Dungannon Swifts F.C.
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| Dungannon Swifts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Dungannon Swifts Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1949 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Stangmore Park (Capacity 3,000) |
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| Chairman | David Holmes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Harry Fay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Irish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005/06 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dungannon Swifts F.C. is a Northern Ireland football club playing in the Irish Premier League. The club, founded in 1949, hails from Dungannon and play their home matches at Stangmore Park. Club colours are royal blue with white trim (Home Strip) and Yellow with a red trim (Away Strip). The current manager is a former Irish league Midfielder and previous manager of Newry City, Harry Fay.
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[edit] Club History
[edit] Club Formation
The history of Dungannon Swifts Football Club began in 1949 with the formation of the club. The names of the founder committee members include Thomas Neill, Jimmy Sands, Maurice Graham, Alfred Burnett, Albert Kelly, George Richards, Albert Watt, Joe Meldrum, Jack Fowler and Ben Clarke.
[edit] The Early Years
In the 1949-50 season, the Swifts managed a notable feat when they entered and won the Mid Ulster Shield on their first attempt. The following season, the Swifts made their entry into the Mid Ulster League and haven't looked back since. In the same season they made it through to the Alexander Cup, Foster Cup and Mid Ulster Shield where they landed runners up in each.
[edit] Promotion To 'B' Division
After twenty years in the Mid Ulster League, in 1972 the Swifts were promoted to the Irish League 'B' Division where they managed a comfortable 4th spot in their first season.
[edit] Stangmore Park
1975 saw Stangmore Park become the official home of the Dungannon Swifts Football Club when they bought the land from Courtaulds Ltd and erected a temporary wooden Social Club.
[edit] Continued Success
In the 1980-81 season the team had one of their most successful years ever and were crowned runners up in the 'B' Division Championship. The Swifts continued to show their dominance in the Bob Radcliffe Cup over the years but the 1987-88 season showed their skills in the Mid Ulster Senior Cup when they defeated Glenavon 2-1 to bring the trophy to Stangmore Park.
In August 1982, Dungannon Swifts officially unveiled their brand new club house. The purpose built construction replaced the old wooden club house and would provide an ideal environment for club and social affairs such as bingo, dances and dinners. The occasion was marked with a special pre-season friendly match against Glentoran. The already memorable day was made all the more special when Dungannon beat the visitors 2-1.
[edit] Manchester United & Liverpool Visit
In 1995, the Swifts played host to some very special guests when Manchester United Reserves squad came to the club in a special exhibition match to mark the new £72,000 floodlighting system at Stangmore Park. Among the Red Devils on the night were Phil Neville and Northern Ireland International Phil Mulryne.
Just two years prior to this Robbie Fowler, David James and Dominic Matteo were just some of the players competing in another exhibition game at the club as the Liverpool Under 21 squad came to Stangmore Park.
[edit] Intertoto Cup
The club quailfied for its first European games by finishing 4th in the Irish Premier League, they playd Icelandic opposition Keflavík ÍF in the Intertoto Cup. Unfortunately, the team lost 4-1 to IBF Keflavik and could not make up in the home game, leading to elimination in the very first stage of the Intertoto tournament.
[edit] Setanta Cup
Dungannon Swifts qualified for the Setanta Cup by finishing 4th in the Irish Premier League during the 2004/05 season. In the Setanta Cup following, Dungannon was playing in a group with Cork City, Drogheda United and Portadown FC and failed to qualify for the semi-finals as Cork and Drogheda grabbed the top two places. Drogheda United would later win the tournament, beating Cork City in the final.
[edit] Club Honours
1967/68 Alexander Cup Winners
1969/70 Alexander Cup Winners
1970/71 Alexander Cup Winners
1970/71 Mid-Ulster Shield Winners
1970/71 Mid-Ulster League Champions
1970/71 Mid-Ulster Cup Winners
1971/72 Mid-Ulster League Champions
1971/72 Alexander Cup Winners
1973/74 George Wilson Cup Winners
1975/76 Louis Moore Cup Winners
1975/76 Mid-Ulster Cup Winners
1977/78 Intermediate Cup Winners
1981/82 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1985/86 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1986/87 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1987/88 Mid-Ulster Cup Winners
1989/90 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1991/92 Intermediate Cup Winners
1992/93 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1993/94 'B' Division Knockout Cup Winners
1993/94 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1994/95 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
1995/96 Bob Radcliffe Cup Winners
2002/03 Ulster Cup Winners
2002/03 Irish First Division Champions
[edit] First Team Squad
Below is a list of the current first team squad for the Dungannon Swifts Football Club.
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