Barn United F.C.

Barn United Football Club is a Northern Irish amateur football club from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland playing in Division 1A of the Northern Amateur Football League. They play their home games at Haslett Park, next door to their local rivals Carrick Rangers. The current club formed in 1954 taking its name from an earlier team, Barn, which played in the Irish League from 1923-28. As well as Barn's first XI, they field a second team in the Amateur League Division 3A and several youth teams in the East Antrim Youth League.

History

The history of football in Carrickfergus dates back to before World War I. The earliest team was Barn Football Club. It played its home matches at the current site of the Carrickfergus Lesuire Centre. In 1923, the club joined the senior Irish Football League and achieved a finish of 7th in its first season. It would regularly attract several hundred home fans to its games and gates of 2000 or more were recorded when it played local favourites Linfield and Belfast Celtic. After five seasons, however, the club was struggling in the league. It resigned in 1928 after finishing second from the bottom.

Football in Carrickfergus returned 11 years later when Carrick Rangers formed, adopting Barn's colours and setting up close to Barn's former home. When Barn United formed in 1954, the club set up its home ground right next to Carrick's Taylor Avenue home. United joined the Northern Amateur League as a junior club in 1955, before being elevated to intermediate status in 1961.^[1] The two clubs shared a friendly rivalry up to the 1970s and both performed well. But in 1976, Carrick shocked the senior Irish clubs when they won the Irish Cup. By 1983, Carrick was playing senior football.

Barn United found new rivals in Islandmagee with the teams meeting annually to play for a trophy. But the fixture was marred by a series of on-field incidents and trouble between the opposing fans. The teams still meet in league and cup matches (their last two meetings being in the 2008/09 Premier division) but the trophy matches are no longer played.

The club's current facilities at Haslett Park are basic but does feature a social club, which was opened in 1981 by Rangers player and Northern Ireland international John McClelland. There is also a covered stand which can seat 70 fans.

Honours

Intermediate honours

• Northern Amateur League: 1
  • 1975/76
• Clarence Cup: 2
  • 1975/76, 1994/95

External links

• Ground Hopper - Barn United
• East Antrim Youth League
• nifootball.co.uk - (For fixtures, results and tables of all Northern Ireland amateur football leagues)

Notes