Cork Celtic F.C.
Full nameCork Celtic Football Club
Dissolved1980
GroundTurners Cross
Cork
LeagueLeague of Ireland

Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champions and the following season they reached the second round of the European Cup.

History

Evergreen United

The club's foundation date is unknown, but its earliest appearance in the FAI Cup was in 1936–37.[1][2] Evergreen finished as League runners-up in 1954 and 1959. In 1953 they also played in an all-Cork FAI Cup final against Cork Athletic, losing 2–1 in a replay after drawing the first game 2-2. During the 1956–57 season Evergreen's Donal Leahy finished as joint top goalscorer in the league with 15 goals. In the following two seasons Leahy finished top goalscorer outright with 16 and 22 goals respectively. Irish international Tommy Moroney finished his playing career with Evergreen and, on 4 October 1953 in a World Cup qualifier against France, he won the last of his 12 caps while with the club. In 1959 the club changed its name to Cork Celtic.[3]

Cork Celtic

As Celtic in the 1960s they enjoyed a local rivalry with Cork Hibernians. Attendances reaches record highs in the late 1960s, with players such as Carl Davenport, the Dav, drawing crowds of up to 18,000. In 1974 with a team that included Alfie Hale and Bobby Tambling, Celtic won their only League of Ireland title under manager and former player Paul O'Donovan. Tambling, a former Chelsea player and England international had initially moved to Ireland to work as a Jehovah's Witness missionary. He scored 7 league goals in his first season as he helped Celtic win the title.

Best, Hurst and Seeler

In subsequent seasons Celtic attracted several other notable players. On the back of League success in 1974, Paul O'Donovan signed George Best and then Geoff Hurst. In December 1975 George Best had a brief spell with Celtic in between equally brief spells at Stockport County and Los Angeles Aztecs. He played only three league games, against Drogheda United, Bohemians and Shelbourne, but despite attracting big crowds he failed to score or impress.[4] In 1976 Geoff Hurst spent a month with Celtic, scoring three goals during his brief stay. Uwe Seeler also played one game for Celtic during the 1977–78 season and scored twice in a 6–2 defeat to Shamrock Rovers.[5][6][7]

Demise

At the start of the 1977–78 season Celtic looked for a longer lease on Turners Cross in order to develop it for the purpose of raising additional income. The club, now in decline since winning the League in 1973–74, saw developing Turners Cross as their only means of survival.[8] The FAI's legal advisers had previously been unable to find the property owner or their original lease, however a complex ownership structure was eventually unravelled.[9] Unable to resolve the tenancy situation with the FAI, Celtic spent no money on the upkeep of Turners Cross and it was eventually deemed unfit for use by the League for the 1978–79 season. As a result, the club moved to Flower Lodge for what would be their final season. But three years of deteriorating relationships with both the League and the F.A.I. led to Celtic being expelled from the League in the summer of 1979.[10]

Despite exiting the League, Cork Celtic's holding company still held the sub-lease on Turners Cross, and the club proposed joining the Munster Senior League.[11] However the Munster F.A. refused, and the trustees of the club eventually relinquished the lease on Turners Cross in 1980, bringing the club to an end.[12]

Honours

Source:[13][14][15][16][17]

Season placings

Season Position
1978–79 16th
1977–78 14th
1976–77 9th
1975–76 8th
1974–75 7th
1973–74 1st
1972–73 12th
1971–72 8th
1970–71 5th
1969–70 9th
1968–69 11th
1967–68 3rd
1966–67 11th
1965–66 11th
1964–65 8th
1963–64 4th
1962–63 4th
1961–62 2nd
1960–61 4th
1959–60 2nd
1958–59 2nd
1957–58 3rd
1956–57 4th
1955–56 4th
1954–55 11th
1953–54 2nd
1952–53 10th
1951–52 5th

European record

Overview

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
European Cup
2
0
0
2
2
7
European Cup Winners' Cup
2
0
1
1
1
3
TOTAL
4
0
1
3
3
10

Matches

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Bulgaria Slavia Sofia 0–2 1–1 1–3
1974–75 European Cup 1R Cyprus Omonia w/o N/A
2R Soviet Union Ararat Yerevan 1–2 0–5 2–7

Notable former players

Notable former managers

See also

References

  1. ↑ Niall MacSweeney (n.d.), A Record of League of Ireland Football 1921/22-1984/5. Basildon:Association of Football Statisticians
  2. ↑ "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008. RSSSF]
  3. ↑ "Evergreen Utd Change Name". Irish Independent. 17 July 1959. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  4. ↑ "George Best at Celtic". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
  5. ↑ BionicBohs
  6. ↑ Article referring to Hurst, Best, Tambling and Seeler playing for Celtic Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Uwe Seeler stats". Archived from the original on 14 September 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  8. ↑ George, Bill (2 August 1977). "Cork Celtic's future depends on long term lease". Cork Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  9. ↑ George, Bill (3 August 1977). "FAI and Celtic involved in buying Turners Cross". Cork Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  10. ↑ George, Bill (21 July 1979). "League Expel Celtic". Cork Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  11. ↑ George, Bill (23 July 1979). "Celtic are playing on". Cork Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  12. ↑ George, Bill (25 October 1980). "FAI Control 'Cross'". Cork Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  13. ↑ "www.munsterseniorleague.ie". Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "foot.ie". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "FAI Junior Cup Winners". stadium.aviva.ie. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Mark Herbert, Donie Butler (1994–95). FAI Yearbook & Diary 1995. Dublin: Sportsworld Ltd.
  17. ↑ "FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup Previous Winners". www.fai.ie. 2 February 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
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