Anybody Remember Newcastle West AFC? :) [Archive]

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 9:02 AM

Ballygowan Park
The Desmene
The worst pitch in the league :)
Anthony Riedy
Peter Dunne
Frances Hayden

Al Finucane
Dennis Keenan
Billy Daly
Christy Earls
Chisty Coll
Johnny Gaynor!!!
Frankie Kavanagh
Seanie Gleeson

The old bulletproof Army Bus to bring us around the country!

Games against EMFA!!

Kevin Fitzpatrick
Des Kennedy

The Magpies, The Turnpike Bar, The River Room Motel :)

3-0 away to Shamrock Rovers, came back to draw 3-3 !

FAI Cup quarter finals against Derry City and St James Gate.
3500 people at a soccer game in NCW that day.
Never forget.
Never.
Happy days.....Happy days.
Cobh Ramblers may you rot. Hope your Proud. Killed Soccer in County Limerick.

paudie

12/10/2007, 9:11 AM

I think Patsy Freyne played with Newcastle for at least 1 season.

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 9:15 AM

he did :) What a player!! end of his career but was an honour to see him in the stripes

MyTown

12/10/2007, 9:21 AM

gufct posted a few weeks back that the current Meteor ad featuring Liam Brady has ex Newcastlewest native and player Timmy Landers as the coach who rings Liam when his team is struggling. He went on to play for us for a while after leaving his home patch & I think gufct said he had also international honours when he was a young lad.

paudie

12/10/2007, 9:22 AM

Ballygowan Park
The Desmene
The worst pitch in the league :)
Anthony Riedy
Peter Dunne
Frances Hayden

FAI Cup quarter finals against Derry City and St James Gate.
3500 people at a soccer game in NCW that day.
Never forget.
Never.
Happy days.....Happy days.
Cobh Ramblers may you rot. Hope your Proud. Killed Soccer in County Limerick.

Didn't realise Ramblers played a part in your demise. what was the story?

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 9:24 AM

RT That was Seanie Gleeson one of the very few locals on the team! :)
Derry were sh*t hot back then under JM! They were THEEE team!
Dunno that about your man Landers??
Remember John Ger McGettian!!! Never forget him missing a peno against Harps in Ballygowan in the cup! :mad: !! :D

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 9:27 AM

Paudie,

Cobh Ramblers in their sourness at us beating them in an FAI Quarter Final down in Cobh complained becaude a player of ours that day, Billy Daly has a typo error or something minimal to that effect on his registration, Cobh were tipped off, appealed, we lost, were ejected from the cup, after the biggest day in our history and went bust due to court costs. We as a club couldnt afford it. now back playing junior soccer in the Desmond League.

Cheers Cobh. You Cnuts! I long for the day we get back in the league and get those bas*rds in the Cup. You will see the biggest crowd of any occasion in the history of sport in NCW. Ramblers are hated now.

Mr A

12/10/2007, 9:31 AM

Remember John Ger McGettian!!! Never forget him missing a peno against Harps in Ballygowan in the cup! !!

Was that the 5-4 game? John G was and is an absolute Harps legend.

Dodge

12/10/2007, 9:33 AM

Played a season in the league as Newcastle Utd...

MyTown

12/10/2007, 9:40 AM

Sorry An Ceannaire - Following mature recollection & in fairness to gufct - he said Timmy Landers was a Kerry native but that he made his League of Ireland debut for Newcastlewest. Sorry for the misinformation.

gspain

12/10/2007, 9:42 AM

I went out to a few games in the Demense not just Limerick away games.

Pitch was terrible and just a rope around the pitch to keep the fans off. Was mad when Derry came down particularly the first year.

Paddyfield

12/10/2007, 9:52 AM

I remember them playing in Terryland. Their shirt sponsor was a local joinery works - on the lines of "Paddy Murphy Joinery Works". Some of the letters were falling off.

Mind you, Galway were sponsored by "Eyre Square Dry Cleaners" :D

drinkfeckarse

12/10/2007, 10:05 AM

Cheers Cobh. You Cnuts! I long for the day we get back in the league and get those bas*rds in the Cup. You will see the biggest crowd of any occasion in the history of sport in NCW. Ramblers are hated now.

FFS :D

Did your crowds not average about 100?

dcfc_1928

12/10/2007, 10:10 AM

That may well have also been my only trip to Newcastle West.

Derry played in a Barcelona-style kit that day. The one and only time we wore it.

I went out to a few games in the Demense not just Limerick away games.

Pitch was terrible and just a rope around the pitch to keep the fans off. Was mad when Derry came down particularly the first year.

