Buncrana Hearts F.C.
| Full name | Buncrana Hearts Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Hearts | |
| Ground |
Castle Park, Buncrana, County Donegal | |
| Chairman | Derek Smith | |
| Manager | Niall McGonagle | |
| League | Inishowen Football League | |
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Buncrana Hearts F.C. is an association football club based in the Inishowen peninsula, County Donegal, that play in the Inishowen Football League. They play in Castle Park in Buncrana. The club was founded in 1961.
Castle Park
Castle Park, the home ground of Buncrana Hearts, is based at The Buncrana Youth Club. This has been Buncrana Hearts's home since the 1970s. It has 2 full-size pitches, 1 training pitch, 2 astro turf pitches, indoor pitch and excellent changing facilities.
Underage Development
Buncrana Hearts' underage structure in recent times has been extremely successful, producing teams that have won all competitions they have played in the last five years. Individual progression has also beein excellent in recent times with players progressing to higher levels. Since 2007, the club has had several players go on trial with professional clubs in England; Rory Kelly (Coventry City), Jonny Bonner (Queen's Park Rangers), Preston North End), Mark Timlin (Ipswich Town, Preston North End) and Conor O'Donnell (Coventry City, Ipswich Town, Preston North End).
Conor O'Donnell and Mark Timlin are both currently members of Ipswich Town youth team.
1993 Ulster Senior League and Buncrana Cup double-winning side
Buncrana Hearts won the Ulster Senior League and Buncrana Cup double for the first time in 1992/1993. F.A.I. Development Officer Stephen McNutt was Player-Manager and was assisted by Sean Murphy with Derek Smith team captain. Player of the Year was Shane Byrne with Top Goalscorer going to John Coyle. The team continued its success the following season narrowly missing out on retaining the title after losing a play-off and by becoming the first winners of the Ulster Senior Cup defeating Letterkenny Rovers in the Final.
Associated clubs
In the last few years, Buncrana Hearts have developed a relationship with Derry City in the League of Ireland, and English Championship side Preston North End. This has seen several players join these clubs, either on trial or on a permanent basis.