 they won promotion to the league's Premier division. They subsequently began to regularly win the league's two league cups, the Joe Ryan Cup and the Lillis Cup. In 1976–77 they also won a Galway & District League and Michael Byrne Cup double. By 1980 the Mervue United B team had also gained promotion to the Premier Division. However

Galway Football Association The Galway Football Association is the governing body for association football in County Galway. It is responsible for organizing and managing the Galway & District League, Eamonn Deacy Park, and Galway W.F.C. Affiliated leagues * Galway & Di ...

rules insisted that two teams from the same club could not play in the same division. As a result, Mervue Celtic was founded as a separate club and, like United, they also found success in the Joe Ryan Cup and the Lillis Cup competitions. In 1981–82 they also won the Galway area

FAI Junior Cup The FAI Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for junior association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Brideville. The competition's most successful club is Fairvie ...

competition.

Connacht Senior League

Between 1981 and 2000 Mervue United played in the Connacht Senior League. In 1981–82, together with Sligo Rovers Reserves, Castlerea Celtic, Salthill Devon, Ballina Rovers, Tuam Celtic and UCG, Mervue United became founder members of the CSL. In its first season Mervue United finished as runners-up behind Sligo Rovers. They also won a league cup double, winning both the Connacht Senior League Cup and the Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup. Mervue United won the league for the first time in 1982–83 and subsequently went on to become one of the league's most successful teams, winning the title eight times. In 1982–83 and 1983–84 they completed two successive trebles winning the league title, the Challenge Cup and the Connacht Senior Cup. In 1992–93 they went one better and won a quartet of trophies, winning the league title, the Connacht Senior League Shield, Connacht Senior Cup and the Challenge Cup. Between 1996 and 1997 and 1999–2000 Mervue United were also Connacht Senior League champions four times in a row. In 1999–2000 Mervue United completed another treble by also winning the League Cup and the Challenge Cup. In 1984–85 Mervue United first came to national prominence when they became the first CSL club to take part 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 ...

, losing 2–1 in the first round to the holders, UCD. In the 1986–87 FAI Cup they defeated

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...

1–0 in the first round but got knocked out by Rockmount in the next round. In 1997–98 Mervue United made a third appearance in the FAI Cup but were knocked out in the first round after a replay by Sligo Rovers. As Connacht Senior League champions, United were also invited to play in 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 ...

National leagues

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, together with local rivals, Salthill Devon, Mervue United were founder members of the

. As the highest placed non-

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

in the league's inaugural season, Mervue United qualified for a relegation/promotion play-off. They subsequently defeated Kildare County 5–3 on aggregate and were promoted to the

. 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

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Mervue United played in the League of Ireland First Division. In their final season they finished third before losing a relegation/promotion play-off against

Galway United

In 2012 an FAI commissioned report recommended that

city and

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

should be represented in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

by a single club or team based at

Eamonn Deacy Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galwa ...

. The O'Connor Report also recommended that the

, the Galway United Supporters Trust, Salthill Devon and Mervue United should work together to form such a club. Following the conclusion of the 2013 season, both Mervue United and Salthill Devon withdrew from the

to make way for a reformed

Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...

. The new board of Galway United featured two Mervue United representatives, Donnie Farragher and Declan McDonnell. The O'Connor Report had also recommended reforming the Connacht Senior League, allowing Mervue United and Salthill Devon to play at a provincial level. However, in June 2013 the ''

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Ge ...

'' reported that the plans for a reformed CSL were shelved due to a lack of sufficient interest from the clubs. The senior teams of Mervue United and Salthill Devon subsequently joined the

Ground

Mervue United originally operated out of the Redemptorist Grounds before moving to Monivea Road were they shared facilities with Mervue Athletic Club. After joining the Connacht Senior League, the club secured a lease on a clubhouse and a pitch in Fahy's Field. This has remained the club's principal home ground ever since. After promotion to the

, Mervue United temporarily played at

Terryland Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an List of association football venues in the Republic of Ireland, association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Gal ...

during the

and 2010 seasons as Fahy's Field did not meet

standards. However, the move away from their Mervue fan base affected attendances to the degree that they were the lowest in league records. By early

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 ...

, additions such as fencing and turnstiles had been made to Fahy's Field which brought the ground up to code and allowed Mervue United to return home to play their League of Ireland games.

Notable former players

;

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

international * Aaron Connolly * Greg Cunningham * Ryan Manning ; Republic of Ireland U21 internationals * Séamus Conneely * Conor Shaughnessy *

Joe Shaughnessy Joseph Thomas Gordon Shaughnessy (born 6 July 1992) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Shaughnessy has previously played for Aberdeen, Forfar Athletic, Falkirk, St Johnstone, Southend United, St Mirren and Dundee. ...

Republic of Ireland Schools U15 internationals * Rola Olusola * Isabelle Fitzpatrick * Jessica Talbot * Abbie Duffy Republic of Ireland U15 internationals * Samuel O'Gorman * Hakeem Ryan Republic of Ireland Women's U16 internationals * Eve Dossen * Rola Olusola * Skye Corcoran * Isabelle Fitzpatrick Republic of Ireland Women's U17 internationals * Eve Dossen * Rola Olusola * Isabelle Fitzpatrick * Skye Corcoran ;Top Goalscorers * Patrick Hoban: 21 (2009–12) *

Rory Gaffney Rory Nicholas Gaffney (born 23 October 1989) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shamrock Rovers. Career Limerick Gaffney started his career at League of Ireland First Division ...

: 15 (2009–11) * Lar Defly: 69 ; New Zealand U20 international *

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and trainer. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a trainer at the NJPW Academy and a former Strong Openweight Champion. He is bes ...

Honours

* Connacht Senior League **''Winners'': 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000: 8 **''Runners-up'': 1981–82, 1984–85: 2 * Connacht Senior Cup **''Winners'': 1982–83, 1983–84, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1999–2000: 6 **''Runners-up'': 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2007–08: 5 * Connacht Senior League Challenge Cup **''Winners'': 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1992–93: 6 **''Runners-up'': 1985–86: 1 * Connacht Senior League Cup/Shield **''Winners'': 1981–82, 1992–93, 1999–2000: 3 * Connacht Junior Cup **''Winners'': 1989–90, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2017–18: 7 **''Runners-up'': 1979–80, 1984–85: 2 *

**''Winners'': 1976–77, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2018–19: 12 * Michael Byrne Cup **''Winners'': 1976–77, 1977–78, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2018–19: 10 **''Runners-up'': 2006–07, 2012–13: 2

References

{{Galway Association football clubs in County Galway Galway & District League teams Connacht Senior League (association football) clubs A Championship teams Former League of Ireland First Division clubs Former League of Ireland clubs Association football clubs established in 1960 1960 establishments in Ireland Galway United F.C. Association football clubs in Galway (city)