St Columb’s Court F.C (Northern Ireland)
This next club
didn’t set the world alight. In fact, it only ever played one season of top
tier football in Northern Ireland. However, they were founding member of a
football association in their area and they did do well in the Irish Cup,
without ever winning it. St Columb’s Court are a club from Derry and one that
lasted up until the 1960’s, mainly as a junior club, however they did have a
part to play in Northern Ireland footballing history. Here is their story.
The club was
founded in 1886, with their first match played that year against fellow Derry
club Limavady Reserves. The club were founding members of the Cunty Derry
Football Association and joined the Irish Football Association in 1888. The
club was created to represent the loyalist community in Derry City. They wore
the colours red and played at numerous venues such as Lone Moor Road, Celtic
Park (Now known as Derry GAA Stadium) and the Brandywell Stadium.
St Columb’s
Court only played one season in the Irish League, one of a few clubs to do so.
They contested in the 1901-02 season, finishing bottom of the eight-club
league, not winning one of their fourteen matches. In fact, they lost all but
one game, drawing 1-1 with Ulster FC. That same season they lost to local
rivals, Derry Celtic, 6-0, in the first round.
However, their
overall record in the Irish Cup wasn’t bad, with the club reaching the
semi-finals on three occasions. The first time they reached the semi-final they
faced Linfield in 1890-91, where they were heavily defeated, 9-0. The 1891-92 edition of the cup saw the club
reach their second ever semi-final, but they lost to Black Watch, 4-1. In
1893-94 they were beaten in the semi-finals by Distillery, 8-3.
The club were
successful at a local level, winning the County Derry Cup on two occasions in
1890-91 and then retaining the title in 1891-92, on both occasions, beating
Limavady, 4-1 and 4-3. However, Limavady got their revenge in the 1892-93 Derry
Cup when they defeated St Columb’s Court, 3-0.
The club did
have one player represent Ireland whilst playing for it. James Wilton made
seven appearances for Ireland. He is remembered as being the president of the
Irish Football Association in 1914, with his opinion on having one football
association on the island of Ireland being one of his main objectives. He
believed that politics and sport should be kept separate. During the Home Rule
split in 1921, he organised a group to try and avoid the split, however he
failed, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) was formed separately to
the Irish Football Association (IFA).