| Full name | Castlebar Celtic Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Castlebar[1] | ||
| Founded | 1924 | ||
| Ground | Celtic Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo (Capacity: 1,500) |
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| Chairman | Gerry Walsh | ||
| Manager | NA | ||
| League | Mayo Super League | ||
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Castlebar Celtic is an amateur Irish football club based in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Republic Of Ireland. The club was founded in 1924 and currently competes in the Mayo Super League. Their home ground is Celtic Park. The clubs colours are green and white.
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Castlebar’s first soccer team was established in 1924 and this is reflected on the club's crest. The first committee consisted of Tommy Leonard, Tommy Connolly, Tommy McDonald, Mattie Ketterick and Charlie Hanley. However, this setup was disbanded soon after until it was restarted once again in 1928. This version consisted of Tom Ketterick, Mattie's younger brother, Hughie McGartland and John Burke. The club was finally formed in Hack Welshe's on Castle Street and in 1932 the name Casltebar Celtic was chosen. The first game was against Galway Rovers in which Tom Ketterick said "we got hammered".
Competition though, was very limited. There was no Mayo League as such in those days and Dooniver Swifts (of Achill), Westport United and Quay Hearts (of Westport) were the only other soccer clubs in the county.
It took until 1938 for Celtic to win their first trophy, the Alfie Byrne Cup, when they beat Westport 6-1. 1947 saw the first of a record 9 Connaught Cup victories, when they defeated Galway Bohs at Maryland Park, their home since the early forties. The winner that day came from Michael Guthrie in a 1-0 victory.
Hughie McGartland was club secretary for almost 40 years and was a key figure of the committee that purchased Flannelly’s Field, now known as Celtic Park, still the home of Celtic. They purchased Flannelly’s Field in 1954 for £1,879. A sum of £123 was spent on drainage and a further sum of £400 was spent on renovating a premise in Market Square as a clubhouse. Two old C.I.E. buses were bought for dressing rooms, to bring the total expenditure to £3,000. Running a series of carnivals and dances raised the money
The first match played in Celtic Park was on 4 May 1958. This was a challenge game between Castlebar Celtic and Castlebar A. The first competitive game in the ground was between Castlebar Celtic and Westport United the following Sunday in the Mayo Area Final of the Connaught Cup. Celtic won the game 1-nil, with Frank Roache scoring the winning goal. Celtic had finally cemented a permanent home and this would see huge success to the present day. 15 Mayo League titles and 8 Connaught Cups were added to their tally during their time at Celtic Park as well as the F.A.I. Youth Cup in 2007.
Start of 2010 Season
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Castlebar Celtic are the most successful side in the history of Mayo football having won more Mayo Cups and Connacht Cups than any other club. They are tied with Westport United on Mayo League titles, with 16 each. The first Mayo League title was won in 1957 and the latest in 2011. The Club has won the Mayo FA Cup 6 times. Celtic share the record for Connacht Cup victories with a total of 9 (Galway Hibs also have 9), the first win coming in 1948. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Celtic won the competition 3 times in the space of 6 years. The 1980s were Celtic's golden years with 6 Mayo League titles and 3 Connaught Cups. The most recent success in the Connaught Cup came in 2003 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Galway's Moyne Villa at Milebush Park, with goals in either half from Kevin Ryan and Declan Reilly. Kevin & Stephen Ryan made history that day when they became the first father & son to play together in a Connaught Cup final. Celtic almost made it title number 10 in 2006, but fell at the final hurdle, losing the final to Sligo based side Abbey United on penalties.
A full roll of honour for underage and senior sides is available here [1].
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