Queens Island FC (1881) and (1920-1929) (Northern Ireland)
This next story
is one of two clubs with the same name, from the same country, but two totally
different clubs founded in different decades but both becoming Forgotten
Football Clubs. Whilst neither of these clubs lasted more than a decade, they
both had some success, lifting some silverware. One of the clubs only lasted
three years, whilst the other existed for nine years respectively. This is the
story of the two Queen’s Island FC clubs that both came from Belfast.
The first of
the two Queen’s Island FC clubs was founded on August 22nd, 1881, by
the engineers at the Queens Island works in Belfast. Originally, the club had
been a cricket club but with the popularity of soccer taking hold in the North
of Ireland, more of these cricket clubs were branching out and forming football
clubs, mainly being influenced by the Scottish workers that were coming over.
Their first
official game was dated to have been played in October, 1881, against Avoniel
FC, in which the game ended in a 3-3 draw. It wasn’t until February,1882 until
the club had acquired a home pitch in the form of Bloomfield, so before that
they played all their matches away from home. This included their first Irish
Cup match against Old Park in the 1881-82 edition of the cup. Queens defeated
their opponents with ease in the first round, winning 5-0, setting up a
second-round match with reigning Irish Cup champions, Moyola Park. The first
game ended in a 1-1 draw bringing it to a replay. Despite playing the second
match away once again, Queens Island won, 2-1, meaning they were now firm
favourites to go on and win the cup. That tag was further ensured when their
semi-final opponents withdrew before kicking a ball. Castlederg could not field
a team and so Queens Island advanced to the final in their first inclusion in
the Irish Cup.
The final took
place on May 13th, 1882 at the Ulster Cricket Ground, and their
opponents were north Belfast side, Cliftonville. The game was decided by one
goal, scored by Queens Island, by a player only named in the report as Stewart.
It was enough to ensure that Queens Island FC would be the second winners of
the Irish Cup.
Their defence
of their title started off well, as they eased past Mount Avo in the first
round of the 1882-83 edition of the Irish Cup, winning 4-0 at home. The second
round proved to be an even easier task, with the club getting a bye with no
club to play against. The third round proved to be a tougher task, when they
came up against Distillery, and had to play two games to progress, drawing the
first game 1-1 whilst winning the replay 1-0 to progress to the semi final
where they met Ulster FC. This proved to be a step too far, and finally they
lost a game in the Irish Cup. Ulster FC dispatched Queen’s, 4-1, however saw
themselves heavily beaten in the final to Cliftonville, who won the final, 5-0.
Queen’s Island
FC entered the Irish Cup in 1883-84, and won their first round game, 3-0 away
to Down Athletic. Their second round match away to Wellington Park proved to be
one of ties of the round, with the game ending 4-4. The replay didn’t go in the
way of Queen’s Island however, with Wellington Park winning 2-1 at Bloomfield,
knocking the former champions out.
That was it in
regards competitive football for Queen’s Island FC, with the club seemingly
dissolving in 1883. However, their were reports the club was revived for
various friendlies in latter decades to fund various projects, but these
matches can’t be officially connected toto the original football club, and so
the story of Queen’s Island FC ends there. Well, that Queen’s Island club. Here
is the story of another Queen’s Island FC club.
Formed in 1920
was a club named Queen’s Island FC. They had no affiliation with the previous
Queen’s Island club. They wore blue and white stripes and played in various
grounds throughout their history such as Prime Park and The Oval. They
immediately joined the Intermediate League in the 1920-21 season, finishing a
respectable fifth in their debut season. That same season they went onto win
their first bit of silverware, when they lifted the Intermediate Cup, beating Forth
River, 2-0 in the final. Their success prompted the club to apply to enter the
Irish League for the 1922-23 season, in which they were successful. Their debut
season saw the club finish out of the six teams competing. Despite their poor
showing in their first season, they remained in the league, and vastly improved,
finishing runners-up to Linfield that year.
It was the
1923-24 season that Queen’s Island FC peaked in their success, when despite
having a two point deduction for fielding an ineligible player, they still
managed to win the Irish League, which now consisted of ten clubs. They
finished six points better than three other clubs, but that wasn’t to be the
only major trophy they would lift that season.
Beating
Glenavon in the first round of the Irish Cup, 2-1 and gaining a bye in the
quarters meant Queen’s Island were on course to win the domestic double. In the
semi-finals, they faced a tough taks getting by Crusaders, drawing the first
match, 1-1. However, they won the replay, 1-0, to advance to the final, where
they met Willowfield. The game was played on March 29th, 1924, in
front of a bumper crowd of 10,000 people at Windsor Park. Queen’s Island won
the game, 1-0, thanks to goal scored by a man named Burns, and they lifted the
famous trophy for the first time. In fact, along with the Irish League title,
and the Irish Cup triumph, they also won the Antrim Shield and the City Cup
that season, making it a quadruple for the Queen’s.
However, those
league and cup wins were to be their only ones, as they failed to replicate
their success in either competition. They did finish runners-up to Glentoran in
the 1924-25 season, and then again finishing second to Belfast Celtic in the
1926-27 season, but that was as good as it got. The 1927-28 season saw a
dramatic decline in their league form as they finished 12th, and
then fell another two places, in the 1928-29 season, finishing 14th
and rock bottom, and failing to be re-elected for the following season.
That was it for
Queen’s Island FC in the Irish League, however they did continue to play in the
Irish Football Alliance. But once domestic double winners and a dominant force
in Norther Ireland football, they have now become a Forgotten Football Club.