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 10:12 AM

It was Reidy Joinery Works! From Anthony Reidy, the club chairman! :)
U couldnt make this sh*t up! Then Ballygowan came on board!!! Re laid the pitch, Built 2 big stands, concreted the spectator area :p, and pumped a few quid into the team. And 2 years later Cobh struck :mad:
We were in the league for 6 years! Happy days indeed. Was a minor miracle we played as long as we did. Never got to play Limk City in the league which was a shame, played them in Munster Cup but that was it.
Always loved games against EMFA, Harps, Drogs and Rovers. And whenever Derry came to town was great.

DvB

12/10/2007, 10:24 AM

I was at the 3-3 draw at Milltown, my memory must be fading though, i remember it as being 3-0 to Newcastle at one stage & not Rovers, only for us to come back, though being that long ago i'm open to correction! Also remember us giving them a 6-0 or 6-1 spanking as well!

Koh

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 10:39 AM

ure right DVB :D Was hoping to get away with that one!!! ;)
Milltown was a great spot. I remember playing St Francis in the cup one year down here, they ended up replacing us in the league! Anyway they beat us one nil, HUGE crowd in for it. Place was packed. After the game loads of local kids waving the st francis fans home with high pitvhed tones of 'Come on St Pats" :D Classic Memory Gold!

Any Harps here at the game the time NCW player John Burke broke his back in Ballygowan playing your lot? Freak accident. No one knew how serious it was, game played on with John in the dressing room being given the sponge and some Rubex!

Comic Book Guy

12/10/2007, 11:46 AM

Ceannaire you're wrong on a number of points, yes Ramblers did object as the player in question was signed from ramblers shortly beforehand, didn't agree with the objection as you won the replay fair and square.
However Ramblers lost the replayed game and you lot then lost to Longford in the Quarters.
Your ground was a kip back then and I guess the improvements must have come after you lot left the league.
I wonder did the fact that you were always struggling in the league have anything to do with your demise as a league club?

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 12:39 PM

Your wrong mate......yes we wont the replay....remember who scored the goal...Billy Daly!! So sweet! But.....the reason we went bust was because we couldnt afford the legal costs in the long run and it crippled us. If Cobh had taken their beating, left it alone and got on with it, to this Day NCW could still be a league club. And when you think about it, we would have been on a par with the likes of Longford and Sligo and look at them now. Who knows, maybe we would not have survived, possibly not but we will never know. And trust me mate, I have the inside track, If Cobh had not taken that action....it would NOT have happened. you pushed the first domino.

gspain

12/10/2007, 12:45 PM

Limerick definitely played in the league cup out in the Demense. I think it was your first ever home game. I thought we played another game out there but can't be sure now. You played in Rathbane as well in the league cup.

I can't remember any Munster Cup ties. We didn't enterfor quite a while although we won it circa 1985.

We had a game the same day as the Cobh replay and there was a huge cheer when it came though that you'd beaten cobh and then a bigger one when it was known that Billy Daly got the winner.

Mr A

12/10/2007, 12:46 PM

In all fairness though ye must have been very vulnerable if Cobh's action put ye out of existence, and they did have a right (perhaps even responsibility) to protect their own interests first.

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 12:51 PM

GSpain, really? Ha ha! Nice one. Its cool that way, nearly every NCW fan looked out for Citys results. There was no ****e attatched atall. Were they league cup games? I will stand corrected, thought they were munster cup games? Dessie Kennedy dressed up as a clown at my 12th (think it was 12!) birthday party :) It was so funny! NCW were a great club! The town was a quarter the size it is now and yet somehow sustained a LOI club. Incredible really when you think of it. Tralee Dynamos, Peak Villa all these teams from far bigger places back then and yet somehow NCW with no more than 5000 people had a LOI team! Soccer is HUGE in West Limerick. Nowadays a pop of around 11,000-15,000 if u count the surrounding area and we won our first Junior Title in years only 2 years ago :(

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 12:56 PM

drinkfeckarse

12/10/2007, 1:10 PM

The club went bust because of an appeal?? As Mr A said, if you were vulnerable because of that then you'd no business in the National League.

You'd want to relax a small bit bit there with the melodrama!

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 1:14 PM

you wouldnt understand! Growing up in a GAA county, soccer was huge with the kids but not with the "establishment". IN school we didnt have soccer teams, perish the thought. And if there was a big soccer match and we had "dual players" the GAA would organise a focking training session to coincide and if u didnt turn up, u were turfed out.
And ya we were skating on thin ice, i dont dispute that, but they sure as fock didnt help.
NCW Till I die!!!

shelbourne1904

12/10/2007, 1:35 PM

The only other time Shels were in the 1st division(other than now) they were promoted in NCW despite the fact that the officials or the players didnt know it until it was announced on the radio.We heard on the way through Limerick.I think they stopped off somewhere and werent seen in Dublin till Wednesday!!!!!

Larry 'da' Wyse

12/10/2007, 1:35 PM

GSpain, really? Incredible really when you think of it. Tralee Dynamos, Peak Villa all these teams from far bigger places back then and yet somehow NCW with no more than 5000 people had a LOI team! :(

Nothing incredible about it. Peake Villa before NCW had (some) involvement in the LOI with Thrules Town FC. Tried tested and failed. NCW without reaching any dizzy heights also was tried, tested and failed.
Enjoyed the Cobh rant though. RRS by Cork fado, fado :)

Mind you Cobh R have survived in the LoI and they like TTFC and NCW are not from a large populated. Credit to 'em.

shelbourne1904

12/10/2007, 1:38 PM

DvB

12/10/2007, 1:42 PM

Mr A perhaps your right I dunno. I will admit to having clouded vision. Cried my eyes out the day the LOI club went bust. Really broke my heart, Even now remembering it is a little emotional. Will always remember the pride of coming back from Milltown that day and hearing RTE news giving the Scorelines from the FAI Cup.....Shamrock Rovers 3...Newcastle West 3.
Only time i saw my father cry b4 my mother died.
And they took it away :(
NCWAFC 4EVER !!!

Again, forgive me if my memory fails me on accuracy here but was the game in question (the 3-3 draw) not a league cup group game, back in the days of groups of 4 teams in the first round?? Again this is open to correction, its just had it been an FAI cup game there'd have been a replay down there & THAT i definitely do not remember!!

Koh

michaelguineys

12/10/2007, 1:46 PM

Nothing incredible about it. Peake Villa before NCW had (some) involvement in the LOI with Thrules Town FC. Tried tested and failed. NCW without reaching any dizzy heights also was tried, tested and failed.
Enjoyed the Cobh rant though. RRS by Cork fado, fado :)

Mind you Cobh R have survived in the LoI and they like TTFC and NCW are not from a large populated. Credit to 'em.

Apparently if it wasnt for Cobh's bar / social club they would have gone bust long ago!

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 1:50 PM

No DVB I am 80% sure it was FAI cup, rovers DID come to town once and whipped us! Pretty sure that was it.....i think......i was 9!!

ps whats RRS?

gspain

12/10/2007, 1:54 PM

Again, forgive me if my memory fails me on accuracy here but was the game in question (the 3-3 draw) not a league cup group game, back in the days of groups of 4 teams in the first round?? Again this is open to correction, its just had it been an FAI cup game there'd have been a replay down there & THAT i definitely do not remember!!

Koh

it was a league cup group game and I'm pretty sure NCW were 3 up as well. Still an incredible result as Rovers were a top side then.

Definitely no rivalry with Limerick either. Always looked for their results next.

I think we met in the FAI Cup one year too.

an_ceannaire

12/10/2007, 2:07 PM

ure right rovers were 3-0 down
thought it was FAI, If only we had youtube back then!!!:D
Rovers came to town once, whipped us, thought that was it.
Dont think we ever played Bohs or Pats or even Cork
GSpain are u sure we played in the FAI cup?? Dont think so

michaelguineys

12/10/2007, 2:12 PM

No DVB I am 80% sure it was FAI cup, rovers DID come to town once and whipped us! Pretty sure that was it.....i think......i was 9!!

ps whats RRS?

RRS = Ridden Rock Solid
Us Cork clubs are always ridden rock solid:D:D

dcfcsteve

12/10/2007, 2:25 PM

RRS = Ridden Rock Solid
Us Cork clubs are always ridden rock solid:D

There's a certain 4 Bohs fans joining you in that club literally as we speak..... :D

Mind you Cobh R have survived in the LoI and they like TTFC and NCW are not from a large populated. Credit to 'em.

Finn Harps have the smallest population centre of any team in the league, yet have survived/prospered at a senior level for almost 40 years. They do have a county to themselves, but Donegal has always had a much smaller population than Limerick, Cork or Kerry.

I have to echo the fear that if a court appeal was enough to send Newcastle West into bankruptcy, then their longer term viability must have been questionable anyway. I'd also speculate as to how good their legal advice was in-advance of launching such a failed appeal that pushed them out of business !?! :eek:

Comic Book Guy

12/10/2007, 5:13 PM

AS far as I can remember there was an appeal to the FAI at the time but I'm almost sure that there was no civil case, so if I'm correct an appeal to the FAI would cost nothing like that of going to a civil court.
Anyway NCW survived for another two years after that incident so I doubt it very much that that was the cause of them leaving the league.
As I said before I think the fact that your highest finish in the 10 team First Division was 7th might have more to do with it.

CollegeTillIDie

14/10/2007, 10:10 AM

an ceannaire

I visited Ballygowan Park on several occasions supporting my team. One of those occasions was Al Finucane's last appearance in the League of Ireland in April 1988. It was a 0-0 draw. I asked Al was he going to give it another season and he said no he was retiring because he couldn't get used to taking him so long to recover from the post match stiffness that set into his muscles on a Monday . It used to take him three days to get right. To be fair to Al he had been playing 28 seasons in the League of Ireland by then and was 46 if he was a day. As soon as I got home from the match I rang the sports department in RTE and tipped them off that the great man had retired. They sent a camera crew down to film him on a golf course somewhere in the area and interviewed him about a week after.
Had a good season as I recall in 1988/89 coming either 6th or 7th that might have been the year of your good cup run. I think Kevin Fitzpatrick was involved in a managerial type role that year. The end of the following season ye left the League and were replaced by St. James's Gate whose own demise was brought about by a withdrawl of sponsorship 2/3 through a season. They limped on to the end of the 1995/96 season and withdrew from the League in August 1996 to be replaced by St. Francis who didn't last too long either.
Kildare County are in effect the first successful replacement team for Newcastlewest.

Da Real Rover

14/10/2007, 11:32 AM

Finn Harps have the smallest population centre of any team in the league, yet have survived/prospered at a senior level for almost 40 years. They do have a county to themselves, but Donegal has always had a much smaller population than Limerick, Cork or Kerry.

But Harps represent the whole county of Donegal. Its far from just being representative of Balleybofey, people from all over Donegal go to games. And Donegal has a population well over 100,000 if my memory serves me right.

dcfcsteve

14/10/2007, 8:56 PM

But Harps represent the whole county of Donegal. Its far from just being representative of Balleybofey, people from all over Donegal go to games. And Donegal has a population well over 100,000 if my memory serves me right.

But that was my point.

Harps have the county to themselves - but it's a small county. Certainly much smaller than Limerick or Kerry for example - yet Harps have prospered where Tralee or NewcastleWest didn't. Having a big county like Kerry all to themselves didn't do Dynamoes much good.

Which leads me to conclude that the structural and financial stability of a team in the first place is more important than its catchment area when it comes to LOI survival (witness UCD, for example). Particularly in the First Division, where crowds are small all over.

historynut

01/11/2007, 12:30 AM

Clubs period in league well documented. Just wondered if you are able to share details of clubs history. When where they formed, what is the earliest known date of a club in the town. What honours have they won at junior level, pre league dates and post league dates.
Did I not read somewhere one of reasons on leaving league was to improve ground. Take it that is the enclosed ground through woods beyond gaa stadium. Did you have stand at time of league membership ?

sadloserkid

07/11/2007, 10:01 PM

But that was my point.

Harps have the county to themselves - but it's a small county. Certainly much smaller than Limerick or Kerry for example - yet Harps have prospered where Tralee or NewcastleWest didn't. Having a big county like Kerry all to themselves didn't do Dynamoes much good.

Two clubs in Limerick at the time though so that was always gonna limit NCW's potential fanbase. Cobh seem to have overcome this to give them their due.

seand60

09/11/2007, 9:38 AM

Yes I remember them coming to Athlone in that old bus. They had tea and sandwiches on it outside the ground. Secretary at that time was a fellow called Phelim Kinahan, think he had a cafe in the town.

gufct

09/11/2007, 2:07 PM

I was trying to remember the name of a player with Red hair who went on to play in Scotland because I shared a taxi with after the Ireland/Holland Game in Anfield.

HarpsinDublin

11/11/2007, 9:35 PM

Remember Newcastlewest well. They always seemed to beat Finn Harps when it mattered. Remember Harps lodging a protest against John Gerard McGettigan (a Harps legend) in 1987 when he played against us. He had also played for Milford United in the Ulster Senior League against our reserves turned out he was signed for Newcastle and played illegally for Milford United!!!!

Had the pleasure of visiting Ballygowan for the Cup match in 1989 which was a great game eventually finishing 4-3 to Harps with both sides missing players who had been sent off. George Grier got Harps first goal that day and ran to the fans behind the goal and hugged the first one he met. Yes me! Covered in muck I was. We also brought an inflatable banana and shark to that game not sure Newcastlewest had seen anything like it.

Shame they went out of the League but c'est la vie.